Oracle Online

It’s got the best beats money can buy, featuring cuts by the Neptunes, Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, among others, but all Jay seems to say is that he’s back.

After his widely-acclaimed 2003 release The Black Album, Jay-Z announced his retirement from rap to focus on his suit-and-tie duties as the new president of Def Jam Records. Though he’s made large strides in running the company, putting out hit albums by artists like Rihanna and Ne-Yo, it turns out that he was lying. In 2005, he performed at some concerts and eventually began brewing up a new album by collecting beats and recording tracks at Sony Studios, located just a few blocks away from his New York City Def Jam office.

Yeah, Kingdom Come definitely did debut at number one on the Billboard charts. It has some great moments and has been flying off the shelves; the beats are undoubtedly brilliant, and the songwriting isn’t bad either. When you’ve got the kind of money and power Jay-Z has, such beats aren’t hard to acquire. But Jay-Z’s largest contribution to the album, the lyrics, are rarely extraordinary and often mediocre.

I’m not sure what it is. Maybe Jay-Z, a very able-tongued lyricist, is simply spreading himself too thin. Maybe its an attempt to mimic the highly danceable, less lyrical Southern hip-hop popularized by artists such as T.I., Lil’ Jon, and The Ying Yang Twins that’s been on top of the charts lately. He might call his new album maturation, but there are times on Kingdom Come where his lyrics are more juvenile than archetypal “uhs” and “yeahs” delivered by P. Diddy on a remix. Rhyming “Christmas” with “wish list” isn’t exactly groundbreaking or interesting. Anyone who has listened to Jay’s other albums know he’s capable of much better.

The title track, "Kingdom Come," was produced by Just Blaze (born Justin Smith). He made the beat by splicing up and stripping down Rick James’ “Superfreak,” a sample used more explicitly by M.C. Hammer in “Can’t Touch This.” Seriously. This beat is so incredibly awesome in that it is familiar but not instantly recognizable. Just Blaze speeds the sample up slightly, reduces the bass line to its most basic elements, and adds his own drums. Jay-Z, who can rap infinitely better than Chamillionaire and Young Jeezy (who, believe me, I like) combined, actually delivers on this song. However, this is the only song where he really shines lyrically.

"Minority Report," the second-to-last track featuring Ne-Yo and produced by Dr. Dre, makes poignant, if not downright touching, statements about the federal government’s handling of Katrina. It’s a good song, one of the best on the album. Ne-Yo’s performance is fantastic, as usual, and Jay’s verses are delivered with a compassionate tone of voice rarely heard by rappers who talk about “mov[ing] snowflakes by the O.Z.”

Raekwon the Chef, Wu Tang Clan’s cinematic lyricist preparing to release the highly anticipated Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2, wasn’t hot on the album either. “I don’t give a fuck about [Jay-Z],” Rae told a New York audience, according to MTV News. He did, however, say that he respected his business practices. And maybe Jay should stick to the board room instead of the studio, unless he wants to actually make something a little less half-assed.