In November 2003, Jay-Z included his song “99 Problems” on his eighth studio album The Black Album. As the LP debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with a whopping 463,000 units sold, “99 Problems” would peak at No. 30 on the Hot 100 in 2004. Currently sitting at 2x certified platinum by the RIAA, the track is widely recognized as one of Hov’s most iconic songs, thanks to its infectious I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one hook.
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At the time, Jay-Z was dating the frontwoman of Destiny’s Child and his now-wife Beyoncé. So, fans interpreted the song to mean that while Jay-Z could be dealing with many issues in his life, his love life is not one of them. However, during a 2010 interview alongside activist and philosopher Cornel West at New York Public Library for FORA.tv, Jay-Z explained that he used the word “bitch” as a double entendre.
Meaning Behind the Song
According to Jay-Z, and evident in the song’s anecdotal second verse, the second meaning behind the word alludes to dogs in a police K-9 unit. As he raps about a traffic stop of his from 1994, where he had drugs in the car that the officer was unaware of, Hov explains that a K-9 unit vehicle he drove past after evading arrest was not going to be a problem of his.
“Rap, at times, is provocative,” the rapper told FORA.tv. “I was being provocative. I thought it was deeply funny that people hear certain words and immediately hear white noise after that. … I kind of did it on purpose. The song is 99 Problems but a bitch ain’t one.”
“The second verse deals with this exchange between people,” Jay-Z continued. “Here you have this guy who’s in a car, he has drugs on him, and he’s all the way in the wrong. And he’s going on the highway, and here you have this cop who’s on the turnpike and he pulls the car over, not because they have drugs, but because the driver is Black, which happened a lot. If you look at this survey, which took place from 1988-96, there was a big investigation about driving while Black.
“He pulls the car over and they have this exchange,” he added. “Both guys are used to getting their way. The driver knows he’s in the wrong, but he knows he hasn’t done anything to be pulled over. The line in the song, I was doing 55 in a 54, there’s no such thing as a 54 [mph speed limit], I was actually doing the speed limit and he pulled me over for no reason. There’s small lines in there that say so much. [The cop] pulls me over and says, ‘Are you carrying a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are.’ That blanket statement tells you what sort of person he is. ‘A lot of you are.’
“This guy knows a bit about the law because he’s used to breaking it. So he’s protected himself, he knows you can’t go in my glove compartment without a search warrant. You can’t go in my trunk. You can’t go anywhere that your hands can’t see or reach. … The officer’s retort was, ‘Are you some type of lawyer or something?’ It’s this conversation between these two people, and [the cop] is waiting for his K-9 unit to come. [If] a K-9 unit comes. we’re all in trouble. K-9 unit comes, they smell the drugs, we get locked up.
“Somehow, the K-9 was on another call, and [the cop] couldn’t hold us but for so long, so we pull off. And as we pull off, about five minutes down the road, we see a car screeching with lights blaring. We look and we see ‘K-9 unit’ coming up the highway, so I have 99 problems, but that bitch ain’t one.”
Photo by Kevin Kane/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
I think it should be mentioned, that “99 Problems” is originally a song written and recorded by Ice-T. (I wonder why most people who know Jay-Z`s song don’t even know this). It doesn`t have the same lyrics and it is not really the same song, but the initial idea for the lyrics and the song overall has clearly been influenced by the Ice-T song. Hell, it has the same name, almost the same basic structure and chorus. I assume Ice-T and Jay-Z must have made an agreement somehow. Otherwise, copyright infringement (a steel) is too obvious. That said, the Jay-Z song is way better in all regards. But nevertheless, the initial idea for why the song hits, is the same. Credits and respect should definitely go out to the Iceberg.