It was well over a decade ago that I first heard 99 Problems by Ice-T. It was in my A Level Art class at school, and one of the guys let me have a listen.It was from Ice’s Home Invasion album, and he was suddenly popular with the metal crew in school because of his Body Count album. That’s what led a lot of us to rap music.
Anyway, fast forward a few years, and 99 Problems hits my stereo again, courtesy of Mr Jay-Z (the similarities in their rap names aren’t lost on me!). Where Ice-T had a real old-school vibe, Jay-Z’s version employs big drums and crunchy, distorted guitar goodness.
Jay-Z’s is also much safer than Ice-T’s. For my money, Ice’s version takes the gold medal for lewdness and sheer brilliance. Whose version do you prefer?
