Its music video was released on December 4, 2006, Jay-Z's 37th birthday and notably features the rare concept car Maybach Exelero.
The song features Chrisette Michele and is produced by Dr. Dre and Mark Batson.
Dr. Dre told Scratch magazine in a 2004 interview that he had been studying piano and music theory, like in this song.
The first verse is rumored to be about Jaz-O, his former mentor, but is also speculated as being about former long-time friend and business partner, Damon Dash, co-founder of Roc-a-fella Records.
Jay-Z makes a reference to the film "Casino" with the line: "Shoulda stayed in food and beverage/ Too much flossing/ Too much Sam Rothstein.