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Before I start this review, it bears mentioning that Jay-Z is my favorite rapper and to me, personally, it can be argued that he is the greatest of all time, but on the other hand, I feel like this album has been the most hated on of the year, so I will attempt to set aside any personal biases and objectively review the album......so, without further ado.....


1. The Prelude--a very Blueprintesque beat, if thats a real word, Jay spits some ill lyrics, nice jumpoff for the album 4/5

2. Oh My God--not Jay's best lyricism, but a hot Just Blaze beat picks up the slack, and Jay on his worst day is still a lot better than most 3/5

3. Kingdom Come--we've all heard this one, hot beat, Jay finds his groove on it, nice Superman reference and wordplay 4/5

4. Show Me What You Got--the 1st single, i liked it, its not as good as I Just Wanna Love U or Hard Knock Life, but still enjoyable in its own right 3/5

5. Lost Ones--one of Dr. Dre's best beats in awhile, Jay addresses Dame Dash, past relationship problems with Beyonce, and the death of his nephew, probably the best song on the album 5/5

6. Do U Wanna Ride f/ John Legend--Kanye cooks up a hot track, John Legend does a nice job with a generic hook, Jay spits his typical pimpery and money lyrics, but with a little edge 4/5

7. 30 Something--not Dre's best beat, but Jay spits some funny lyrics comparing himself to the youngsters 2.5/5

8. I Made It--the track itself isnt half bad, but after the tribute track to his mom from The Black Album, this has been done enough times 2/5

9. Anything f/ Usher & Pharell--Usher doesnt really add much to the track, Pharell produces a bouncy beat for Jay to spit fast and slow on, its an obvious radio ploy, but i'd still listen to it over half the shit thats out nowadays 3/5

10. Hollywood--an obvious B'Day leftover track, Jay doesnt do too bad of a job on the track, but at this point, i'm tired of Jay/B collabos 1.5/5

11. Trouble--hot Dr. Dre beat, Jay loses it lyrically in the 3rd verse with his "little nigga" tirade, by the 19th time you hear it (i counted), it kind of puts a damper on the song, still a hot track though 3.5/5

12. Dig A Hole--Swizz drops a beat that more like the old ones he did for Ruff Ryders rather than his hit or miss production of nowadays....Jay spits some hot disses towards Dipset, and if anyone tells me that anything said by Jimmy or Cam is as powerful as Jay's statement of the fact that Cam only sold platinum with a Roc-A-Fella chain on his neck, i'd like to hear it 4/5

13. Minority Report f/ Ne-Yo--Dre outdoes himself on this one, Ne-Yo kills his refrain, and while Katrina did happen over a year ago, it's good to hear Jay shed light on the situation 4.5/5

14. Beach Chair f/ Chris Martin--the most hyped track on the album doesnt really live up to its billing, Jay spits some of his hottest lyrics on the album, but Martin's backdrop doesnt really suit this song 2/5



Overall=3.25/5



Truth be told, this is far from Jay's best work....it feels lyrically rushed on some songs, and if you aren't already a Jay fan, this isnt gonna be the album to turn you into one.....however, as weird as its gonna sound, a 3 mic album from Jay is still better than all but 85-90 percent of the albums that have dropped this year and there still are standout tracks to catch your attention (Lost Ones, Minority Report, Trouble, Dig A Hole, Do U Wanna Ride)

"Beach Chair" is actually one of my favorite tracks on the album, was really feelin that track.

I'd give it a 3.5. I can't front, I hyped it up on some hard-body shit at first, I guess I was just too amped for this album... but after more listens, I did see how he did rush through this album.

Favorite tracks: The Prelude, Kingdom Come, Lost Ones, Do U wanna Ride, Trouble, Minority Report & Beach Chair.

As for Hov albums in general.... I'll say this is behind Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, In My Lifetime Vol. 1 & The Black Album... possibly behind Roc La Familia as well.

I feel as though Beach Chair will grow on me over time, just like the Lenny Kravitz joint from Blueprint 2 did

I think Jay is one of the best there is or has ever been, and connect/vibe to most of his work, but some of these tracks just didn't do anything for me. He comes correct lyrically on pretty much all the tracks, but where's he's at now, and how anticipated his return was, I felt pretty underwhelmed with some of the songs. A solid amount of the tracks on here were great (I think a lot of people will grow to appreciate them over time once they deflate their expectations). The thing is.. he didn't really progress all that much from the Black Album. He came back with more of the same. It's refreshing to hear some new stuff none the less. He has nothin to prove and the album style reflects that, but I wish he came back with some more heat. He's been on point on literally every verse he dropped the last couple years on guest tracks, he kinda raised his own standard.

Lost Ones is one of the best songs I've heard all year by the way.

I know I'm late. I just got the album cause Lost Ones is hot. I am working through my disappointment, not the volume raiser I expected. With the name Kingdom Come I did expect more. There still is something special on this album, i keep listening. A few more listens are in order.

^ I hear you about the whole few more listens thing.......now that i've had 3 months or so with the album, ive found that once i lowered my expectations, there were only 4 or 5 tracks that wont stay in my rotation for awhile......it's just that Jay has dropped so many albums that you don't have really to skip through.....i just hope "Hollywood" flops as the 3rd single because i have a sick feeling that we will get a Jay-Z/Beyonce album if it goes to #1

O.k. I'm sold. 5 mics.

The Black Album really had to grow on me but this album really isn't any good. And not just becasue Jay normally drops good stuff but compared to other albums of 2006 this is average at best

Overall 3/5

some of the tracks in the middle of the album were mad weak. there were still some nice tracks on there though. i think he should've spent a little more time on the album though.

and did anyone notice how in the album at the start of some of the songs, especially the wack ones, he is always speaking over the beat speaking some bullshit.

its dope when he does it at the start of "black republican" but on "kingdom come" is gets pretty annoying.

this shit was garbage.. 1.1456 mics