The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #282

#282: "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" (2003) - Jay-Z

Jay-Z answers Ben Lee's question while producer Timbaland plays Atari somewhere in the background, giving Hova the most sinuous synth backing he's had since he began. This one's from Jay-Z's The Black Album, the album that he said would be his last. It wasn't. He returned a couple of years later, and he returned fresher. This one, though, we'll call Jay-Z 2.600.