If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Jay-Z must be somewhere blushing. With rappers constantly “jocking Jay-Z” and other entertainers looking to land their own ‘Beyoncé,’ Jay-Z has in many ways earned his self-proclaimed living legend status.
The latest attempt to steal a bit of Jay-Z’s shine has come in the form of an online parody of his No. 1 hit song “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys. Instead of rapping about New York City, this video shows love to a modest Welsh community.
The song “Newport (Ymerodraeth State of Mind),” has already been viewed 1.65 million times on YouTube, and is only getting bigger. The filmmaker, Morgan Jane Delaney, shot a near identical recreation of the original music video, focusing on the modest surroundings of the south Wales city — about 140 miles west of London.
A fan of Jay-Z’s original, Delaney shared that what started off as a joke between her and her boyfriend has snowballed into a cyberspace phenomenon.
“We just started singing different place names instead of New York, just as a joke, and we thought that Newport was funny,” she shared. “I don’t really know why I decided to go the whole hog and make a film of it, but it just seemed like fun.”
After watching the video below, answer the following question. Should Jay-Z be flattered by the public response to this video, or weary of the constant attempts of others to be like him? –djr
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