Customer Reviews

Kingdom Come [CD/DVD Combo]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like Jay-Z, don't get me wrong. I think his rhymes are great, his ideas are always interesting. But this album is awful.
As an audio engineer, I can hear that there are some interesting samples going on in these tracks, but when it comes down to it, the mix and mastering are what killed this record. The mix is terrible. I have a lot of respect for Dre, but I think this album proves that he needs to stick to beats and that mixing is just simply not his thing.
Listen to the Black Album, then put this one in. The BA sounds really great, at least for a hip hop record, while this one is thin, overcompressed, and not even the bass hits you hard! You would think at least that would be right.
Maybe the next time he retires we'll get a better record...

Jay-Z has returned! The king is back and it feels so good to have him back. Its a welcomed break from the tiring new rappers whom dont even deserve mention in this review. The album is strong, probably not his best, but a strong showing from the king of hiphop. The single "show me what you got" is no representation of the rest of the album, as is the case with most Jay-z albums (think "change clothes" from the black album, "izzo" from the blueprint). There are great songs with great lyrics and emotion like "lost ones" and "do u wanna ride" ft. John legend. In "Lost ones" he address his ex-partner Dame Dash, with relationship with Beyonce and his deceased nephew. The lyrics in the last verse are strong and emotional, enough to almost bring a tear to your eye hearing about his nephew dying in the car Jay bought for him. The dvd is a great bonus and worth the couple extra bucks. It has great concert footage of a show jay did with a full orchestra and some behind the scenes footage of the recording of the video for "show me what you got". This album is a nice and welcomed addition to any Jay-z fans collection, it doesnt dissapoint.

Alright lets catch up. Jay-z has been making solid albums since Reasonable Doubt but his last solid effort was the Blueprint. He put out the mediocre Black Album supposedly retires, comes back from so-called retirement and gets into beef with who of all people...Jim Jones(Im just as confused as you are about this beef. I could have sworn Cam'ron was the one dissing Jay-z on wax). Now you're up to speed. The only thing that stops Kingdom Come from being a great album is Jay-z. He not only sounds tired but but some of his songs are flat out bland. The only standout tracks are OH MY GOD, KINGDOM COME, LOST ONES, DO YOU WANNA RIDE, MINORITY REPORT(I would have rated it more higher if there were more tracks like this on here) and BEACH CHAIR(even though most people think its pop). The rest of the album is weighed down heavily by these tracks. Filler: 30 Something is a guaranteed snoozer(30's the new 20? Yeah and boring is the new fun), Dig A Hole is the worst subliminal diss Ive heard in years(that beat is crazy though)! Ja rule's love tap diss records at 50 were harder than that. Anything is a classic example of wasting a good beat on a chick record and Hollywood featuring Beyatche' is probably the worst commercial track next to 30 Something. Show Me What You Got had nice production(even though the saxophone riff was jacked from Wreckx-n- effect's Rump Shaker) but Hova's rhymes were so so on the track and Trouble(that beat was sick) could have been a standout track if Jigga didnt fumble the last verse /I'll shoot you lil n****/ you a lil n****/(he said this throughout the third verse. Sad aint it?). Bottom Line: Jay-z's comeback album is lukewarm at best. Oh My God, Kingdom Come, Do U Wanna Ride, Minority Report are all good songs its just that Jigga doesnt sound as good as he did on his first 4 albums. The production was lifeless and Jay-z rhymes sound like rush job poetry. Well.....at least his album is better than his girlfriend Bedussy's album B'day!

Great buy. You get 2 for 1 with the CD and DVD. It good to see my man Jay-Z live in concert.

Let me start by saying this album was Jay-z's most lyrical album. American Gangster has out done it now, but at the time of Kingdom Come it was Jay's best lyrical album. The problem most people(and critics) had with this album was the fact that it was something different for Hova. Hov had never done an album like this one. Most had softer beats, with production from Kanye, Dre,Neptunes, Just Blaze, and a few other big name producers. This was the first problem in most peoples eyes. Many people were looking for beats like he used in 99 problems, H to the Izzo, and his other critically acclaimed singles. I believe Jay used softer beats to magnify his poetic lyrical ability, not like we didn't already know he was a great lyricist. Another downfall many people found was there was very minimal talk about guns, violence, and crime. So if you look at what you've got here no guns, violence or crime, over softer instrumentals, mix the enormous vocabulary he uses in there and you come to the conclusion that this is more of an adult CD. It was very sophisticated and deep but I think the reason he did this was because most of his BIG fans have been around since the Reasonable Doubt-Vol. 2 days, meaning most of his big fans are in their 20s-30s(I've noticed high school students usually criticize him). Being that his fan base is mostly adults, he figured this would be a great album for the fans. If you look at some of his lyrical "trickery" you'll realize that his content has changed a lot. "Coke is still my sponsor(haha)/Cola/Hova, still getting it in with soda/diet? No sir, I ain't loose no weight/started from crates/now I'm sittin on a whole case/" Or "I've got demands in my past so I got daughters on the way/If the prophecies correct then my child should have to pay/for the sins of her father/ so I barter my tomorrows against my yesterdays/ in hopes that she'll be okay." Or "No compass comes with this life just eyes/so to map it out you must look inside/sure books can guide you but your heart defines you." Those are a few bars that really caught my ear. I really liked the album as a whole, you can actually listen to the album and be able to take something away from it, but I will agree it's an acquired album. You wont like the album after 1 or 2 spins, after hearing it 5-10 times you'll get a good understanding of what the album is based on. As far as sales go, Jay has sold about 2 million copies to date(1/1/2008), many people claim that the album wasn't any good and that's the reason why it didn't sell. That's not the case at all, the problem is 80% of rap fans bootleg at least 80% of the albums they listen to. At this point for every album bought there are 15 bootlegged. This album will show the growth of Jay-z over the years. I definitely recommend it!

This is an excellent album. Lyrically excellent with a lot of great music. This and the black album are my two favorites.

Jay-Z is the best MC out right now, hands down.

This album is mature jay-z with a differnt perspective a must have add it to the collection

Jay - z is sensational greatest rapper of all time , flows like no tomorrow will recommend it to everyone

the dvd itself is worth the price of the cd.
hella stuff and concert footage on the dvd.
the album aint really full of club bangers, but its the type of album you listen to while you smokin that good stuff and and you just be chillin and all...

holla at you boy
WSU in da hizhouse
cougars fo life