Jay-Z's music video for "99 Problems" breaks from traditional hip hop music videos in several ways. It focuses on showing shots of the housing projects and city that Jay-Z grew up in, portraying everyday people in a documentary-style narrative rather than just showing the artist's performance. By filming in black and white, it forces viewers to focus on what is being shown and adds to the documentary-like tone. Unlike most rap videos, it does not show women dancing for the artist but rather dancing at a club. It prominently features black people to represent both Jay-Z's upbringing and the primary audience and creators of hip hop music.