JAY-Z - Kingdome Come

By Döc Holidæ - Phantastiq Cypha - 11/21/2006

Jay-Z once said "I'm far from being God, but I work goddamn hard" and though there will be some who disagree, this album proves them wrong.

Releasing his 9th solo album definitely shows us some staying power. However this album wasn't supposed to be, after announcing The Black Album would be his last in 2004, many were happy to see Jay go out on top of his game. This new album is good, but it can't top The Black Album.

With beats produced by Dr. Dre, Swizz Beats, Just Blaze and Kanye West, you can imagine it would be hard for this not to be a masterpiece but it falls just short. As I started listening to it, I got into it easily but when I got to "Anything" (featuring Usher and produced by the Neptunes) I was disappointed. I didn't like the song at all; it was like falling off your bike the first time you riding down hill. Everything is going fast, it's fun but then BOOM you're tossed off, pissed. "Anything" just stopped that strong vibe the album had going and I couldn't get back into it after that. By the time I was feelin' it again, I was at "Minority Report", which is the second to last song and at that point it's just too late.

From Reasonable Doubt to The Black Album we see an evolution; Kingdom Come fits in between Blueprint and Blueprint 2. It isn't his best work but nowhere near starting from scratch. Is it worth buying? I guess you could go for it or if anything cope it as a X-Mas gift from a friend.

Jay-Z's out of retirement album Kingdom Come gets a Category 3.5 Storm Watch.

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