Now don't get me wrong i really like The Black Album by Jay-Z imo it's his last great album.

But i after all the years can not figure out why people go batshit coo coo for coco puffs crazy over 99 Problems.

Is it cause it has rock elements in it? is it cause Rick Rubin produced it? because it spouted the famous ''99 problems but a bitch ain't one'' line?

People are always putting it on there top 10 best songs of the 00s, Rolling Stone put it on their ''revised'' greatest songs of all time list.

And today they played the song while i was driving to work and they talked afterwards on how it was a ''game changing song'' and went on to speak of how it influenced the world culture we have today

So yeah i like the song... i am just trying to figure out exactly why people think it was a game changer.

controversy99 said:

I don't get it either. The Black Album is a great album. But 99 Problems is not even in the top 5 tracks on it. What More Can I Say, Dirt Off Your Shoulder, and PSA are my favs.

i agree!

Allure was my jam when in middle school! that beat by Pharell is a monster.

Same with What More Can I Say and Dirt Off Your Shoulder.

I get that 99 problems has the metal guitar but... not to throw shade here but Jay-Z is not the first rapper to do that

Real Talk though.... as i get older Jay-Z becomes less and less appealing.

I think his production on ''Blueprint'' ''Reasonable Doubt'' ''The Black Album'' or hell even ''Blueprint 3''

is fantastic! he does surround himself with great producers.

But his lyrical content has always been mixed for me... he talks the same shit on almost every album.

ummm, need I state the obvious. its the ROCK element. didn't rick rubin produce it. I'm not a jigga fan at ALL (no of his stuff is in my catalogue), Rock automatically gets props, we've discussed that hear a gazillion times and if Rick Rubin did indeed produce it, and he's a demigod to virtually EVERYONE, it was DESTINED to be critically acclaimed if not a "hit" too

datdude said:

ummm, need I state the obvious. its the ROCK element. didn't rick rubin produce it. I'm not a jigga fan at ALL (no of his stuff is in my catalogue), Rock automatically gets props, we've discussed that hear a gazillion times and if Rick Rubin did indeed produce it, and he's a demigod to virtually EVERYONE, it was DESTINED to be critically acclaimed if not a "hit" too

But so many other rap songs had rock elements and don't get near as much praise... and some were even produced by Rubin as well

datdude said:

ummm, need I state the obvious. its the ROCK element. didn't rick rubin produce it. I'm not a jigga fan at ALL (no of his stuff is in my catalogue), Rock automatically gets props, we've discussed that hear a gazillion times and if Rick Rubin did indeed produce it, and he's a demigod to virtually EVERYONE, it was DESTINED to be critically acclaimed if not a "hit" too

I agree entirely. The beat is dope. I love the rock element of this song. I'm not a Jay Z fan at all and even I like this song. I love the Rick Rubin production on it.

Gunsnhalen said:

Real Talk though.... as i get older Jay-Z becomes less and less appealing.

I think his production on ''Blueprint'' ''Reasonable Doubt'' ''The Black Album'' or hell even ''Blueprint 3''

is fantastic! he does surround himself with great producers.

But his lyrical content has always been mixed for me... he talks the same shit on almost every album.

Same. American Gangster was the last album that interest me. But Blueprint , The Black album and Reasonable Doubt are my favorites and his best imo. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 gers an honorable mention. I heard he's releasing a new album, well that needs to be his last for good. He's annoying these days.

I don't know but I got sick of 99 Luftballons decades ago...

Because it's the anthem for a playa?

It's the combo of a great phrase that males & females alike sing out loud and feel like a naughty teenager, along with the heavy guitar, which, although the playing itself is as rudimentary as you can get, and boring as hell, when combined with the great rap hook, it's a pumped up aggressive sound that works.

Jay-Z sucks, Ice-T's original rules!

Gunsnhalen said:

Real Talk though.... as i get older Jay-Z becomes less and less appealing.

I think his production on ''Blueprint'' ''Reasonable Doubt'' ''The Black Album'' or hell even ''Blueprint 3''

is fantastic! he does surround himself with great producers.

But his lyrical content has always been mixed for me... he talks the same shit on almost every album.

He always did surround himself with great producers and picked good beats and that's really the only reason he became so popular, because while he has some great albums like you mentioned he isnt the best lyricist and sometimes lack substance... There's only one king of NYC and that's Nas. But I think the anthem feeling of the song made people go crazy over it.

Gunsnhalen said:

Real Talk though.... as i get older Jay-Z becomes less and less appealing.

I think his production on ''Blueprint'' ''Reasonable Doubt'' ''The Black Album'' or hell even ''Blueprint 3''

is fantastic! he does surround himself with great producers.

But his lyrical content has always been mixed for me... he talks the same shit on almost every album.

Sure does. The only thing that changes are his beats. He and his wife are two peas in a pod. They repeatedly sing/rap about the same content but the beats are catchy enough for folks to buy into it that it becomes popular...thus making them popular artists....and megarich.

With that said though, "Reasonable Doubt" really is a hot album. Soundtrack to my high school years. I really didn't even get into Blueprint until a few years after it came out.

nd33 said:

It's the combo of a great phrase that males & females alike sing out loud and feel like a naughty teenager, along with the heavy guitar, which, although the playing itself is as rudimentary as you can get, and boring as hell, when combined with the great rap hook, it's a pumped up aggressive sound that works.

This.

And as is often the case with some of Jigga´s most memorable lines, he stole those lines, too.

Ice-T was the first rapper who came up with that line.

Gunsnhalen said:

Real Talk though.... as i get older Jay-Z becomes less and less appealing.

I think his production on ''Blueprint'' ''Reasonable Doubt'' ''The Black Album'' or hell even ''Blueprint 3''

is fantastic! he does surround himself with great producers.

But his lyrical content has always been mixed for me... he talks the same shit on almost every album.

Reasonable Doubt is my favorite Jay-Z album to this day. The rest sucks. And yes, his raps are extremely repetitive and many of his raps were used by other rappers before (there are websites dedicated to pointing out how much he stole from Biggie).

I like Jigga´s eloquence, his cool and smart demeanor, his style and the fact that he seems to be a down to earth guy deep inside but musically I find him pretty boring even though I still love some of his songs. He lost me real quick around the late 90s but I bought Reasonable Doubt when it first came out and still think it is a good album.

He´s known for not writing down any of his lyrics (well, I don´t know what to think of this, it seems almost impossible considering his body of work) but I think he would greatly benefit from using a pen and paper because those "no paper" rappers these days don´t necessarily have the best lyrics.

The beat and the freaked out video did it for me. Not my favorite song by your Hov-ness, (probably Girls, Girls, Girls cuz it sounds much nicer than Money, Cash, Hoes, which is another fave) but a dope single, yesiree.

99 Tampons and a bitch ate one.

iaminparties said:

99 Tampons and a bitch ate one.

Jay is lying. If Beyoncé cheated on him he would realize that a "bitch" would become his main problem real fast.

because "bitch" actually refers to a dog in the song, it's a catchy hook, and the beat rocks!

Cinny said:

because "bitch" actually refers to a dog in the song, it's a catchy hook, and the beat rocks!

WTH?!? Guess I don't like the Jay Z version enought to not notice that! Ice-T's song is definitely not about a dog...