Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City

While it is ostensibly a love song, some critics and fans have also heard it as a lament on urban poverty and hopelessness, as well as a lament upon the struggle to achieve one's goals in life in the absence of external support. "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" remains a cult favorite, and is considered a classic. ==Chart performance==

In the US, Bland scored a top ten hit on the Hot Soul Singles chart, where it peaked at number 9, as well as peaking at number 91 on the Hot 100. ==Cover versions and samples==

}} It is known through several cover versions and samples: • A well-known cover of the song is by the hard rock band Whitesnake, who included it on their 1978 debut EP, Snakebite, and again as a live recording on Live...in the Heart of the City (1980). The cover was the band's first single, and it became a staple of their live set. • For his 2001 album The Blueprint, rapper Jay-Z recorded the song "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)", a Kanye West-produced track built around a sample of Bobby Bland's chartmaking rendition. Other notable cover versions have been recorded by: • Bobby Bazini - on his sophomore album, Where I Belong (folk/soul, 2014) • The cover version by reggae singer Al Brown even changes most of the lyrics to magnify the emphasis of the lyrics. • Jay Z (on the album The Blueprint, as "Heart of City (Ain't No Love)", 2001) • Mary Coughlan (jazz, 2002) • Joey Tempest (rock/metal, 2003) • Maggie Bell (rock, 2004, live recording) • Vaya Con Dios (rock, 2004) • YTcracker (From the STC Is the Greatest album, track number 16, "Spamcity", 2004) • Joe Budden (Rap, 2007) • Paul Carrack (blue-eyed soul, pop/rock, 2008) • Allman Brothers (blues, 2009 live recording) • Nicky Moore (blues rock, 2009) • GRiZ (sampled on the song "Where's The Love" on the album Mad Liberation, 2012) • Lukas Graham (blue-eyed soul, 2012 as "Daddy, Now That You're Gone (Ain't No Love)") • Dana Fuchs (On album Broken Down, acoustic sessions 2015) • Supersonic Blues Machine (On the album West of Flushing South of Frisco, 2016) • Zeshan B (On album, Vetted, 2017) • Black Pumas (On the album Black Pumas Deluxe Edition Exclusive 2LP+7", released 2020) • DJ Khaled (Sampled on the intro track "THANKFUL", on the album Khaled Khaled, released 2021) • Gov't Mule (on the album Heavy Load Blues, released 2021) • Horace Andy (on album Midnight Scorchers, released 2022) • Kanye West (Drums sampled on the song Jesus Walks, from the album The College Dropout, released 2004) ==Popular culture==

• Jay-Z's version of the song was used in the trailer for the 2007 film American Gangster, in a 2011 Chrysler commercial, as the theme song for the CBS series NYC 22 and a Crown Royal commercial in 2013. • The song is featured in the 2009 video game DJ Hero, in "mashed-up" form. • The song is played over the opening credits of the 2019 Norwegian time-travel fantasy comedy-drama television series, Beforeigners. • The song is featured on the soundtracks to the 2009 film Fighting, the 2011 crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer and is also featured in the 2017 movie ''The Hitman's Bodyguard''. • The song is featured in episode 5 of Sex Education. • The song is also featured in season five of the Netflix series, Last Chance U, which focuses on the lives of Laney College football players and staff within Oakland, California. • In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Aaron Davis of Earth-42 plays a Bobby Bland LP with this song on it. • The original version of the song is featured in the South Korean crime drama, The Frog. ==Charts==