It's easy to believe Jay-Z when he says things like, "I don't want much, fuck, I drove every car." And it's not just because he's sitting atop the Forbes richest rappers list—that's only one of the reasons. The other is his music videos. Since his Reasonable Doubt days Jay has consistently brought out the hottest rides on available on the market, and some only available to those with money longer than Weezy's dreads. So we weren't surprised when we learned that his upcoming video for "On To The Next" off Blueprint 3 will feature the all-new 2010 Jaguar XJ (shown above with BP3 livery) before it even hits showrooms. To mark the occasion, we went back and looked through every Jay-Z video to see just how dope his whip game really is. And take it from us, it's pretty damn dope...
VIDEO: "Dead Presidents"
YEAR: 1996
CAR: Lexus GS
• They may not be talked about as much nowadays, but before rappers were copping all German fleets, this Japanese midsized luxury sedan was that shit. It also had great trunk space, for, you know, stuff.
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VIDEO: "Ain't No Nigga" Feat. Foxy Brown
YEAR: 1996
CAR: Ferrari 348
•Hov could of pushed a Testarossa, but the roof didn't come off.
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VIDEO: "Can't Knock the Hustle"
YEAR: 1996
CAR: Bentley Continental
• This was the first hint at Jigga's love affair with the British luxury marquee.
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VIDEO: "Who You Wit"
YEAR: 1997
CAR: Cadillac Eldorado
• Jay must love old gangster flicks. In this visual for "Who You Wit" he throws on some 70s rags and sits back in what appears to be a fifth generation Eldorado Biarritz (the most luxe of the line). Why he didn't go with a sedan is beyond us, but we can't knock his hustle. Or pimpin'.
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VIDEO: "The City is Mine"
YEAR: 1998
CAR: Mercedes-Benz CL600
• It was all good just a decade ago when Jay and Dame were cruising through the city in Mercedes-Benz's grand tourer. Fun Fact: The CL stands for Comfort Leicht in German, or Comfort Light in English.
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VIDEO: "Imaginary Player"
YEAR: 1998
CAR: Rover Range Rover 4.6
• What's the difference between a 4.0 and a 4.6? About 30 to 40 grand, cocksucker, beat it. That's all we gotta say.
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VIDEO: "Money Ain't a Thang"
YEAR: 1998
CAR: Bentley Continental, Range Rover 4.6, Porsche 911 Carrera, Ferrari F355
• Jay caught an L when he tried to do the Jiggy thing with "Sunshine", but Jermaine Dupri gets him to successfully try again in this ode to conspicuous spending. For the record, we don't condone racing sports cars on public roads with models climbing all over you and no seat belt. But maybe we're just hating.
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VIDEO: "Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)"
YEAR: 1998
CAR: Bentley Azure
• Jay uses Bentley's drop-top as one of his biggest hits chauffeurs him onto the pop music charts.
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VIDEO: "Big Pimpin'"
YEAR: 2000
CAR: Mercedes-Benz CL500
• Between the yacht brimming with half naked dimes, the massive street parade and Gloria Velez's dancing, we almost missed this one.
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VIDEO: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"
YEAR: 2001
CAR: Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Mercedes-Benz S-Class
• Hov gets presidential with a motorcade of Mercedes-Benz's finest in the first video for his now classic (and our best album of the aughts) Blueprint.
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VIDEO: "Song Cry"
YEAR: 2002
CAR: Ferrari 360 Spider, 1988 Saab 900 Turbo
• Jay-Z didn't always drives six-figure whips. He too came from humble beginnings as he shows in this video where his Ferrari 360 Spider morphs in the 80s D-boy and prepster whip of choice: the Saab 900.
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VIDEO: "'03 Bonnie & Clyde"
YEAR: 2002
CAR: Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
• If we were running from the cops across the country and had a couple hundred thousand to blow, we'd also go with Aston Martins V12 Vanquish. Beautiful, comfortable, fast (0-60 in 4 sec) and, well, beautiful. Seriously, if we had to choose between the Vanquish and Beyoncé ... we'd choose Beyoncé , but we'd ask her to buy us a Vanquish.
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VIDEO: "Change Clothes"
YEAR: 2003
CAR: Maybach 62
• In an attempt to prove that he's a grown man, Jay tosses out the jerseys and cops some button downs. He also ditches the Bentley's and cops Benz's newly launched ultra luxury nameplate, Maybach. Only thing we don't get is when he brags about the Maybach's roof being back. The Maybach Landaulet, with the sliding roof, wasn't unveiled for another four years. Maybe Jay got tipped off by a friend at Maybach?
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VIDEO: "Show Me What You Got"
YEAR: 2006
CAR: Ferrari F430 Spider, Pagani Zonda
• Mr. Carter brings Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr to Monaco for the first video for Kingdom Come, and what are they driving? Only two of the best supercars on the market at the time. No offense to either driver, but we're not sure Jay should have trusted either of those oval racers on those winding roads. Just sayin'.
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VIDEO: "Lost Ones"
YEAR: 2006
CAR: Maybach Exelero
• Well, we guess Jay does have friends at Maybach. For this video, Jay gets to push the reported $8 million, 700hp, bi-turbo V12 coupe that could have easily been used as the Batmobile.
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VIDEO: "Blue Magic"
YEAR: 2007
CAR: Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, Rolls Royce Corniche II
• Skateboard P and Jay creep through the city in vintage Rolls Royces. We clearly see whose pockets are deeper as Hov is in the classic Silver Wraith and P is just in a Corniche II, which if you couldn't tell by looking, also sold as the Bentley Continental.
RELATED: Complex's Top 100 Music Videos of the 2000s
jodirt December 8th, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Maybach Exelero aka batmobile easily tops all but the lex is legendary here in bk
Vhingrhamesonyo'momma December 8th, 2009 at 01:09 PM
1988 saab turbo, that classic baby wit' the bbs's on that shit!
The Modest Bastard December 8th, 2009 at 01:32 PM
I prefer that new XJ personally... Looks like it hauls ass.
Real Talk but not NY December 8th, 2009 at 01:57 PM
Comin through the hood in a Aston Vanguish the color of dandruff
mike December 8th, 2009 at 03:00 PM
On to the next one video coming soon real as it gets video i hope too forever young already done three vids on the way holla! ..hovito.
Ricky Retardo December 8th, 2009 at 05:32 PM
y'all forgot the "Nissan Pathfinder" from the "I Can't Get With That" Video also I think it was the "Toyota 4 Runner" in the "In My Lifetime" Video
RPM December 8th, 2009 at 10:52 PM
the second video is not a testarossa...its a 348...so if that video did indeed come out in 1996 then that 348 would have been 6 years old by then....real innovative.....dick
Jay Robinson December 8th, 2009 at 11:25 PM
"Shit I'm heavy in the game, I ain't worried bout a thing, last man standin' blam blammin the cannon."
Jay Robinson December 8th, 2009 at 11:29 PM
"I bought a Jeep and tore the muhf**kin doors off" That's my favorite part of "On To The Next One" I hope they get a shot of that 09 Wrangler.
Derek Kreindler December 9th, 2009 at 01:43 AM
That Testarossa looks more like a 348, I don't think they made a Testarossa droptop. Who can forget the Acura Legend from "Roc Boys". That is a true D-boy whip, everyone knows about the Ac' Coupe!