Jay-Z “99 Problems” charted

99 Problems Jay-Z

Writer(s): Shawn Carter, Fredrick Rubin, Norman Landsberg, Felix Pappalardi, William Squier, John Ventura, Leslie Weinstein, Tracy Marrow, Alphonso Henderson, Bernard Freeman (see lyrics here) Released: April 27, 2004 First Charted: April 24, 2004 Peak: 30 BB, 37 RR, 26 RB, 12 UK, 24 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.60 UK, 3.80 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 19.10 video, 265.57 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rapper Jay-Z was born in 1969 in New York City. His rags-to-riches story saw him launch a music career in the late ‘80s, found a record label in the ‘90s, become the president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings in the 2000s, and become the world’s richest musician as of 2025 with $2.6 billion. He released his first album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. From then until 2003, he released eight albums, all of which went platinum and six of which topped the Billboard album chart. 2003’s The Black Album sold more than three million copies and gave him two of the five top-10 hits he’d had on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it was that album’s third single, “99 Problems,” which became one of his most iconic songs despite peaking at #30. The song borrows its chorus from a 1993 Ice-T song of the same name. The song finds “Jay-Z spitting some of his hardest, edgiest raps in years.” TM He “goes off on rap critics, racial profiling and violence. (Apparently sexism, or at least the word ‘bitch,’ doesn’t bother him.) The song’s strongest message is conveyed in its second verse, when Jay-Z relays a story about being pulled over by the cops.” TM Professor Caleb Mason wrote an article in 2011 analyzing the song from a legal perspective in regards to laws about search and seizure, search warrants, and racial profiling. WK The song was produced by Rick Rubin, who famously produced such iconic rap albums as Run-D.M.C.’s Raising Hell, the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, and Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Rubin infuses “99 Problems” with “a guitar riff and stripped-down beat that were once Rubin’s trademarks.” WK The song samples Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat,” Mountain’s “Long Red,” and Wilson Pickett’s “Get Me Back on Time.” WK Resources: TM Time magazine (10/24/2011). “All Time 100 Songs” WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/24/2026.