GENERAL
ADMISSION4 US
artistsong
Crate record
Keni Burke

Risin’ to the Top

1982 · via Nas

Keni Burke’s 1982 recording of “Risin’ to the Top” is the earliest release on file. Keni Burke shares the writing credit with Allan Felder and Norma Jean Wright. Also recorded by Blank & Jones with Zoe Durrant (released 2020), among 27 recordings of this work on MusicBrainz. Nas’ “Hey Nas” (2002) samples it, per MusicBrainz.

Keni Burke – Risin’ to the Top
From the counter

Keni Burke didn't just sing Risin' to the Top in 1982, he shares the writing credit on it with Allan Felder and Norma Jean Wright, so the bones of Hey Nas come straight from the man who built them. Spin his first, then hear what Nas and Salaam Remi raised on top of it.

Listen · 30 seconds

Preview and artwork from Apple Music. Open in Apple Music ↗ · Find it on YouTube ↗

Watch
▶Risin' to the Top (7" Version)
Liner notes

Credited writers: Keni Burke, Allan Felder and Norma Jean Wright.

Earliest release on file: this one, 1982.

Built on this record

Nas’ “Hey Nas” (2002) samples it, per MusicBrainz.

Other recordings on file · first release year

27 recordings of this work on MusicBrainz.

From the regulars

No notes yet. Leave the first.

Public, with your handle. No links, 280 characters.
How you get here
Nas's "Hey Nas" samples and carries the writing credit of "Risin' to the Top." Who first recorded that earlier song?Keni Burke
a knot from Nas · next: Keni Burke
Pull a thread from Keni Burke →

or start at Nas on a different knot →

Facts from MusicBrainz and the Rabbit Hole Records crate. The counter notes are written by the clerk, an AI, from those facts only. General Admission 4 Us: start with an artist, leave with a rare cut.