Ice T Discusses Jay Z Using His “99 Problems” Song

    Ice T says a Southern Rap pioneer originated the idea Jay Z used for the concept of his 2003 single “99 Problems.”

    “Brother Marquis from 2 Live Crew, he made the hook,” Ice T says of his own “99 Problems” song, which appeared on the Los Angeles rapper’s 1993 album, Home Invasion, during interview with radio.com. “We were talking about ‘Whoomp! There It Is!’ [by Tag Team] which was a big hit, and he said, ‘Man, all the days when I was in Magic City and the girls would bend over and the DJs would say, “Whoomp! There it is!” It was the phrase that pays!’ And then out of nowhere he said, ‘Man, I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain’t one!’ I said, ‘That’s a song [title]!’ So I made the song and called him to do a verse on it. [Years later], Chris Rock heard the song, and told Rick Rubin that Jay Z should remake it. They paid for the publishing and they made the song.” 

    Jay Z’s “99 Problems” was released a single on his 2003 album, The Black Album.

    “Why Jay Z never said, ‘This is Ice-T’s song,’ and showed me some love, I don’t know,” Ice T says. “I’m friends with Jay. I met him with Big Daddy Kane. I would have handled the situation differently. If I use your music, I want to let people know. You hear my song ‘Shut Up, Be Happy,’ that’s Black Sabbath in the background. I think that being a real life player, there’s nothing you like better than to give props with other people. That’s just what you should do. But you know, that’s how I get down.”

    In the radio.com interview, Ice T also gives props to several rappers who emerged after he first became popular in the mid-1980s.

    “I like Lupe Fiasco, of course Kendrick Lamar,” he says. “I like Young Jeezy, too. When he said, “Oh, God, please don’t let me go to jail tonight,” [on Jadakiss’ “Traffikin'”] I was like, “He’s really dealing with that from a real place.” T.I. There’s a lot of really good lyricists out there, you’ve got people like,Immortal Technique, or Tech N9ne, who have been around forever.”

    RELATED: Ice T Addresses Lack Of Black Artists In Rock n’ Roll

    44 thoughts on “Ice T Discusses Jay Z Using His “99 Problems” Song

    1. I always thought Jay was a bitch for that. Any fan of 90’s rap knew that was bullshit. I don’t know if that motherfuckers had an original idea in his life

    2. Here we have a washed up nobody, who’s wife is a hoe always on camera seekin attention. He’s getting no attention for his wack ass role on TV, he gets no love for his music, and his wife runnin round lettin younger dudes smash.
      He jus cravin attention from somewhere. Jigga paid for publishin, anyone who knew the song knew it was remade.. anyone who didn’t know it was remade doesn’t give a damn who 2live or IceT is.

      1. washed up nobody, smfh. you clearly are in your teens. ice-t is a legend, who gets plenty of love for his music, besides he hasn’t put out a rap record in almost a decade.

      2. I think it is hilarious when a blogger comments on a guy who has had a 25+ year career in entertainment as a successful rapper, movie star and TV star and is banging a chick with one of the best asses in history and calls him a nobody. If Ice-T is a washed up nobody then what the fuck are you? A broke ass less than nobody with a ugly bitch?

      3. lotta dudes get respect for their old music, but dude is a nobody now.
        he don’t get no love. he mad @ people for keepin him wit a constant money stream. Jigga song get way more play/love than what he did.
        besides.. he completely misinformed on the Jeezy line, which is sad for someone who supposed to love hip hop lmao.

      4. But if he made a collabo album with Katy Perry, you’d be all on his dick like you were with your friend Seth last week.

      5. 850 the “dude gets respect” because he basically created a sub-genre of music along with cats like schooly d etc. take jigga’s/ymcmb’s dick outta your mouth for a second and give props to those who paved the way.

      6. also check the movie “the art of rap” then see whats up you mark ass trick ass bitch ass mark

    3. And how TF Ice T gon’ say he fck wit Jeezy… and then quote a jada song that sampled Jeezy line from Soul Survivor.
      This dude a straight clown lmao.

    4. Bitch-made camel always biting the Best Coast! Dude ain’t no legend whatsoever! Only new yorkers put this mediocre clown on a pedestal. Here’s a couple of songs he “copied” from the West, and still ain’t shit compared to original.

      Ice T, 99 problems. Ice T shit is legend
      Dogg Pound, Big Pimpin’. Hands down the WEST shit harder than his
      2Pac, Me and My Girlfriend. You gotta be all over that camels sack to say his version better
      This next one, I think this camel did it first, but Tha Eastsidaz put one out not too long after his(probably recorded around the same period) Parking Lot Pimpin’ Eastsidaz by landslide. West coast did this pimp shit before the east! Camel always riding on some other coast shit!
      Ain’t nobody checking his pocket book either, dude is wack as fuck, period. Ice Cube got more paper than me, and he gets respect! West invented the gangsta look, Reosonable Doubt attached itself to it. Hawaiian Sophie ass mark! Outies

      1. They paid for the publishing, and Hov himself has already said it was originally an Ice T song. So where’s the biting?

    5. i don’t know about that one. when nas made if i ruled the world with lauren hill did he ever tell people kurtis blow made the original? news to me if he did

      1. He sampled the music from “Friends” by Kurtis Blow, he didn’t sampled any lyrics from Kurtis Blow.

    6. I remember when the “Reasonable Doubt” album dropped and peeps weren’t feeling it. All of a sudden it became a classic but that’s bullshit tho. I listened to the album recently after not hearing it since it dropped in 1996 and it still sounds as boring now as it did back then. Jay-Z is a straight up clown. One of the most overrated rappers of all time.

      1. Thank you, finally somebody agrees to this. Cant understand why they call it a classic. The only songs I bump from that album are Brooklyn’s Finest and D’Evils

      2. never been a Jay-Z fan but I did burn Reasonal Doubt one day to see wtf the hype is. I do like some Jay-Z songs, he makes great Commercial song, some of them. But that album is straight trash.
        Especially in 1996, so many classic albums came out that year and the year before that I dont know how they can call that a classic

      3. sorry, troll, you’re wrong. even a jay z hater can’t hate reasonable doubt. if you’re not a troll, you’re lying to yourself.

      4. LMAOOOOOOOOO Did you really just say….Reasonable Doubt was Trash??? LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO

        mannnnnn people will hate on ANYTHING to just be heard! LMAOOOO!!

    7. classic case of “you was using it wrong you made it a hot line i made it a hot song”. ices version was ass, hov and rick rubin brought a dead song to life and made it what it is today

      1. JayZ also stole the concept for Ice-T’s version for the Blueprint, Listen to Ice-T’s 99 Problems and then listen to Jay’s Girls, Girls, Girls it’s the same song haha

    8. Start working at home with Google! It’s by-far the best job I’ve had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this – 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail,,,,,

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      1. its true though. i mean he borrows- but they way he presents it, if you didn’t know, you won’t.

    9. The only reason why Jay-Z is a ‘classic’ beacause he was a president of Def Jam. Btw he’s a pretty average rapper with boring flow, no ideas and only out for the money.

    10. Jay-Z also stole the concept for Ice-T’s version for the Blueprint, Listen to Ice-T’s 99 Problems and then listen to Jay’s Girls, Girls, Girls it’s the same song haha

    11. Start working at home with Google! It’s by-far the best job I’ve had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this – 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail,,,,,,,
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    12. Can’t claim that Jay’s older stuff from the 90s early 00s wasn’t some high level pure hip hop shit. He would have never been able to capitalize off that success. People, (especially young) wanna be down with whats hot, and jay being one of the few legends that were left managed to merge himself the fast ever changing mainstream community which is a system or culture of pop and go!

    13. if you say jay bit ice t,, then

      troy ave bit 50 cent
      eminem bit doug e fresh when he dissed everlast,
      eminem bite busta rhymes when the collabed with bu ya tribe?

      snoop dogg and dpg bit grandmaster flash with ny ny?
      did pun and fat joe bite deep cover???

      etc etc etc

    14. “I like Young Jeezy, too. When he said, “Oh, God, please don’t let me go to jail tonight,” [on Jadakiss’ “Traffikin'”]

      That Jadakiss song was sampling the Young Jeezy song “Soul Survivor” but I would have expected a site with “hip hop” in it’s name to already know that. So minor, but still so much respect for the site lost.

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