Music Banter - View Single Post - Favorite Verses
Thread: Favorite Verses
View Single Post
Old 02-24-2013, 11:24 AM   #246 (permalink)
VEGANGELICA
Facilitator
 
VEGANGELICA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Where people kill 30 million pigs per year
Posts: 2,014
Default

"99 Problems" - Jay-Z

The cleverly constructed lyrics below show the frustration of racial profiling so well!

This rap song impressed me as soon as I heard it because the song makes me imagine clearly how it feels to be seen as guilty until proven innocent. The song gives me just what I like: meaningful lyrics with a compelling storyline and an "I'm not going to take your crap" attitude.

Of course the irony is that the song lyrics may have been based on a true story in which there really *were* drugs in the car! So, the police officer's suspicions were justified. However, civil rights are civil rights and they apply to everyone.

From Wikipedia: "Jay-Z wrote that in 1994 he was pulled over by police while carrying cocaine in a secret compartment in his sunroof. Jay-Z refused to let the police search the car and the police called for the drug sniffing dogs. However, the dogs never showed up and the police had to let Jay-Z go. Moments after he drove away, he wrote that he saw a police car with the dogs drive by."

Apparently, the "bitch" in the song refers to the police dog : "The chorus 'If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you son/I've got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one' was defined in Jay-Z's book, Decoded, as referring to a police dog." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Problems

* * * * *

The year is ninety-four, in my trunk is raw
In my rear view mirror is the mother****in' law
Got two choices y'all, pull over the car or
Bounce on the Devil, put the pedal to the floor

And I ain't tryin' to see no highway chase with Jake
Plus I got a few dollars, I can fight the case
So I pull over to the side of the road
Son do you know why I'm stoppin' you for?

'Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low
Or do I look like a mind reader sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo'?
Well you was doin fifty-five in the fifty-four
(<-- This line especially shows the injustice of the situation. A great line!)

License and registration and step out of the car
Are you carryin' a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are
I ain't steppin' out of ****, all my papers legit
Well do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?

Well my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk in the back
And I know my rights, so you gon' need a warrant for that
(<-- Oooo! Defending his rights! I like that.)
Aren't you sharp as a tack, you should try out
For lawyer or somethin', somebody important or somethin'

Child I ain't passed the bar, but I know a little bit
Enough that you won't illegally search my ****
(<-- Knowledge IS power. This is another great line in the song.)
Well we'll see how smart you are when the canine comes
I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one



Jay z - 99 problems lyrics - YouTube
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neapolitan:
If a chicken was smart enough to be able to speak English and run in a geometric pattern, then I think it should be smart enough to dial 911 (999) before getting the axe, and scream to the operator, "Something must be done! Something must be done!"

Last edited by VEGANGELICA; 02-24-2013 at 11:46 AM.
VEGANGELICA is offline   Reply With Quote