(Jay & Mary J are on the Heart of the City tour as we speak)
Welcome Back, Hov: The Mike Jordan of Recording Just Couldn't Stay Away (November 25, 2006)I’m kind of bored with the Michael Jordan analogies, so I’ll say this - Jay-Z is as close to rap’s very own Sugar Ray Leonard as anyone will ever get. The only difference is that he did not retire five times, but once. Does anyone remember him stating he wanted to retire right after his classic 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt? Or when he said that his 1998 commercial breakthrough, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life was going to his last album? Well, he did finally have the liver to quit with a suitable goodbye album in 2003’s Black Album. But come on, rap without Jay-Z? Even he couldn’t deal with it, to the point that he was referring to Michael Jordan’s comeback to basketball in “Encore” – remember, the now-famous “come back like Jordan, wearing the 4-5” line? No, it wasn’t over – not even after he’s already established his legacy as a pop culture icon, a savvy entrepreneur, a music industry executive and one of the greatest rappers of all time. Oh no, President Carter wanted to come back for more. And he has – with Kingdom Come.
If you want to read the whole review go here: SOURCE: Epinions.com
And so it is that with Kingdom Come Jay-Z has managed to accomplish what so many rap legends, most notably LL Cool J, have failed to do – age gracefully on the mic. With a nice balance of introspection, socio-political consciousness and braggadocio, this is one of Jay-Z’s better efforts, in the second-tier alongside The Black Album. Who knows, once he gets rid of that rust and hits his stride, he just might deliver another album that equals the quality of Reasonable Doubt or The Blueprint. But even for now, it is safe to say that – with the balance of commercial appeal and lyrical substance – Kingdom Come affirms Jay-Z as the king of Hip-Hop. Yep, couldn't leave rap alone; the game needs him. Welcome back, Hov!
