AllHipHop.com reviews "Kingdom Come"

[PLANT]

 

Kingdom Come

Artist: Jay-Z
Title: Kingdom Come
Rating: 3.5/5   
Reviewed by: Alex Thornton


Since releasing the certified classic Reasonable Doubt 10 years ago, Jay-Z has become one of Hip-Hop's most watched figures, so chances are, you already know how you feel about him. To some he's a rap God, to others he’s Satan incarnate, but Shawn Carter is a man who transcends indifference. Giving the symbolic nature of its release, it would be easy to confuse your opinions on Kingdom Come (Roc-a-fella/Def Jam) with your feelings about the man, but unlike Jay himself, Kingdom Come is merely okay.

While a bit rusty from the time off, Jay-Z is still a better lyricist than a huge majority of the rappers you’ll hear this year. He sticks to the conversational, introspective lyrics that have worked so well over the years, but El Presidente’s day-to-day activities aren’t as interesting as they used to be. The material shows a lack of direction from an MC whose age and position put him in uncharted waters. On "30 Something," Jay explains that he's getting older and more mature, but despite all the talk of going forward, too many of Kingdom Come's tracks feel like weaker versions of things we've already heard. "I Made It," for instance, comes off like a throwaway from The Blueprint with its by-the-numbers version of Kanye's old sound and celebratory raps that seem unnecessary by now.

On the production front, Dr. Dre, Kanye West and Swizz Beatz are in attendance but none of them bring their "A" game. A possibly rushed recording schedule shows itself in a lot of "almost great" songs that could've benefited from additional tweaking. Lesser known producers don’t run with the ball either. Scyience wastes the opportunity with his best impression of a three year old Neptunes beat ("Hollywood," with Beyonce). Considering that the actual Neptunes made the cut, ("Anything," featuring Usher), Jay would’ve been better off just sticking with the originals. Surprisingly, the most unique track of all was helmed by a Hip-Hop rookie; "Beach Chair" from Coldplay's Chris Martin. Hov's poignant vocals work brilliantly with the compelling instrumental, painting the album's best portrait of the 2006 model Shawn Carter. Just Blaze stands out as well with his bold use of samples, especially on the title track where he shows that Rick James's "Super Freak" can still be touched even after MC Hammer seemingly buried it years ago.

If nothing else, Kingdom Come, makes it likely that we'll get at least one more Jay-Z album before his true retirement. Unlike The Black Album, Kingdom Come is far from a suitable curtain call to the MC's legacy, and it's unlikely he'll let it end here. Whenever that next album makes it to the shelves, let's just hope it's there because he has something to say instead of rapping to hear himself rap.





The rating is pretty generous if you ask me....At least they rated the Snoop album better and gave it 4/5.  Personally, Id prolly give Jay 2.5/5 and Snoop a 3.5/5.  Heres a link for the Snoop review if anyone wants to check it out.  http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=127181.msg1315987#new

[Sikotic™]

Nice review. Like you said, it was being generous. Personally, I'd give it a 3/5. A couple nice cuts, but the rest of it was lame shit.

[d-nice]

This shit is booooring. Jay sounds half sleep on most of these tracks. A couple of nice joints but other than that this is easily the weakest Jay Z album in the catalogue.

[Bones01]

propz have the reviewed TDA?

[Vegasmac25]

I wouldnt bump this new album from Jayz at all.