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songs
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- 1
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The Prelude
- 02:46
- 82,837 plays
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- 2
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Oh My God
- 04:17
- 90,573 plays
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- 3
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Kingdom Come
- 04:22
- 111,284 plays
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- 4
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Show Me What You Got
- 03:43
- 130,776 plays
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- 5
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Lost One
- 03:44
- 191,614 plays
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- 6
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Do U Wanna Ride
- 05:29
- 109,186 plays
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- 7
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30 Something
- 04:13
- 147,024 plays
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- 8
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I Made It
- 03:25
- 80,583 plays
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- 9
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Anything
- 04:21
- 101,059 plays
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- 10
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Hollywood
- 04:17
- 117,374 plays
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- 11
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Trouble
- 04:53
- 95,796 plays
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- 12
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Dig A Hole
- 04:11
- 81,504 plays
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- 13
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Minority Report
- 04:33
- 68,371 plays
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- 14
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Beach Chair
- 05:08
- 113,755 plays
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- 15
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Politics as Usual
- 04:17
- 10,020 plays
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- 16
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Can't Knock the Hustle
- 06:34
- 11,751 plays
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- 17
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Can I Live
- 05:00
- 9,983 plays
album review
Jay-Z's retirement from making albums was more like a working holiday. After he announced his retirement, released The Black Album, and threw the Fade to Black party, he collaborated with Linkin Park on Collision Course, teamed with R. Kelly for the abysmal Unfinished Business, and appeared on tracks by Beanie Sigel, Bun B, Memphis Bleek, Kanye West, Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, and Beyoncé. He kept busy behind the scenes as Def Jam's CEO and president, and he also stepped up as a major philanthropist, donating a million dollars to the Katrina cause and actively addressing the global water crisis in Turkey and South Africa. In the midst of these and other well-publicized activities, Jay-Z recorded Kingdom Come, his eighth and weakest studio album. When placed in the context of his prolific discography, the greater part of the album wilts, and it's not a good indicator that Jay-Z continues to lean on a familiar cast of producers rather than actively seek up-and-comers. (The fresh talent here is limited to Syience and Gwyneth Paltrow's Chris Martin; they contribute one track each.) There's only a small handful of highlights. On the title track, Just Blaze's masterful contortion job on Rick James' "Superfreak" backs Jay's nearly top-form, Black Album/Blueprint-worthy boasts: "I been up in the office, you might know him as Clark/Just when you thought the whole world fell apart/I take off the blazer, loosen up the tie/Step inside the booth, Superman is alive." Two of the four Dr. Dre productions feature assistance from Mark Batson (Anthony Hamilton), and they both strike a fine balance between maturity and ferocity -- much more so than the clumsy "30 Something," where Jay proclaims that "30 is the new 20," which would actually make him 27 and a fourth-grader a zygote. (He might as well say, "You wear Huggies, I wear Depends/You drink from a sippy cup/I sip my solids.") Apart from the above-mentioned bright spots and a poignant, somber track about the Katrina disaster ("Minority Report"), the album is a display of complacency and retreads -- a gratuitous, easily resistible victory lap -- that very slightly upgrades the relative worth of The Blueprint². ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
more albums by this artist
See all-
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- American Gangster (Parental Advisory)
- Released 2007
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- The Black Album (Parental Advisory)
- Released 2003
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- The Blueprint 3
- Released 2009
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- Collision Course
- Released 2004
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listener reviews
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H.OV.Y.
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- By redx113
- 6/9/2009 17:22:42
- This was a pretty good album. I would recommend this album.
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Naaaaaa
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- By Scizzle333
- 3/16/2009 19:07:05
- Probably my least favorite Jay-Z album. Although, he really goes in lyrically though. I think the production could've been better though. Standout cuts are Lost One, 30 Something, Beach Chair, and The Prelude. Lyrically, Jay-Z does his thing on this one.
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Overlooked
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- By Nealburt
- 12/15/2008 01:22:31
- I thought this album for me personnaly was an instant classic. Soon as i put it in i fell in love with it. Great album.
- 0 out of 1 people
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top listeners
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- 126 plays
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