# 99 Problems
**"99 Problems"** is a hip hop song that exists in two well-known versions: an original by the rapper **Ice-T** (Tracy Marrow), released on his album *Home Invasion* in 1993 with guest vocals from Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew, and a far more widely heard remake by **Jay-Z** (Shawn Carter) on *[The Black Album](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-black-album-jay-z-album)* in 2003, produced by [Rick Rubin](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-rubin).[1](https://www.whosampled.com/Ice-T/99-Problems/) • [2](https://phish.net/song/99-problems/history) Jay-Z's version borrows the title and chorus hook from Ice-T's track but replaces the original's boasting about women with verses about critics, a racially motivated police stop, and a courtroom.[3](https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/25/chris-rock-came-up-with-the-idea-behind-99-problems-according-to-rick-rubin/) • [4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ice-T original | Released 1993 on *Home Invasion* (Rhyme $Yndicate); produced by DJ Aladdin, SLJ, and Ice-T; guest vocals by Brother Marquis[1](https://www.whosampled.com/Ice-T/99-Problems/) |
| Origin of the hook | Ice-T says the hook line came from Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew during a studio conversation[5](https://www.xxlmag.com/ice-t-wishes-jay-z-showed-love-using-song-99-problems/) |
| Jay-Z version | Third single from *The Black Album* (2003); produced by Rick Rubin; released as a single on April 13, 2004[4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/) • [6](https://www.allmusic.com/album/99-problems-mw0000468811) |
| Key sample | The drum break comes from Billy Squier's "The Big Beat" (1980); Rubin also added assorted percussion, including a cowbell sampled from Wilson Pickett's "Get Me Back on Time, Engine Number 9"[2](https://phish.net/song/99-problems/history) • [4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/) |
| Chart peak | No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100; 24 of Jay-Z's solo singles charted higher[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/) |
| Awards | Best Rap Solo Performance Grammy, the first of Jay-Z's four in that category; Mark Romanek's video won four MTV VMAs[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/) |
| Later use | Borrowed from or covered at least a recorded 79 times; sampled in 24 songs according to WhoSampled[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/) • [1](https://www.whosampled.com/Ice-T/99-Problems/) |
## The Ice-T original
Ice-T recorded "99 Problems" for *Home Invasion*, released on his Rhyme $Yndicate label in 1993. The song was co-written and performed by Tracy Marrow, with production credited to DJ Aladdin, SLJ, and Ice-T, and guest vocals from Brother Marquis.[1](https://www.whosampled.com/Ice-T/99-Problems/) • [8](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/376/615/597541/)
**The hook's origin** is documented in Ice-T's own account. He and Brother Marquis were talking about Tag Team's hit "Whoomp! There It Is!" and how club DJs would use the phrase, when Marquis improvised the line "Man, I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one!" Ice-T recognized it as a song title, wrote the track, and called Marquis to record a verse on it.[5](https://www.xxlmag.com/ice-t-wishes-jay-z-showed-love-using-song-99-problems/) In Ice-T's version, the hook concerns women, in contrast to Jay-Z's later reworking.[3](https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/25/chris-rock-came-up-with-the-idea-behind-99-problems-according-to-rick-rubin/)
The song contains samples of seven tracks, including "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by [Funkadelic](https://www.edgepedia.org/funkadelic) (1975), "God Only Knows" by Funk, Inc. (1974), "The Breakdown (Part II)" by Rufus Thomas (1971), "Escape-Ism" by [James Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brown), and "Two, Three, Break" by The B-Boys.[1](https://www.whosampled.com/Ice-T/99-Problems/)
## The Jay-Z remake
Jay-Z included "99 Problems" on his eighth studio album *The Black Album*, released November 14, 2003 and promoted at the time as his last album.[4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/) • [7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/) The song was recorded at the Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research in Los Angeles.[4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/)
**The idea** came through an unusual chain. According to producer Rick Rubin, the comedian [Chris Rock](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-rock), a fan of Ice-T, suggested to him that Jay-Z should remake Ice-T's track, flipping its braggadocio premise: instead of listing the women who were not a problem, Jay-Z's song would be about the problems themselves. Rubin told Jay-Z the idea, and he liked it.[3](https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/25/chris-rock-came-up-with-the-idea-behind-99-problems-according-to-rick-rubin/) Ice-T's account agrees on the chain of events and adds that Jay-Z "paid for the publishing" when making the song.[5](https://www.xxlmag.com/ice-t-wishes-jay-z-showed-love-using-song-99-problems/)
**The sound** is built on two of the most sampled songs in hip hop history. Rubin took the massive drum break from "The Big Beat," the 1980 debut single by [Billy Squier](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-squier), and layered assorted studio percussion on top, including a cowbell sampled from [Wilson Pickett](https://www.edgepedia.org/wilson-pickett)'s "Get Me Back on Time, Engine Number 9."[2](https://phish.net/song/99-problems/history) • [4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/) Critics heard the track as thumping old-school rap-rock; *NME* noted it rode the same "Big Beat" rhythm as [Dizzee Rascal](https://www.edgepedia.org/dizzee-rascal)'s "Fix Up Look Sharp" and was made by the architect of that sound.[9](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-7268-310313) The songwriting credits on the recording list, among others, Felix Pappalardi, Leslie Weinstein, William Squier, and Tracy Marrow alongside Rubin and Carter.[10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60XTSx29OnM)
**The verses** divide into three parts: enemies and critics, the police stop, and a courtroom scene. The second verse retells an incident from Jay-Z's past, which he describes in his autobiography as based on a true story: while carrying drugs in his car, he was pulled over by police, and the officers had to let him go because it took too long for a K-9 unit to arrive to search the car.[4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/) • [11](https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-behind-jay-zs-99-problems/) Jay-Z has said the song takes real events and reimagines them, and that the stop turned on racial profiling: he argued he was pulled over for being a young Black man in an expensive car, not for any observed offense.[4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/)
## The Fourth Amendment debate
The song's second verse became a staple of law school teaching and legal commentary. Caleb Mason, an associate professor at Southwestern Law School, published a close reading of the verse in the *Saint Louis University Law Journal* in 2012, using it to review thirty years of Supreme Court Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.[12](https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/vol56/iss2/7) • [13](https://www.scotusblog.com/2012/07/academic-highlight-jay-z-and-the-courts-fourth-amendment-jurisprudence/)
Mason and other commentators concluded that the verse gets the law partly wrong. The lyric "I know my rights, so you gon' need a warrant for that," objecting to a search of the locked trunk and glove box, perpetuates an incorrect perception of how the Fourth Amendment works; under the automobile exception, officers do not need a warrant to search a car, though they do need probable cause.[14](https://thegrio.com/2012/07/10/law-professor-examines-jay-zs-infamous-99-problems-lyrics/) Mason also analyzed the K-9 element: if police prolong a completed traffic stop to wait for a dog, the eventual sniff is the fruit of an illegal detention.[15](https://gwern.net/doc/fiction/humor/2012-mason.pdf) The song's teaching utility is such that instructors use it in civics and government classes to discuss the exclusionary rule (legal rule barring evidence obtained through illegal police searches).[16](https://journals.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.php/civiclit/article/download/19688/19391/27525)
## Copyright litigation
The Ice-T recording drew a sampling lawsuit. Bridgeport Music, a company in the business of owning and exploiting music copyrights, alleged that "99 Problems" sampled the opening three-note chord from "Get Off Your Ass and Jam," written and recorded by [George Clinton](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-clinton-funk-musician), Jr., and the Funkadelics in the mid-1970s.[8](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/376/615/597541/) The claim was one count in a May 2001 complaint alleging nearly 500 counts against approximately 800 defendants, which the district court severed into 476 separate actions. On January 7, 1998, Bridgeport's administrator had notified Universal-PolyGram International Publishing and demanded a 33.33% ownership interest in the composition.[8](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/376/615/597541/) The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Universal-PolyGram on the copyright claims in 2004.[8](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/376/615/597541/)
## Reception and afterlife
Jay-Z's version peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, but the Recording Academy describes it as his defining tune: it gave him the first of his four Best Rap Solo Performance Grammys, and [Mark Romanek](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-romanek)'s black-and-white video, shot with cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay, won four MTV VMAs.[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/) • [17](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/an-appreciation-of-jay-zs-99-problems-on-its-tenth-anniversary) According to Rolling Stone's ranking of the decade, it was the second best song of the first decade of the 2000s.[4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/)
**Cover versions** multiplied quickly. Jay-Z reissued *The Black Album* without beats in late 2004 to invite remixes, and Danger Mouse's *The Grey Album* fused its a cappella vocals with the Beatles' *White Album*, becoming a sensation; Jay-Z gave the mash-up his blessing.[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/) The 2004 [Linkin Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/linkin-park) collaboration EP *Collision Course* included "Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer."[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/) Ice-T's rock band Body Count remixed the Rick Rubin-produced track on their 2014 album *Manslaughter*; Ice-T said the band first started playing it in rehearsal as a joke, and described the remake as "a booby trap to catch people who don't know that it's not Jay-Z's song."[18](https://theboombox.com/ice-t-origins-99-problems-interview/) • [19](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ice-t-takes-aim-at-jay-z-bloggers-and-rap-scene-101889655791.html) Other adaptations include [Jack White](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-white)'s live segue into the song at Louisville's Forecast Festival in 2014, and [Ariana Grande](https://www.edgepedia.org/ariana-grande) and Iggy Azalea's use of the line in their 2014 No. 1 hit "Problem."[20](https://time.com/3018404/jack-white-jay-z-99-problems/) • [4](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/) • [7](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/)
One live performance became a landmark. When [Noel Gallagher](https://www.edgepedia.org/noel-gallagher) objected to hip-hop headlining [Glastonbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/glastonbury) in 2008, Jay-Z answered by walking out playing a sarcasm-laced cover of Oasis's "Wonderwall" before launching into a mash-up of "99 Problems" and AC/DC's "Back in Black"; the set is routinely listed among the festival's greatest performances.[21](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/music-festivals/the-best-glastonbury-performances-ever) The song remains a fixture of his shows, with setlist.fm recording 144 documented performances.[22](https://www.setlist.fm/stats/jay-z-2bd69c72.html)
As for the original author's feelings, Ice-T has said there is no personal beef, only a wish for credit: "Why Jay Z never said, 'This is Ice-T's song,' and showed me some love, I don't know."[5](https://www.xxlmag.com/ice-t-wishes-jay-z-showed-love-using-song-99-problems/)
## References
1. [99 Problems by Ice-T feat. Brother Marquis – Samples, Covers and Remixes, WhoSampled](https://www.whosampled.com/Ice-T/99-Problems/)
2. [99 Problems History, Phish.net](https://phish.net/song/99-problems/history)
3. [Chris Rock came up with the idea behind '99 Problems', according to Rick Rubin, Fact Magazine](https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/25/chris-rock-came-up-with-the-idea-behind-99-problems-according-to-rick-rubin/)
4. [99 Problems, Songlexikon. Encyclopedia of Songs](https://songlexikon.de/songs/99problems/)
5. [Ice-T Wishes Jay Z Showed Him Love For Remaking His Song "99 Problems", XXL](https://www.xxlmag.com/ice-t-wishes-jay-z-showed-love-using-song-99-problems/)
6. [JAŸ-Z: 99 Problems Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/99-problems-mw0000468811)
7. [8 Ways Jay-Z's 'The Black Album' Changed The Hip-Hop Game, Grammy.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/jay-z-the-black-album-changed-rap-game-hip-hop-anniversary/)
8. [Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Rhyme Syndicate Music, 376 F.3d 615 (6th Cir. 2004), Justia](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/376/615/597541/)
9. [Jay-Z: The Black Album review, NME](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-7268-310313)
10. [99 Problems (official audio), JAY-Z, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60XTSx29OnM)
11. [Meaning Behind Jay-Z's "99 Problems", American Songwriter](https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-behind-jay-zs-99-problems/)
12. [Caleb Mason, Jay-Z's 99 Problems, Verse 2, 56 St. Louis U. L.J.](https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/vol56/iss2/7)
13. [Academic highlight: Jay-Z and the Court's Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, SCOTUSblog](https://www.scotusblog.com/2012/07/academic-highlight-jay-z-and-the-courts-fourth-amendment-jurisprudence/)
14. [Law professor examines Jay Z's infamous '99 Problems' lyrics, TheGrio](https://thegrio.com/2012/07/10/law-professor-examines-jay-zs-infamous-99-problems-lyrics/)
15. [Jay-Z's '99 Problems', Verse 2: A Close Reading with Fourth Amendment Guidance (PDF)](https://gwern.net/doc/fiction/humor/2012-mason.pdf)
16. [Civic Literacy journal, Volume 2, Issue 1, IUPUI](https://journals.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.php/civiclit/article/download/19688/19391/27525)
17. [An Appreciation of Jay-Z's '99 Problems' on Its Tenth Anniversary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/an-appreciation-of-jay-zs-99-problems-on-its-tenth-anniversary)
18. [Ice-T Speaks on History of '99 Problems', The Boombox](https://theboombox.com/ice-t-origins-99-problems-interview/)
19. [Ice-T Takes Aim at Jay Z, Bloggers, and the Rap Scene, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ice-t-takes-aim-at-jay-z-bloggers-and-rap-scene-101889655791.html)
20. [This Is What it Sounds Like When Jack White Covers '99 Problems', TIME](https://time.com/3018404/jack-white-jay-z-99-problems/)
21. [The 15 greatest Glastonbury festival performances ever, LouderSound](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/music-festivals/the-best-glastonbury-performances-ever)
22. [JAŸ-Z Tour Statistics, setlist.fm](https://www.setlist.fm/stats/jay-z-2bd69c72.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Hip-hop songs › 2000s hip-hop songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license