Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” remains one of the most iconic anthems in hip-hop music of the last 20 years. There’s not a time when that song kicks off at any event and people aren’t singing along word-for-word. However, the catchiest part of the song isn’t something that Jay came up with himself. He actually paid homage to Ice-T and 2 Live Crew’s Brother Marquis who delivered a song of the same name 1992 album, Home Invasion.
Over the years, there’s been a debate surrounding the use of the line. While Jay faced accusations in the past of ripping lines off of Biggie, many felt as though he did the same to Ice-T, especially since not everyone knew where the line came from. “Why Jay Z never said, ‘This is Ice-T’s song,’ and showed me some love, I don’t know,” Ice T said in a 2014 interview. "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.”
Jay-Z Patches Things Up With Ice-T
That particular interview resurfaced in November and it appears that it caught the attention of Hov. During a recent interview on Big Boy’s Neighborhood, Ice explained that Jay-Z approached him at the Grammys to clarify that he never meant any disrespect towards him. “I’m at the Grammys and JAY-Z comes to me. He says, ‘Ice, you know I love you, right?’” Ice-T recalled Jay telling him at the award show. “I say, ‘Yeah!’
Apparently, Jay wanted to clear up the rumors on the Internet surrounding Ice-T’s issue surrounding the song. “He says, ‘Well, it’s on the internet that you mad.’ I said, ‘I’m not mad! They’re bringing up all kinds of interviews about it and they asked me the story, and I told them the true story,’” Ice-T continued. “He goes, ‘Yeah man, but it’s no hard feelings,’” he continued, explaining that the two dived into their storied history, dating back to Jay’s relationship with Big Daddy Kane.
Though it was all love, he said that he told Jay-Z that he wished he had given him a shout-out. “But I said, ‘Yo, well, you know, when you did ’99 Problems,’ at the end of the record you could’ve said, ‘Ice!’ You could’ve given me a little dap or something!’ I said, ‘But I’m not mad at it. What had happened was people wanted to know the story,'” Ice-T said. Check the interview above.