Kingdom Come [Explicit Lyrics]

Jay-Z | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Roc-a-Fella
• ASIN: B000JJSRUM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (181 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,467 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #25 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > East Coast
  • #40 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Gangsta & Hardcore

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. The Prelude

2. Oh My God

3. Kingdom Come

4. Show Me What You Got

5. Lost One featuring Chrisette Michele

6. Do U Wanna Ride featuring John Legend

7. 30 Something

8. I Made It

9. Anything featuring Usher & Pharrell

10. Hollywood featuring Beyonce

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Politics As Usual

2. Can't Knock The Hustle

3. Can I Live

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk

Few retirements are as short-lived as that of New York rap mogul Jay-Z. Barely two years after bowing out in 2004, he's back with Kingdom Come--and if he's set down the mic for a minute, it doesn't show. Backed by a dream team of producers (Just Blaze, Kanye West, Dr Dre, the Neptunes), with special guests including Pharrell, Beyonce, and Coldplay's Chris Martin, it's an A-list cast. Naturally, though, it's the Hova who's the star attraction, slightly older and prone to pontificating on his ten years in the game (see "30-Something"), but certainly no wiser: as he raps on "Trouble," he's still got "hands in the cookie jar." The first few tracks are pure consolidation, gleaming and boastful productions that remind you just how great Jay-Z is on the mic. Further in, though, Kingdom Come branches out in style: "Hollywood," the duet with Beyoncé, is a jaded take on celebrity culture, while "Minority Report" relives the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with the Bush Administration in the metaphorical sights. Finally, the Coldplay-produced "Beach Chair" concludes the album on a spiritual note, Jay-Z announcing "life is but a dream" as Chris Martin trills like an angel atop echoing drums and distorted, music-box guitar. If you thought it could never work, you were clearly underestimating.--Louis Pattison

Product Description

Bonus CD includes exclusive LIVE performances from the Reasonable Doubt 10 Yr. Anniversary Concert (Recorded live at Radio City Music Hall June 25, 2006)

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jay-Z's most complicated work, November 21, 2006

By 

Akash (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Kingdom Come (Audio CD)

Jay-Z had quite a bar to clear with Kingdom Come, a bar he himself set with albums including Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint and Black Album. Some might say that fans expected too much from this set, but it was Jay-Z himself who orchestrated the hype machine by "retiring" and then feeding the streets a verse here and there alluding to his lyrical genius. The question remains, does Jay-Z live up to expectations? I offer an interesting answer for those listening to the album for the first time: Not yet, but he will.

Kingdom Come is an album whose quality cannot be fully understood on the first listen, or the second, or maybe even the first 10. But eventually, it'll seep into your brain. You'll notice that the more you listen, the more the subtle nuance, the little lyrical jabs, the understated but ultimately intricate flow will come into relief. I jumped on the leak (though, I've now purchased the special edition of the album) and have been listening to the album pretty much nonstop (cleansing my palette with Doctor's Advocate and Hell Hath No Fury every now and again) for over a week now. At first I definitely thought it was trash, epitomized by "Hollywood."

But then I really started to listen to the words. I heard his regret for not doing more for his community after Katrina on Minority Report ("Sure I ponyed up a mil', but I didn't give my time/So in reality I didn't give dime or a damn"). On Dig a Hole I heard him rap about the frustrating position he's in when it comes to beef ("It's hard to do when you've got nothing to prove/ Everybody knows you're better, you're in a lose-lose/ Cause even when you win ultimately you lose/ Real brothas like `Hov' why you talkin' to dude?'"). On I Made It, Jay thanks his mother for facilitating his growth in the absence of a father ("Didn't have a man in the house, so you made one/ That's why I act like your husband and I'm only your son"). On Lost Ones (leaked earlier this year) we hear one of the most personal Jay tracks ever recorded, to the point where he alludes to his rocky relationship with Beyonce, something he's normally very guarded about, "Breath mami, it's deserved/ You've been put on this earth to be all you can be, like the reserves/ But me, my time in this army is served/ So I hafta allow she, her time to serve/ The time's now for her, in time she'll mature/ And maybe we can be we again, like we were." I heard the superhero themes on Kingdom Come ("Take off the blazer, loosen up the tie/ Step inside the booth, Superman is alive"). And I even began to appreciate the meaning behind the words (over a disgusting beat) on Hollywood. Not to mention a touching song to his imprisoned cousin on Do You Wanna Ride, and my personal favorite track, Beach Chair, which speaks for itself.

In short, I honestly believe that Kingdom Come is a little above us when we first listen to it. It needs to be heard, and heard again. Is that the way entertaining music is supposed to work? No! But that's the way art works. There's no Big Pimpin' here, there's no I Just Wanna Love You, or Girls, Girls, Girls. This is above the commercial single, which is why I don't know how big a success it will be when it comes to airplay. This is art, this is complicated, try to understand the artist's strokes and you'll find a pretty awesome experience. This is Jay-Z's most complicated work and I think it will ultimately be appreciated years down the road, as a great deal of art is.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful, January 12, 2007

By 

Monee (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kingdom Come (Audio CD)

This is the worse Jay-Z cd by far. He's too in to himself to make music that other people would like!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars - good but he should have ended it with The Black Album, January 26, 2007

By 

E.J. Rupert (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Kingdom Come (Audio CD)

Jay-Z - Kingdom Come (Def Jam, 2006)

When Mo'Nique hosted the BET Awards a few years back, she told Jay-Z, who was in the audience, that if he was retiring to stay retired, otherwise he won't be as good when he comes out of it. Those words are so true, ask Master P, Mase and Too Short. And while Kingdom Come is better than all of those artists' comeback albums, Hova still shows signs of jet lag (and possibly old age).

After the intro, the album hits us with three(!) back-to-back Just Blaze productions: "Oh My God" is great except for the corny Valley Girl chorus, the title track is the best track on the album with its original manipulation of the "Super Freak" sample and the Public Enemy-inspired "Show Me What You Got" is pretty good as well. Dr. Dre and Mark Batson (known for Anthony Hamilton's work) together produce a few tracks here, the best being "Lost One".

I agree that the album's weakest links are the Beyoncé and Usher songs ("Hollywood" and "Anything", respectively) but there are other problems as well. "30 Something" is hot but seeing that Hova is almost 40, I don't get it. After all the hype about the diss track "Dig a Hole" (aimed at Cam'ron), it wasn't as lethal as "The Takeover". And there are various little lyrical instances, too many to name, where it seems like Jay-Z forced himself out of retirement (see the last verse in "Trouble", where he repeatedly uses the "n" word).

Kingdom Come would be a dope album by any other standard but this is supposed to be THE album; if Jay was coming out of retirement, this was supposed to prove that he still got it and as it stands, his previous solo album, The Black Album, was better. If this weren't a comeback album (meaning, if it came right after The Black Album), maybe it wouldn't have been so disappointing. Also, his best display is not even on this album, it's on Nas's "Black Republican" from Hip-Hop is Dead. If you're a Hova fan, pick this up but if not, get Nas's album (sorry for that comparison). -EJR