The DL issue 838

LONG LIVE THE KING: JAY-Z

So hyped was The DL to hear Jay-Z's comeback that we accidentally snapped the funky new CD case before sussing out how to open it.

The buzz surrounding a fresh Jay-Z joint now rivals that of Snoop Dogg's follow-up to Doggystyle, which, of course, didn't eventuate.

And, perhaps, like Snoop, Jay-Z is doomed to underwhelm, post-The Black Album. How do you return after What More Can I Say?
Though Kingdom Come lacks the dramatic tension of The Black Album, which (presumably) Jay-Z intended to be his swansong, he remains the most dazzling - and consistent - MC in the commercial sphere. He's delivered more classics than Snoop.

Kingdom Come is revealing - and takes several listens to absorb.
Aside from Show Me What You Got, the obvious banger is the title-track, which samples Rick James' Super Freak, infamously deployed by MC Hammer for U Can't Touch This. It's one of a triptych of Just Blaze cuts.

Jay-Z gets personal on Lost One, which listeners are construing to be (in part) a comment on his complex, and previously guarded, relationship with Beyonce.

Newcomer Chrisette Michele, reminiscent of Erykah Badu, guests with Dr Dre producing.

The key track on Kingdom Come, and clear stand-out, is Minority Report, a cinematic opus, again with Dre. Hova's critics cast him as a bling-bling rapper on the basis of his singles, ignoring album tracks that expose a greater depth. Minority Report surpasses A Ballad For The Fallen Soldier in its potency as Hova considers the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The anti-Bush track starts with the whirling of helicopters - very Apocalypse Now - and newsbites (and later Kanye West's famous critique). Jay-Z shares a devastating admission: he, too, was complacent. It's a reality check. Jay-Z is like Prospero battling his conscience amid the tempest. The track underscores Jigga's theatrical vocal prowess. Other rappers, listen up.

For sheer musicality, West's Do U Wanna Ride, with John Legend's sublime hook, is dope. Jigga wrote the track for a cousin in the penn, but it's so much more than that.

Coldplay's Chris Martin has long professed his admiration for Jay-Z. He previously recorded a cool R&B song for Jamelia, See It In A Boy's Eyes, and lately All Good Things (Come To An End) with Nelly Furtado. Furtado's conveyed a rare wistfulness and, oddly, Martin, provokes similar soul-searching in Jay-Z. Beach Chair is unusually metaphysical as Hova raps, "life is but a dream".

I Made It, written for his Mom, is less successful, only because it sounds like an outtake from The Blueprint. Many fans are uncertain about Hollywood, featuring Beyonce. Rock 'n' roll has a tradition of songs about Hollywood, to the extent that it constitutes a genre, Madonna recently cutting a track with the same tite. Jay-Z's is darker, just not dark enough. In contrast, Hova goes street on Dig A Hole, countering the hatas.

It's a shame that Jay-Z didn't dispense with Pharrell (whose Anything is a bit whateva) and instead recruit DangerMouse for production following The Grey Album - that'd be sweet. As it stands, Kingdom Come is compelling, just not quite seminal.