Obama's '99 Problems' Joke At WHCD Jabs Jay-Z

Obama's '99 Problems' Include Jay-Z

After a serious couple of weeks, President Obama took the chance to lighten the mood at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Dinner. The 44th President cracked jokes about everything from NBC's struggle to find success to Taylor Swift's breakup songs. He also took a moment to poke fun at Jay-Z, a rapper that the president has maintained close ties to throughout his campaigning and fundraising.

"Some things are beyond my control. For example, this whole controversy about Jay-Z going to Cuba - it's unbelievable. I've got 99 problems and now Jay-Z is one," Obama said, borrowing a phrase from Jay-Z's hit 2004 song.

Jay-Z's highly publicized trip to Cuba with his wife, Beyonce, caused quite a stir as the U.S. maintains an embargo on citizens traveling to the country for tourism. Jay-Z heated things up further when he released "Open Letter," a new track that insinuated the rapper had spoken to Obama about the trip, with lyrics such as, "They wanna give me jail time and a fine -- Fine, let me commit a real crime... Obama said, 'Chill you're going to get me impeached' / You don't need this sh-t anyway, chill with me on the beach."

After the release of "Open Letter," President Obama commented on the trip, saying, "I wasn't familiar that they were taking the trip. You know, this is not something the White House was involved with. We've got better things to do."

This isn't the first time President Obama has used the lyrics from Jay-Z's hit song. At a reelection rally for Obama in Ohio last November, Jay-Z performed a remix to "99 Problems," spitting, "If you're havin' world problems, I feel bad for you son / I got 99 problems, but Mitt ain't one."

White House Correspondents' Dinner 2013

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