We all know who Jadakiss is. We know his story, his lyrical skill and we can recognize his signature laugh as it blares through our speakers. We’ve heard the tales of his tenure with Bad Boy, his constant feuding with everyone from 50 Cent to Bill O’Reilly but what remains a mystery, is the fact that he can’t drop a solid album.
Unless you have selective hearing, you can’t deny that Jadakiss has a unique voice that is as sharp as a machete and as crisp as a starch filled shirt. His flow can even be charismatic and intriguing but it still fails to add a classic to his list of accomplishments. You could hear the effort Jadakiss brought forth on Kiss Tha Game Goodbye and Kiss Of Death, but they both still fell short and he seemed to head down the same path with his latest project, The Last Kiss.
Instantaneously, what makes The Last Kiss somewhat disheartening is that Def Jam pulled out all the stops to make the album bigger and better; but it took away from the project more than it enhanced it. There are so many guest appearances from Nas to Pharell amongst others that make it a blatant free for all of the mainstream elite at the expense of Jadakiss. Almost every song on the album has someone else co-signing alongside an emcee that can stand alone if given the right platform.
Although “What If” featuring Nas sounds like a continuation to his 2004 hit, ‘Why,” it’s one of the most impressive on the album. Lyrically Jadakiss poses questions that generate an abundance of mental catalysts that force you to re-examine your opinions. Nas compliments the beat that adds a level of suspense with simplistic sounds reminiscent of decades gone by.
“Come And Get Me” featuring S.I. and Sleek Louch comes in like the old gully street anthems that Jada works so well over. The chorus softens up the belligerent pizzazz while Jadakiss goes on a lyrical rampage ripping through bar after bar.
As a close friend of Biggie, Jada lets his guard down and delivers heartfelt lyrics on “Letter To B.I.G.” featuring Faith Evans that displays a vulnerability that we rarely see. “One More Step” featuring Styles P reminds us of the chemistry these two have while in the booth. The beat works well enough to add value to the track that may leave you wanting the D-Block album a lot sooner than scheduled.
For the majority of the album, Jadakiss struggles to bring forth any other songs that do him or his many guests any justice. “Stress Ya” featuring Pharell sounds infantile from two seasoned artists who add very little to an already vacant track. Young Jeezy offers his presence on “Something Else” that is three minutes of cocky verses that make you question where Jeezy’s conscious lives, while “Grind Hard” with Mary J. Blige chronicles the past ten years of Jada’s career. He does a decent enough job of sharing his story but the beat is to average too stick out.
It seems as though Jadakiss is somewhat struggling to find his signature sound. He has such a unique voice that if placed in the hands of the right producer could almost be lethal on the mic. But this album proves the beats he rhymes over don’t have the formation and structure needed to compliment him. Lyrically, he comes off a bit rusty but doesn’t completely fail. He has some witty, alluring moments that keep him on Hip Hop’s radar of promising emcees. But if he can ease up on his well known laugh that is so consistent it becomes annoying and find a producer than can build storyboards around his lyrically offerings, we just might get that classic we all know he has the goods to create.
65/100
Standout Tracks:
“What If” featuring Nas
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“Cartel Gathering” featuring Ghostface Killah and Raekwon
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“Can’t Stop Me” featuring Ayanna Irish
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
very true. great review. i thought the only two collabos that enhanced the record were what if ft nas and the song with ne-yo i can’t remember the name of it now but that records was hot.
Jadakiss is like a talented sports player (i.e., Lamar Odom) who teases you with his talent, but never comes through consistently. I’m still a fan though!
NIce review on Jada i wonder who the right producer for him would be?
yall might thnk im crazy but i thnk it might be kanye cuz hes so versatile
Thanks! I am glad you all liked this review. It was a hard one to write because I’ve always liked Jada! But I think Kanye might be a good choice because he can really play with Jada’s voice. I would love to see what Doom would do with Jada also though or Madlib. He needs to play around with different producers and sounds to find what works.
Alchemist, Just Blaze, Ye, Swizz (We are the Streets time frame) would bring the best out of Jada.
He needs G-Unit producers (even though it goes against the point)
Exile
Don Cannon
9th Wonder
Havoc
Imagine…
Obviously 9th isn’t a G-unit producer. But him as well. Could say Jake One instead for G-Unit but not sure if that could be pulled off…
Yo Kev, we need to remix a Jadakiss album like Trav Williams flipped Illmatic….
Kidding, right?
I’d give this album a solid 3 and a half mics……I’ll go as low as taking off the half and making it 3. The standouts are “One More Step” w SP (Classic Jada and P), “Things That I’ve Been Through” (A Real Talk Session That Clears The Air), and “What If” (What If Peyton was fighting Dogs Instead of Mike Vick???). The two neptunes tracks (“Stress Ya” and “Rockin With The Best”) are dope for what they are….CLUB TRACKS!! If it was all hood ish than everyone would complain about that. We as listeners have to stop over analyzing things sometimes. An album should be an offering of a variety of songs, that may or may not align with a particular theme. This album has the real tracks, the d boy tracks, tracks for the ladies, tracks for the club, ect. Overall a solid offering that stands up with the others. Lastly if i was an A&R id be trying to put Jada w Ye, Swizz, Alchemist, Premiere, and for kicks I’d go with 9th Wonder.
yeah always been a fan of Jada, especially coz he goes so hard in guest spots
but ur right…this album is only ok…
what if is a sick track, and grind hard has an awesome hook…only to be let down by the beat during the 16’s
oh well, still a fan – but def needs some good producers behind him.
…that or only release EP’s from now on
this albums so wack
he needs to quit trying to sell records and just make good shit. if him and method man could do that, they’d be on top, instead of over-celebrating 100k first week sales. everything they do smells of pandering to radio