He formed Gnarls Barkley with Cee Lo Green and produced their albums St. Elsewhere and The Odd Couple. He produced the second Gorillaz album, 2005's Demon Days, as well as The Black Keys' acclaimed Attack & Release and Beck's 2008 record, Modern Guilt. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Producer of the Year category. In addition, Burton worked with rapper MF DOOM as DANGERDOOM, and released the albums The Mouse and the Mask and Occult Hymn.
Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse present Dark Night of the Soul is his collaboration with Sparklehorse, David Lynch and a diverse cast of vocalists.
Broken Bells (formed in 2009) is his collaboration with James Mercer of the shins.
99 Problems
Danger Mouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one
[Verse One]
I got the rap patrol on the gat patrol
Foes that wanna make sure my casket's closed
Rap critics that say he's "Money Cash Hoes"
I'm from the hood stupid what type of facts are those
You'd celebrate the minute you was havin doe
I'm like fuck critics you can kiss my whole asshole
If you don't like my lyrics you can press fast forward
Got beef with radio if i don't play they show
They don't play my hits well i don't give a shit SO
Rap mags try and use my black ass
So advertisers can give em more cash for ads...fuckers
I don't know what you take me as
or understand the intellegence that Jay-Z has
I'm from rags to riches niggaz i ain't dumb
I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one
Hit me
[Chorus]
99 Problems but a bitch ain't one
If you havin girl problems i feel bad for you son
I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one
Hit me
[Verse Two]
The year is '94 and in my trunk is raw
In my rear view mirror is the mother fuckin law
I got two choices yall pull over the car or
Bounce on the devil put the pedal to the floor
Now 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
And i heard "Son do you know why i'm stoppin you for?"
Cause i'm young and i'm black and my hats real low
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 a fifty four" Uh huh
"Liscense and regestration and step out of the car"
"Are you carryin a weapon on you i know alot of you are"
I ain't steppin out of shit all my papers legit
"Do you mind if i look round the car a little bit?"
Well my glove compartment is locked so is the trunk and the back
And i know my rights so you gon' need a warrent for that
"Aren't you sharp as a tack are some type of lawyer or something?"
"Or somebody important or somethin?"
Nah i ain't pass the bar but i know a little bit
Enough that you won't illegally search my shit
"Well see how smart you are when the K-9's come"
I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one
Hit me
[Chorus X2]
[Verse Three]
Now once upon a time not too long ago
A nigga like myself had to strong arm a hoe
This is not a hoe in the sense of havin a pussy
But a pussy havin no God Damn sense, try and push me
I tried to inore him and talk to the Lord
Pray for him, cause some fools just love to perform
You know the type loud as a motor bike
But wouldn't bust a grape in a fruit fight
The only thing that's gonna happen is i'mma get to clappin
He and his boys gon be yappin to the captain
And there i go traped in the kit kat again
Back through the system with the riff raff again
Fiends on the floor scratchin again
Paparatzi's with they cameras snappin them
D.A. tred to give the nigga the shaft again
Half-a-mil for bail cause i'm African
All because ths fool was harrasin them
Tryin to play the boy like he's saccarin
But ain't nothin sweet 'bout how i hold my gun
I got 99 problems but this bitch ain't one
Hit me
[Chorus X3]
You're crazy for this one Rick
It's your boy
"99 Problems" is a song by Danger Mouse released in 2004. The song is mainly about Jay-Z's life experiences and his struggles as a black artist trying to make it in the rap industry. The song begins with the chorus, where Jay-Z acknowledges that he has 99 problems, but a "bitch" (referring to his girlfriend or any woman causing him problems) is not one of them.
In verse one, Jay-Z talks about the challenges he faces as a rapper and how he deals with criticism from critics and the radio. He dismisses negative reviews by asking them to "kiss his whole asshole" if they don't like his lyrics. He even points out how rap magazines use his black image to promote advertisements.
In verse two, Jay-Z narrates a story about being pulled over by the police and how he has to deal with them because he is "young and Black." He avoids getting into trouble by knowing his rights and not allowing the police to illegally search his car.
Line by Line Meaning
If your havin girl problems i feel bad for you son
I sympathize with you if you're experiencing issues with women
I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one
I have many problems, but issues with women aren't one of them
I got the rap patrol on the gat patrol
I have both security and weapons in my possession
Foes that wanna make sure my casket's closed
There are people who want to see me dead and buried
Rap critics that say he's "Money Cash Hoes"
Critics are labeling me as someone who is only concerned with money, sex, and drugs
I'm from the hood stupid what type of facts are those
Those facts are untrue; I am from the hood and know better
If you grew up with holes in your zapatos
If you grew up poor and did not have proper footwear
You'd celebrate the minute you was havin doe
You would feel happy and victorious when you finally have money
I'm like fuck critics you can kiss my whole asshole
I do not care for the opinions of critics, and I find them disrespectful
If you don't like my lyrics you can press fast forward
If you do not enjoy my music, you can skip it
Got beef with radio if i don't play they show
I have a problem with the radio if they refuse to play my music
They don't play my hits well i don't give a shit SO
I do not care if they don't play my most popular songs
Rap mags try and use my black ass
Magazines try to use my race to make more money
So advertisers can give em more cash for ads...fuckers
Advertisers use magazines' tactics to make more money, and it irritates me
I don't know what you take me as
I cannot control what people think of me
or understand the intellegence that Jay-Z has
People may not realize the level of intelligence that Jay-Z possesses
I'm from rags to riches niggaz i ain't dumb
I may not have had a privileged upbringing, but I'm not stupid
The year is '94 and in my trunk is raw
It is the year 1994, and I have illegal substances in my car trunk
In my rear view mirror is the mother fuckin law
I can see the police behind me in my car mirror
I got two choices yall pull over the car or
I have two options: pull over or try to flee from the police
Bounce on the devil put the pedal to the floor
I choose to risk my safety by driving fast to try to escape the police
Cause i'm young and i'm black and my hats real low
The police are targeting me because of my race and appearance
Do i look like a mind reader sir, i don't know
I cannot guess why the police have pulled me over
Are you carryin a weapon on you i know alot of you are
The police assume that I am carrying a weapon because of my race
Do you mind if i look round the car a little bit?
May I search your vehicle?
Well my glove compartment is locked so is the trunk and the back
I am aware of my rights and am telling you that I am not allowing a search
And i know my rights so you gon' need a warrent for that
You need a warrant to search my car
Nah i ain't pass the bar but i know a little bit
I have not passed the bar exam, but I know some of the law
Enough that you won't illegally search my shit
I know enough to prevent you from searching my car illegally
I got 99 problems but this bitch ain't one
I have many problems, but a woman is not one of them
Now once upon a time not too long ago
There was a time when I had to use physical force against a woman
A nigga like myself had to strong arm a hoe
I had to use physical force to control a woman's behavior
This is not a hoe in the sense of havin a pussy
I am not referring to a sex worker
But a pussy havin no God Damn sense, try and push me
I am referring to a woman who is acting foolishly and challenging me
The only thing that's gonna happen is i'mma get to clappin
The outcome of this situation will be violence
He and his boys gon be yappin to the captain
The woman and her allies will tell the police about me using violence against her
Fiends on the floor scratchin again
Drug addicts are on the floor scratching themselves
Paparatzi's with they cameras snappin them
Paparazzi are taking pictures of the people on the floor
D.A. tred to give the nigga the shaft again
The district attorney is trying to discriminate against me because of my race
All because ths fool was harrasin them
All of this is happening because someone was harassing me
Tryin to play the boy like he's saccarin
Someone is trying to manipulate me
But ain't nothin sweet 'bout how i hold my gun
I am not someone to be messed with
Contributed by Maria F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@JennyTheNerdBat
It's also funny that both Jay-Z and McCartney liked that album, but EMI still tried to halt its distribution.
@bubcentral23
McCartney is quite an open minded guy. He let Youth from killing joke mix a lot of his tracks into a project called The Fireman which sounds like a kinda trance dance lp.
It's the annoying EMI lawyers and Ringo who won't let others remix the Beatles in any way.
@NathanielAhart
@D. Oliver It was just EMI. Ringo was okay with it too
@blaquestarr007
Greedy #u$ks!!
@TMthe33rd
โ@D. Oliver not Ringo. He's the most chillest of them all
@boldtaa
If they all got on the same page they could have made so much money. Danger Mouse wasnโt known so he didnโt care about making money yet and the record company hadnโt adjusted to the new economy of music.
@Elipsis_
Man, Helter Skelter is one of my favourite songs of the White Album. This sounds AMAZING
@RoboCoprulez
99 Problems & Helter Skelter...what a mashup
@SuperUkuleleGirl
Dangermouse is a certified genius.
@renman16291
Excellent Beatles sampling.