For MTV, “99 Problems” Has But One

Last night, I finally saw the video for Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.” This is supposedly Jay-Z’s last solo video and the last from The Black Album. I watched videos on MTV for a while, before I saw the video after 3:00 am. It ran with a MTV News disclaimer comparing it to other videos that MTV felt were artistic but only deserved limited showings late at night because they didn’t abide by MTV’s broadcast standards. There is exactly one reason why “99 Problems” is in the company of videos such as “Smack My Bitch Up” by Prodigy and “What It Feels Like For A Girl” by Madonna. At the end of the “99 Problems” video, Jay-Z is shown getting shot up. There’s no blood, it’s done in slow motion (with cuts to other stuff as well), and there are no sound effects for the gunshots. Compared to “Smack My Bitch Up,” this video is tame. I have yet to see the video on BET, however.

The video itself is actually very good. It’s directed by Mark Romanek, a guy who has directed a lot of unusual, creepy, and controversial videos for primarily rock artists. His best known videos would probably be the downright strange video for Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” and the most expensive music video ever made, Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream.” He also directed One Hour Photo with Robin Williams. “99 Problems” is not strange or creepy or very expensive-looking. It’s done in black and white and basically just shows Jay-Z (and the song’s producer, Rick Rubin) in Brooklyn, combined with various scenes of people. It manages to be interesting to watch even as nothing really happens. The camera seems to be constantly moving and there are cuts every few seconds, it seems. It’s a collage of images that culminate in the shooting scene towards the end (the shots even go with the beat a couple of times). It’s a nice-looking, gritty, low-budget video that is the antithesis of every other glossy, expensive-looking Jay-Z video.