The song, first leaked online, was written by Lopez, Troy Oliver, Mr. Deyo, Samuel Barnes, and Jean Claude Olivier.

"Jenny from the Block" is an R&B and old school hip hop song, which lyrically is about Lopez's desire, despite her level of fame and fortune, to remain humble and true to her roots in The Bronx.

It featured Lopez and her boyfriend at the time, Ben Affleck, who later credited the video with nearly "ruining his career", in several raunchy scenes through the paparazzi's point of view.

In response, Lopez and Epic Records pushed forward the album's release date to September 26, the same day "Jenny from the Block" was officially sent to US radio.

[2] During an interview, Lopez said "I wrote a lot of songs inspired, in a way, by what I was going through at the time that this album was being made, and he [Affleck] was definitely a big part of that.

[8] The song "intones her modest childhood roots", with Lopez singing in the chorus: "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got / I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the Block / Used to have a little now I have a lot / No matter where I go, I know where I came from".

The opening line of the track, "Children grow and women producing, men go working, some go stealing, everyone's got to make a living", is derived from 20th Century Steel Band's 1975 song "Heaven and Hell Is on Earth".

[8] The constant flute loop through the song is an interpolation of Enoch Light's "Hi-Jack" (1975), while the bridge samples Boogie Down Productions' "South Bronx" (1987).

[16][17] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the song "infectious", but noted that it is "more like a disease than a chunky casserole".

[12] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly was favorable, writing: "Lopez insists that fame hasn't changed her, and seduced by the breezy pleasure of her new music, we're almost inclined to believe her".

[18] Arion Berger of Rolling Stone opined that the song "is worth listening to — its windup/wind-down chorus is as sly and curvy as Lopez".

[20] Complex magazine praised the inclusion of the "South Bronx" sample, writing: "After becoming a full-blown superstar whose entire life was different in every way, J.

"[11] Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the song an unfavorable review, calling it "silly" and describing the lyrics as "laughable".

[23] AOL Radio deemed it one of the "100 Worst Songs Ever" in 2010, remarking: "Yup, just your average girl, willing to risk a national TV gig over the size of her 'dressing-room compound.

[26] In a television special titled The 100 Most Annoying Pop Songs...We Hate To Love, BBC ranked "Jenny from the Block" at number one-hundred.

[38] In New Zealand, it debuted at 49 on November 11, 2002; it peaked at number six on December 8 and spent a total of sixteen weeks on the chart.

She is also seen performing the song (clothed in different outfits) amid bright lights on the streets of New York City with Jadakiss and Styles P. Separate scenes depict Lopez on a yacht, sunbathing topless with her friends, and swimming in the ocean with Affleck.

"[45] Justine Ashley Costanza of International Business Times wrote in 2012: "Back when Lopez was engaged to the wholesome actor, she decided it would be best to make a video about how hard their lives were.

Poor J-Lo couldn't lounge on her yacht, be adored in a hot tub, or wear her $1 million engagement ring without someone taking her picture.

[53] Other songs noted to have followed the theme of "Jenny from the Block" were Gwen Stefani's "Orange County Girl" and Fergie's "Glamorous".

[58][59] Entertainment Tonight described the version to have "give[n] Jenny's NY-based tune a West Coast slant".

[62] Rapper Drake, who Lopez was believed to have been romantically involved with in the past, references her and the song in his 2018 single "In My Feelings", stating: "From the block like you Jenny/ I know you special, girl, 'cause I know too many.

[67] In the past decade since the song's release, Lopez has been nicknamed "Jenny from The Block" in the media, a name news reporters and journalists often use.

"[70] In October 2015, a video clip filmed in Afghanistan years ago surfaced online of two US Marines singing "Jenny from the Block" moments before being fired at by the Taliban.

[71] Ben Affleck's appearance in the song's music video became notorious, having been released at the peak of the couple's "frenzied" tabloid coverage.

[74][75] Lopez later described the split as her "first real heartbreak" and attributed it in part to Affleck's discomfort with the media scrutiny.

So it wasn't a string of bad movies starting with Reindeer Games in 2000 and a general lack of on-screen appeal that ruined your career, right Ben?

"[78] Following Lopez's marriage to Marc Anthony, she reportedly attempted to have the music video blocked from television networks such as VH1 and MTV.

[79] In 2024, Lopez released her ninth studio album This Is Me... Now, which features interpolations of "Jenny from the Block" on the song "Hearts & Flowers".