Ice-T was one of 27 artists who took the stage at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards for the special Hip Hop 50 tribute curated by Questlove. During a recent interview with Big Boy's Neighborhood, the pioneering gangster rapper revealed JAY-Z confronted him over his remake of "99 Problems." Some people might not be aware Hov's 2004 hit was actually a remix of an Ice-T song by the same name, which was released more than a decade prior.
As Ice-T explains, JAY-Z approached him at the ceremony and asked, "You know I love you, right? Well, it’s on the internet that you mad.” Ice-T denied he was upset and told him, "They’re bringing up all kinds of interviews about it [‘99 Problems’]. They asked me the story, and I told them the true story.” Hov replied, "No hard feelings" and they continued reminiscing. Ice continued, "I used to take Jay around, him and Dame Dash, so we’re friends."
He did admit it would've been nice to get some acknowledgement for sparking the idea, adding, "At the end of the record, you could have said 'ICE!'"
Ice-T remade "99 Problems" for the Manslaughter album in 2014, 10 years after Rick Rubin and JAY-Z unveiled their version. At one point during the track, Ice-T said JAY-Z “paid publishing" for the song. In a subsequent interview with Rolling Stone, he denied Hov stole it.
"You gotta remember, I’ve been on Law & Order for 16 years," he explained at the time. "So if a kid is 18, he was two years old when I went on Law & Order. So I don’t think everyone is historians and stuff. JAY-Z went through all the correct procedures. He didn’t steal the record. He paid publishing.”
Revisit Ice-T's original (and extremely explicit) version below and find the interview clip here.
