Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Soundbites: Jay-Z, "Kingdome Come"

Jay-Z “Kingdom Come” ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS

The Mike Jordan of recordin’ is back with his ninth solo studio album, “Kingdom Come.” Returning to rap after a three-year “retirement,” Jay-Z is still witty, smart and sharp, boasting the assured flow and wordplay of a hustler wizened through years of being in the game. Since his last album, 2003’s “The Black Album,” Hov has become the CEO of Def Jam, courted Beyoncé, tried buying a basketball team, gotten into beef with rappers and champagne producers alike, and evidently had time to lose his ear for beats. Jay’s albums usually feature great production from an all-star cast of beatmakers, but on “Kingdom Come,” Jigga really misses the mark. The beats – provided by the likes of Kanye West, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz and Dr. Dre – are bland and cookie-cutter. The Neptunes-produced “Anything” is especially bad, with its faux-bounce and irritating hook, courtesy of Usher. Only “I Made It” by Los Angeles producer DJ Khalil and Just Blaze’s title track really stand out. Hov also sounds like he’s lost the fire from his lyrics. Where he once attacked his rhymes, he is now going through the motions, sleep-walking through verses with rehashed ideas. Still, “Kingdom Come” features a more mature and introspective Hov. He examines Hurricane Katrina, his business, his competition (namely Cam’ron) and even his relationships. On “Lost Ones,” Jay is a scorned lover rhyming about his longtime girlfriend, Beyoncé: “I don’t think it’s meant to Be / For she loves work more than she does me.” Jigga dubs age 30 as the new 20 in the song “30 Something,” examining the contradictions inherent in growing up in hip-hop. Atop a standard Dr. Dre beat punctuated with horns, Hov brags, “I bet a yard, nah, I bet a hundred mill / That by the song’s end I’ll start another trend / I know everything you want to do / I did all that by the age of 21.” By far the album’s most surprising moment is “Beach Chair,” a collaboration with Chris Martin of Coldplay. The synth-heavy beat wouldn’t sound out of place on the last Coldplay album, but it definitely sticks out on this new Jay-Z record. On the whole, “Kingdom Come” sounds rushed. What was meant to be Hov’s triumphant return to the game he held down for six summers is instead a mixed bag of lazy verses and bland beats. He sounds less like a ruler than an old man in a Washington Wizards jersey.