It’s been 14 years since JAY-Z released The Black Album, the Brooklyn rapper’s eighth (and at the time, final) album. Although the project spawned several iconic songs, including “Encore,” “Public Service Announcement,” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” it’s “99 Problems” that has remained one of the rap mogul’s best-recognized tracks. The song became a huge hit; although it only peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it was eventually certified double-Platinum and is notable for its music video, which shows Jay being shot and killed in a metaphorical end to his career.
“99 Problems” is produced by the legendary Rick Rubin, who broke down exactly how the song came together in a series of annotations on Genius. As Rubin explains, he first made the beat after Jay expressed a desire to rap over old-school sounds:
The song’s hook is famously based off a 1993 Ice-T song also titled “99 Problems” featuring Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew. Rubin explains how comedian Chris Rock had a hand in translating this idea to Jay’s song:
He also notes how the first verse came together in just over 20 minutes:
Although Jay is known for freestyling most of his music, Rubin reveals that he wrote the second verse earlier that night and read it off his laptop while recording:
The laptop in question can be seen in studio footage of Jay recording his verse:
The same video also begins with an unreleased track that may be one of the rejected beats Rubin referenced earlier.
The track ends with a shoutout to Rubin, which the producer explains he wasn’t accustomed to:
The song served as a reintroduction of sorts for Rick Rubin into the hip-hop world. Although he produced dozens of tracks for classic ‘80s hip-hop acts like Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy, Rubin spent much of the '90s working on rock music with artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Johnny Cash.
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics and verified annotations for JAY-Z’s “99 Problems” on Genius now.
