Jay-Z's 25 Greatest Rides Moments

There are other rappers who are more well-known car enthusiasts, but none have done more to push the culture ahead rides-wise than Young Hov. From Vol. 2's iconic drop-top Bentley Azure, to the gloriously ostentatious yacht party in "Big Pimpin", to coining the term "clearport," it's indisputable that Jay has driven some of the hottest cars the game has ever seen, and dropped some of the slickest ride references the game has ever heard. This is the guy who once made having E-Z passes sound like a symbol of wealth and exclusivity.

You can push the latest Mercedes-Benz or you can hop your ass out that S-Class and lay back in the Maybach. Let Jay-Z show you how to do this, son. Just don't ask him what the difference between a 4.0 and a 4.6 is. Click through for Jay-Z's Greatest Rides Moments.

Written by Frazier Tharpe (@The_SummerMan)

Year: 2003
Ride: Private Jet with S. Carter stenciled on the side

Before he actually owned his own PJ, Hov introduced the world to the term "clearport" in grand fashion during the "Excuse Me Miss" visual.

Year: 2001
Ride: Mercedes G-Wagen

Jay's on his presidential steez in the "Izzo" video, riding centerpiece in a Roc-a-fella motorcade like royalty, before gliding through on his own parade float later.

Year: 2001
Ride: Various Suzuki, Honda, etc. motorcycles

Remember when rap videos had random ass settings such as this one? There's no real reason for "Change the Game" to take place in a chop shop, but there's Jay, stunting in front of a room full of top tier bikes, while various models manage to look hot in mechanic jump suits, and Bleek and Beans zip through the streets. Is this foreshadowing for Roc Nation Auto?

Year: 2000
Ride Reference: "I got your bitch up in my Rover, man"

Taking your girl is a favorite rapper pastime second only to getting money, but Hov and Bleek are just plain bullies on the latter's (despite Jay having more verses) "Is That Your Chick" and the above quote is only one of many menacing taunts about all the disrespectful things Hov and your honey are up to when you're not around.

Of course a year later, the Jay-Nas beef would elevate these bars from the hypothetical to shockingly truthful, as Jay made explicitly clear in "Super Ugly" that pre-Bey, he was indeed very much about that life. Ice-cold.

Year: 2007
Ride Reference: "In the Bach with my shoes up, I just took back the Phantom/Too many fuckers could fathom what it felt like to have em"

The whips have to match the wealth, and at a certain point it would appear Hov felt that the Rolls Royce Phantom was too easily obtained by those of lower tax brackets. We always wondered why this enjoyable Freeway cut didn't make a bigger splash, but if it had, Phantoms may have seen a hip-hop community-wide shun of 2003 throwback jersey proportions.

Year: Debuted 2010
Ride: Jaguar XJ

Never one to pass up an opportunity to cross-brand, Jay struck a deal with Jaguar to display the upcoming 2011 XJ in his video for "On to the Next One." As one of his more interesting clips, "On to the Next" isn't content to feature simplistic car-porn close-ups, instead Hov tags it with the then ubiquitous Blueprint 3 sigil and works it into the framework of the haunting, gothic visual.

Year: 2002
Ride: C1 Corvette, Aston Martin

Jay and Bey are fugitive lovers on the run from Lance Reddick in the video for their We're Dating announcement, eluding law enforcement in style, starting in a first-model Corvette and later in a plush Aston Martin, all while Beyonce chucks up the Roc and mean mugs on full Ride or Die mode.

Year: 1995
Ride: Speedboat

When Puff was in that tub spillin Mo, Jay was at his video with Ace Cris on a speedboat. Even today, but especially in '95, this is high-level flossing for one's debut video. Go through your research.

Year: 1999
Ride: Huge Yacht

This was a moment in hip-hop decadence. If the Bentley Azure was the flagship vehicle for Vol. 2..., then the yacht in the "Big Pimpin" video serves as the symbol for the following volume, and the progression of Jay-Z's vehicular stunt game. Everything about this video is iconic, from Dame Dash's endless Cristal waterfalls, Jay-Z's bucket hats, down to the extraordinary model selection. And the bulk of it takes place aboard this palatial yacht, which has become a quintessential reference when discussing Jay's videography.

Year: 2011
Ride: Various luxury yachts

It seems like every few months there's a new pic of Hip-Hop's First Couple on yet another vacay, on another luxury boat off the coast of yet another illustrious island, these days with Blue Ivy in tow. Frequent million dollar vacations with the baddest chick in the game will forever be a win.

Year: 2009
Ride: 1960s Mercedes-Benz

A video that later goes on to boast appearances from the likes of Harvey Keitel and LeBron starts off with one of the best music video cameos ever when Jay pulls up in an early model Benz chauffeured by none other than Lyor freaking Cohen. This is one of those simple, stand around and rap videos but is there really a need to do more when one of the most powerful men in hip-hop agrees to play chauffeur for a scene?

Year: 1998
Ride: Bentley Azure

It's a simple image, and yet an instantly classic one. The New York throne was for the taking in '98, and after two great yet then underrated albums, Jay-Z was ready to make his presence loud and clear and the album cover had to make a statement along with the music. Enter go-to album photographer Jonathan Mannion and that now iconic Bentley Azure. With that casual stance, Jay-Z had finally arrived, and so began the never-ending onslaught of next-level flossing.

Year: 1996
Ride Reference: Ferrari 512TR

At first glance, most people would probably tell you that this is a Ferrari Testarossa. That's a good guess, but it's also an incorrect guess. Jay is driving a 512TR, the successor to the Testarossa, which is why you see that signature multi-line scoop on the side of the car. This car cost more than $200,000 and had 428 bhp.

Year: 2013
Ride: Challenger 850 Jet

In case you couldn't glean this from the recent avalanche of cover stories, documentaries, and interviews, Beyonce like, really loves being a new mother. So much so that she celebrated Jay's first year as an eligible Father's Day gift recipient with his very own private jet, to the tune of a cool $40 mil. All things considered, they fly so often that this might actually be a sound fiscal decision, but it's worth noting that the interior of this beast looks like a NYC studio apartment.

Apparently Bey's the uncontested shit when it comes to wifey gift game, but it does beg the question: between the birthday Bugatti and now this, where does she go from here this year? (December 2013, all aboard the SS Jay-Hova cruise liner!)

Year: 2004
Ride: '96 Lexus

Jay-Z knows how to capitalize on a moment. For the ten year anniversary of his magnum opus/debut, Reasonable Doubt, Jay performed the album in its entirety, backwards, at Radio City Music Hall. In a genius moment, he made his grand entrance driving a '96 Lexus onstage, the car that was essentially associated at his Batmobile back in the day. The car was also heavily featured in the music video for "Dead Presidents."

Year: 2010
Ride: Custom Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport

On December 4th, 2010, the then 41 year-old Jay-Z woke up to a new Bugatti, courtesy of his loving and equally filthy rich wife. Of course, the Grand Sport isn't exactly toddler-friendly so we don't see much of it, although the couple did fly it down to Houston with them while they stunted around the city during All-Star weekend earlier this year.

Year: 2008
Ride Reference: Maybach 62 S

When crafting an ode to hip-hop's favorite luxury Mercedes sedan, a call must be placed to the man who introduced it to the game in the first place. Ross' bars and delivery were still lightweight at the time, but that doesn't matter here thanks to a scene-stealing verse from Shawn Carter, waxing poetic on every detail of the glorious 62 S from the piping to the partition roof almost as if he's trying to sell you one himself. In short, the Maybach is bananas. No one else has said it better.

Year: 2006
Rides: Ferrari F430 Spider, Pagani Zonda, Speedboat

It seems like the masses have since come around regarding Jay's polarizing lead single from his universally loathed "comeback" album, but back in 2006, people let their hate for the song sweep this otherwise awesome video under the rug. Much was made of Jay's carefree demeanor in the "Otis" video, but look at how much fun he's having here, riding shotgun while Dale and Danica race with reckless abandon through the beautiful streets of Monaco, then splashing hotties in an impromptu speedboat race. High-speed car chases? Dimes in speed boats? Monaco?? A secret lair only accessible by boat? When did Jay-Z became James Bond?

Year: 1997
Ride Reference: "You pull up in your 4.0 with your bitch. I pull up in my 4.6 with my bitch. Bumping some other shit. You'll probably hop on my dick right there, right in front of your bitch, asking me some stupid shit like 'Yo dog, what's the difference between a 4.0 and a 4.6?' Like 30 to 40 grand cocksucker, beat it. 'Yo them shits even got leathers?'"

Jay-Z has always been one to remind you that he flosses on a higher level, and "Imaginary Player" is a casually rapped mission statement to that effect, but he's never sonned his peers worse than on this taunting track, particularly the end skit, which every self-respecting rap fan knows every single word to. It's not enough for this guy to operate on another level, he can't even be bothered to educate those poor souls hoping to catch up.

Remembering this classic exchange is probably what made Ricky Rozay stop short of asking what the difference is between a 57 and a 62 S while recording "Maybach Music."

Year: 2002
Ride: Maybach 62 S

On his "Maybach Music 2" freestyle Jay-Z raps, "first one to cop, I'm the Maybach muse" and by all accounts, he's not fibbing. His first references to the the luxury Mercedes go back as far as Blueprint 2, around the same time other rappers' floss levels only extended to the six series.

And if that wasn't enough, Hov also makes sure to remind us that he always rode in the "six-deuce" 62 S, because his money's too long to be seen in the lowly 57 that the rest of us would kill for. Reports indicate his original 'Bach was the the two-toned blue-silver model, as if he owned Gerber.

Year: 2004
Ride Reference: The entire second verse discussing getting pulled over, including"'Son do you know why I'm stopping you for?" Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low. Do I look like a mind reader, sir, I don't know."

One of Jay's most famous songs and famous verses, the lines in "99 Problems" directly bring into light the problem of racial profiling, rapping about how the cop was claiming to pull him over for doing one over the speed limit. Rapping about cars is something that happens everyday; bringing up social issues to present for commentary does not.

Year: 2006
Ride: Maybach Exelero Coupe

With Maybach references in rap headed for Molly proportions of ubiquity, Jay had to do something to set himself apart from the pack as the original "Maybach muse." Enter the Batmobile Exelero, the then newly released $8 million coupe, which he takes for a spin around the city for the bulk of the "Lost One" video. Say what you will about Kingdom Come, but the (albeit limited) visual support might feature more stuntworthy car moments than any of his other albums.

Year: 2007
Ride: "Jay-Z Blue" Yukon Denali

Ever wonder why Hov went out of his way to announce his favorite color on Young Jeezy's "Go Crazy"? Ever the consummate businessman, Jigga never misses an opportunity to reference whatever new product he's about to reap millions off of at the time. In 2007, that deal was almost one of his biggest power moves ever: a GMC Yukon Denali offered in a limited edition royal blue paint job called "Jay-Z Blue."

For reasons unknown, the truck never made it past the showroom, but this wasn't the only time Jay tried to put the Roc brand on wheels. He was this close to partnering with Chrysler for a Jay-Z Jeep until restructuring within the company put the deal on ice. Expect him to try again.

Year: 2011
Ride Reference: Chopped-Up Maybach 57

The first video for Watch the Throne is also among the best clips Jay and Ye ever produced, together and solo. Matching the casual opulence detailed on the album, the instant-classic video features the Throne hollowing out a Maybach 57 then rebuilding and customizing it into a $350,000, flame-spitting go kart.

Basically, two of the game's richest rappers destroyed a car most would kill to have, just to do doughnuts in a lot with racially ambiguous models and Aziz Ansari riding shotgun. Why, you ask? Because they could.

Year: 2012
Ride: The New York City subway

We've just taken you through 24 different moments, almost all of which feature some extravagant yacht, rare ride or extremely expensive supercar. All of those lead up to this moment, when Jay-Z, instead of parking inside of the Barclays Center like we know he could, took the NYC subway to his final performance in Brooklyn. He kindly chatted up a 67-year-old named Ellen who didn't even recognize who he was. It doesn't get more incredible than that.