99 Problems

For the Supernatural episode, see 99 Problems (Supernatural).

"99 Problems"
Single by Jay-Z
from the album The Black Album
Released	April 27, 2004
Format	12" single
Recorded	2003 at The Mansion Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California, USA Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre	East coast hip hop, rap rock
Length	3:54
Label	Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Writer(s)	Jay-Z Norman Landsberg Felix Pappalardi Billy Squier John Ventura Leslie Weinstein
Producer	Rick Rubin
Jay-Z singles chronology
"Dirt off Your Shoulder" (2004) "99 Problems" (2004) "Big Chips" (2004)

"99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z in 2004 from The Black Album. In the song, Jay-Z tells a story about dealing with racial profiling from a police officer who wants to search his car, dealing with rap critics, and dealing with an aggressor. The song reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Description

The track was produced by Rick Rubin, his first hip hop production in many years. Rubin provided Jay-Z with a guitar riff and stripped-down beat that were once his trademarks. In creating the track Rubin used some classic 1980s sample staples such as "The Big Beat" by Billy Squier, "Long Red" by Mountain, and "Get Me Back On Time" by Wilson Pickett. These songs were long coveted by early hip hop producers, in particular the drum beat from Big Beat, used most famously by Run–D.M.C. on "Here We Go" in 1985 and by British rapper Dizzee Rascal a year prior to Jay-Z on his break-through hit "Fix Up, Look Sharp". It also featured on the popular Ultimate Breaks and Beats series.

While the song's meaning is widely debated, the chorus "If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you son/I've got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one" was defined in Jay-Z's book, Decoded, as referring to a police dog. Jay-Z wrote that in 1994 he was pulled over by police while carrying cocaine in a secret compartment in his sunroof. Jay-Z refused to let the police search the car and the police called for the drug sniffing dogs. However, the dogs never showed up and the police had to let Jay-Z go. Moments after he drove away, he wrote that he saw a police car with the dogs drive by.

The title and chorus are taken from Ice-T's "99 Problems" from his 1993 album Home Invasion. The song featured Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew. The original song was more profane and describes a wide range of sexual conquests. Portions of Ice-T's original lyrics were similarly quoted in a song by fellow rapper Trick Daddy on a track also titled "99 Problems" from his 2001 album Thugs Are Us. Jay-Z begins his third verse directly quoting lines from Bun B's opening verse off the track "Touched" from the UGK album Ridin' Dirty.

Reception

On July 6, 2008, more than four years after the song's initial release, "99 Problems" entered at #35 (after reaching #12 on initial release) in the United Kingdom. This was attributed to Jay-Z's appearance at Glastonbury and the O2 Wireless Festival, two popular British summer music festivals.

On January 21, 2009, Jay-Z performed the song as part of his set at the Staff Ball, the last official event of Barack Obama's inauguration. The ball was exclusively for 4,000 staffers who had worked on Obama's campaign. Jay-Z tweaked the lyrics to suit the historic atmosphere, and the crowd sang along: "I Got 99 problems but a Bush ain't one", replacing "bitch" with the name of the former President.

On September 3, 2012 Jay-Z performed the song with the band Pearl Jam at the Made in America festival in Philadelphia.

The song was listed at #14 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s (decade).

The song came in at #2 on Rolling Stone's top 100 songs of the '00s. On the updated list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the song was added and came in at #172.

The song won Best Rap Solo Performance at the 47th Grammy Awards.

In October 2011, NME placed it at number 24 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

In 2011 Southwestern Law School Professor Caleb Mason wrote an article with a line-by-line analysis of the second verse of the song from a legal perspective referencing the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, citing it as a useful tool for teaching law students search and seizure law involving search warrants, Terry stops, racial profiling, the exclusionary rule, and the motor vehicle exception. The article notes the song lyrics are legally incorrect in indicating that a driver can refuse an order to exit the car and that police would need a warrant to search a locked glove compartment or trunk.

At the rally of President Barack Obama in November of 2012 Jay-Z changed the lyrics of the song to "If you having world problems I feel bad for you son / I got 99 Problems but Mitt ain't one", referring to the President's opponent in the election, Mitt Romney.

President Obama quipped, in his humorous monologue at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 27, 2013: "Some things are beyond my control. For example, this whole controversy about Jay-Z going to Cuba - it's unbelievable. I've got 99 problems and now Jay-Z is one."

Music video

The music video premiered in April 2004 and was directed by Mark Romanek. It received praises from critics such as Armond White, and was nominated for four MVPA awards in 2005, of which it won three. It also won the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Cinematography, as well as gaining nominations for Video of the Year and Best Male Video. It was criticized, however, by the Humane Society of the United States for scenes in the video that glorified dog fighting.

The video is shot entirely black-and-white. It consists mainly of scenes filmed in Brooklyn, New York. These include:

• Jay-Z and Rubin in a Lexus GS300 being stopped by the police (lyrical reenactment).
• Jay-Z in the Marcy Houses housing project where he grew up.
• Breakdancers and a group doing a rhythm choreography.
• Jay-Z performing in a small club.
• Jay-Z on the Brooklyn Bridge.
• A woman putting on makeup.
• Inmates of a prison in the Bronx.
• Rick Rubin walking with Vincent Gallo.
• A funeral director making preparations.
• A rabbi praying.
• A dogfight with many spectators, and the owners of the dogs taunting them in preparation of the fight.
• Members of Alpha Phi Alpha performing a complex Stepping routine.
• Jay-Z's lawyer, facilitating bail then reacting to news of his death.
• An African-American motorcycle club performing street stunts.
• Jay-Z being shot with multiple bullets by unseen assailants. This final scene was very controversial as music video networks normally remove any scenes with violent content. On MTV, every airing of the video featured an introduction by John Norris explaining why the network felt it was proper to air the video unedited. The introduction also featured Jay-Z explaining why he felt the scene was important to the video. Jay-Z also made a special introduction for BET. Jay-Z explained that the depiction of a shooting is analogous to the "death" of Jay-Z, and the "rebirth" of Shawn Carter.

Track listings

99 Problems/My 1st Song

A-Side

1. 99 Problems (Clean)
2. 99 Problems (Main)
3. 99 Problems (Instrumental)

B-Side

1. My 1st Song (Clean)
2. My 1st Song (Main)
3. My 1st Song (Instrumental)

99 Problems/Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Pt. 1

1. 99 Problems (Explicit)
2. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Explicit)

99 Problems/Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Pt. 2

1. 99 Problems (Explicit)
2. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Explicit)
3. 99 Problems (Video)
4. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Video)

99 Problems/Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Vinyl

A-Side

1. 99 Problems (Explicit)
2. 99 Problems (Clean)

B-Side

1. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Explicit)
2. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Clean)

Soundtrack appearances

• The song was featured in the opening credits of the 2009 film The Taking of Pelham 123, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta.
• A country-blues reinterpretation by Hugo was featured in Fright Night and No Strings Attached.
• A remix of the song was featured in a commercial for Battlefield 3.
• An instrumental cover was featured in the trailer for the 2012 film This Means War.
• Danger Mouse famously remixed this song with samples from "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles as part of his oft-bootlegged album The Grey Album.
• This is one of the tracks remixed with Linkin Park for the EP Collision Course, being mixed with the Linkin Park songs Points of Authority and One Step Closer.

Critical response

• "99 Problems" was number two on Rolling Stone's 2009 list of the 50 Best Songs of the Decade.
• Jack White has hailed the song, describing it as "the story of America ... in a nutshell, [it's] the story of all the struggles in America, black or white, [and of] class systems".

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Germany (Media Control AG)	67
Ireland (IRMA)	23
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	12
US Billboard Hot 100	30
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	26
US Pop Songs (Billboard)	37
US Rap Songs (Billboard)	10

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	164

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	1,000,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone

External links

• Entry on mvdbase.com
• Page on Mark Romanek's official site. Includes screenshot gallery, treatment, credits and production stills.
• Music video for "99 Problems" on YouTube
• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics