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Those who disbelieved and snickered at the "retirement" status of Jigga were partially right. He never really went away... he just sort of faded away into a musically induced mild sedation.

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Don't get me wrong, Kingdom Come is somewhat entertaining, but for all the promotional hype surrounding this set, you'd think it was the on a par with, say, the latest from AZ. For all the talk of resurrecting New York, you'd think Jay-Z would come come out, guns blazing. But no there's none of that. Just the comfortable discomfort of a rapper-turned-mogul who just isn't hungry enough for real emceeship.

Who can blame him? With trappings like Beyonce (gorgeously horrid on "Hollywood"), record label exec status, b-ball team ownership, public announcements for water shortages... perhaps Jay-Z musing on becoming irrelevant in rap are well-founded. He's obviously transcended into the next Russell Simmons and there's no chance he can ever touch the immortal rap legacies of fallen comrades Biggie and Pac.

So we celebrate the novelty of a rapper over the age of 35 who's not only still alive, but internationally respected, and overlook the recording's shortcomings, just glad to hear him again.

Too bad the production kills what remaining hope this kingdom could have had. Along with the ominously missing Timbaland beats (hey, didn't he say Jig was the only rapper he'd work with this year??), and crud from Swizz Beats ("Dig a Hole"), some of the strongest tracks on this album are the ones where the guests "takeover." "Do U Wanna Ride" featuring John Legend sounds like it's actually just featuring occasional outbursts from Jay-Z, while "Beach Chair" featuring Coldplay frontman Chris Martin seems to embody its theme of art and life fading away, unless you're Chris Martin. All in all, while the consensus is Kingdom Come is not Hova's best set, unfortunately it's not his second or third best either.

Download:  “Dynomite (Going Postal)” “Tell A Story” “Stick” "Devil's Pie"

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