he may have 99 problems but making great
music certainly ain’t one of them
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
jay-z song for this list we’ve chosen
our entries based on a combination of
the artists fan favorites and their most
commercially successful songs we’ve
excluded songs where he was not the lead
artists and/or was merely feature 10 Big
Pimpin
although Big Pimpin received its fair
share of criticism based on accusations
of it being misogynistic it’s Egyptian
influenced production as well as a guest
appearance from Houston’s UGK don’t make
this track one of Jays most distinctive
spinachy jay-z may have also been sued
over the tune thanks to the use of the
sample but the hip-hop number remains
one of his most commercially successful
and hit the top 20 on the Billboard Hot
100 charts
what your hair would mean number nine is
Oh hlv a G’s first-ever top ten single
as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot
100 came not only thanks to a very
recognizable Jackson 5 sample but also
as the lead single to the blueprint
which would be acclaimed by some as his
very best when you aren’t hearing the
catchy chorus J’s pretty much telling
you his life story in the 4-minute
number taking us back to his days when
he dabbled in drug dealing as well as
his life growing up in Brooklyn’s Marcy
projects
number eight I just want to love you
give it to me one of several excellent
jay-z singles that were produced by
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo
otherwise known as the dynamic
production duo The Neptunes this track
was declared the greatest song of the
2000s by Complex magazine charted within
the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 and can
still be heard at clubs and from
subwoofers of people’s cars to this day
blending hip-hop and R&B I just want to
love you is also accompanied by a cameo
filled music video number 7 dirt off
your shoulder
when your song gets referenced by none
other than US President Barack Obama you
know you’ve made something people are
gonna remember and even before Obama
that’s exactly what this track did it
caused many people to pretend as if
they’re actually brushing dirt off their
shoulders the second single from the
black album the Timbaland produced tune
became a top 5 single in the States
and was one of several jay-z songs
matched up with Linkin Park song
for their collaboration album collision
course
yeah number six
take over feedback freeway although it’s
also known for being one of many solid
tracks from the blueprint a takeover is
even better known for being a diss song
against James former rival nas and Mobb
Deep’s a prodigy No so what’s your whole
album soul in my first week in it
jay-z mocks nas for putting out subpar
albums after his classic debut Illmatic
and claims that he used the line from
nas’s the world of yours better as a
sample in his own song dead presidents
too swiftly responded a few months later
with a great disc track of his own ether
number five Empire State of Mind right
next to the narrow but I’ll be sit back
struck one of many great anthems about
the Big Apple this track came to life
after to Brooklyn songwriters who were
missing their hometown pitched the song
projeto of sorts to the city and with
fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys on its
huge sing-along chorus
Empire State of Mind ended up becoming
Jays first ever Hot 100 chart topper as
a lead artist city of sin is the titty
on the wind good girls gone bad the
city’s filled with them it also bagged
him two Grammy Award for renegade it’s
easy to say that this track belongs more
to Eminem than to Jay not only because
Slim Shady did a lot of the production
but also because many think he out
rapped Jay on it and this even led nas
to claim and murdered Jay on his own
crack in ether whatever your thoughts on
the matter
there’s no denying renegade is one sick
number on the track the two rap
heavyweights trade verses about Jays
problems during its childhood and CDs
problems with the music industry
number three hard-knock life
ghetto anthem though it definitely
stands out for its use of a sample from
the musical Annie hard-knock life is
also notable as the track that helps
establish jay-z as a commercial rapper
outside the United States charting
highly in a number of European countries
it landed just shy of the number one
spot in the UK and was nominated for a
Grammy in addition to its memorable East
Coast hip hop flavors the song was also
cemented into pop culture when it was
parodied in Austin Powers in Goldmember
number two dead presidents she’s first
ever promo single is also one of his
very best watch I was even we know in
trying to strike the ball get hoping
that they might get one she actually
came in two different versions one
released as the single and featured in
the tracks music video while the other
with a completely different set of
lyrics was released on the album and is
known as dead presidents two
the dead presidential candidate with the
spring was in the presidential nice
venue
years later both versions are still
considered by critics as one of the
greatest hip-hop songs ever made and
multiple remixes have come out from many
rappers that came after Jay found the
stop bitching ain’t you ready to start
snitchin ain’t you
I’m puttin the weekends hustlin dis
ain’t you not bad at all from a track
from your debut shitty answer boss you
know you wanna be involved with the
underworld endless carry yes sir Mac
Miller’s East Coast body is west coast
before we unveil our top hit here are a
few honorable mentions big small shit
you George
Brooklyn represent y’all hit you bald
you crazy think a little bit of Rob to
play Liam from Aussie embossing JB my
mind is infested with Z cross the circle
like a Lexus driven wrong and should I
hurt you
yeah I don’t know my bitches I gotta buy
bigger plates and more bags why you all
eggy respect the game that should be it
what you eat don’t make me shit
and I said fine wine to spit this one
if you having girl problems that feel
bad for you son got number 199 problems
this song was the first hip-hop track
Rick Rubin had produced in some time and
boy did he ever make the most of it the
hard rock beat simply blares from your
speakers and jay-z’s got verses and a
catchy hook to Melling the story of Jays
run-in with the cops in New Jersey 99
problems is considered one of the
greatest tracks of the 2000s and it’s
black and white music video received
tons of acclaim upon its release
a hot 100 top 40 track it also won jay-z
a Grammy for Best Rap solo performance
do you agree with our list which jay-z
track is your all-time favorite
entertaining top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
music certainly ain’t one of them
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
jay-z song for this list we’ve chosen
our entries based on a combination of
the artists fan favorites and their most
commercially successful songs we’ve
excluded songs where he was not the lead
artists and/or was merely feature 10 Big
Pimpin
although Big Pimpin received its fair
share of criticism based on accusations
of it being misogynistic it’s Egyptian
influenced production as well as a guest
appearance from Houston’s UGK don’t make
this track one of Jays most distinctive
spinachy jay-z may have also been sued
over the tune thanks to the use of the
sample but the hip-hop number remains
one of his most commercially successful
and hit the top 20 on the Billboard Hot
100 charts
what your hair would mean number nine is
Oh hlv a G’s first-ever top ten single
as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot
100 came not only thanks to a very
recognizable Jackson 5 sample but also
as the lead single to the blueprint
which would be acclaimed by some as his
very best when you aren’t hearing the
catchy chorus J’s pretty much telling
you his life story in the 4-minute
number taking us back to his days when
he dabbled in drug dealing as well as
his life growing up in Brooklyn’s Marcy
projects
number eight I just want to love you
give it to me one of several excellent
jay-z singles that were produced by
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo
otherwise known as the dynamic
production duo The Neptunes this track
was declared the greatest song of the
2000s by Complex magazine charted within
the Billboard Hot 100 top 20 and can
still be heard at clubs and from
subwoofers of people’s cars to this day
blending hip-hop and R&B I just want to
love you is also accompanied by a cameo
filled music video number 7 dirt off
your shoulder
when your song gets referenced by none
other than US President Barack Obama you
know you’ve made something people are
gonna remember and even before Obama
that’s exactly what this track did it
caused many people to pretend as if
they’re actually brushing dirt off their
shoulders the second single from the
black album the Timbaland produced tune
became a top 5 single in the States
and was one of several jay-z songs
matched up with Linkin Park song
for their collaboration album collision
course
yeah number six
take over feedback freeway although it’s
also known for being one of many solid
tracks from the blueprint a takeover is
even better known for being a diss song
against James former rival nas and Mobb
Deep’s a prodigy No so what’s your whole
album soul in my first week in it
jay-z mocks nas for putting out subpar
albums after his classic debut Illmatic
and claims that he used the line from
nas’s the world of yours better as a
sample in his own song dead presidents
too swiftly responded a few months later
with a great disc track of his own ether
number five Empire State of Mind right
next to the narrow but I’ll be sit back
struck one of many great anthems about
the Big Apple this track came to life
after to Brooklyn songwriters who were
missing their hometown pitched the song
projeto of sorts to the city and with
fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys on its
huge sing-along chorus
Empire State of Mind ended up becoming
Jays first ever Hot 100 chart topper as
a lead artist city of sin is the titty
on the wind good girls gone bad the
city’s filled with them it also bagged
him two Grammy Award for renegade it’s
easy to say that this track belongs more
to Eminem than to Jay not only because
Slim Shady did a lot of the production
but also because many think he out
rapped Jay on it and this even led nas
to claim and murdered Jay on his own
crack in ether whatever your thoughts on
the matter
there’s no denying renegade is one sick
number on the track the two rap
heavyweights trade verses about Jays
problems during its childhood and CDs
problems with the music industry
number three hard-knock life
ghetto anthem though it definitely
stands out for its use of a sample from
the musical Annie hard-knock life is
also notable as the track that helps
establish jay-z as a commercial rapper
outside the United States charting
highly in a number of European countries
it landed just shy of the number one
spot in the UK and was nominated for a
Grammy in addition to its memorable East
Coast hip hop flavors the song was also
cemented into pop culture when it was
parodied in Austin Powers in Goldmember
number two dead presidents she’s first
ever promo single is also one of his
very best watch I was even we know in
trying to strike the ball get hoping
that they might get one she actually
came in two different versions one
released as the single and featured in
the tracks music video while the other
with a completely different set of
lyrics was released on the album and is
known as dead presidents two
the dead presidential candidate with the
spring was in the presidential nice
venue
years later both versions are still
considered by critics as one of the
greatest hip-hop songs ever made and
multiple remixes have come out from many
rappers that came after Jay found the
stop bitching ain’t you ready to start
snitchin ain’t you
I’m puttin the weekends hustlin dis
ain’t you not bad at all from a track
from your debut shitty answer boss you
know you wanna be involved with the
underworld endless carry yes sir Mac
Miller’s East Coast body is west coast
before we unveil our top hit here are a
few honorable mentions big small shit
you George
Brooklyn represent y’all hit you bald
you crazy think a little bit of Rob to
play Liam from Aussie embossing JB my
mind is infested with Z cross the circle
like a Lexus driven wrong and should I
hurt you
yeah I don’t know my bitches I gotta buy
bigger plates and more bags why you all
eggy respect the game that should be it
what you eat don’t make me shit
and I said fine wine to spit this one
if you having girl problems that feel
bad for you son got number 199 problems
this song was the first hip-hop track
Rick Rubin had produced in some time and
boy did he ever make the most of it the
hard rock beat simply blares from your
speakers and jay-z’s got verses and a
catchy hook to Melling the story of Jays
run-in with the cops in New Jersey 99
problems is considered one of the
greatest tracks of the 2000s and it’s
black and white music video received
tons of acclaim upon its release
a hot 100 top 40 track it also won jay-z
a Grammy for Best Rap solo performance
do you agree with our list which jay-z
track is your all-time favorite
entertaining top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
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