Jadakiss has the type of menacing, once-in-a-generation voice that instantly commands your attention on a track. His laugh is among hip-hop’s most iconic sounds. He made a song with Chief Keef and Kanye West. He made “Knock Yourself Out” and also, in that song’s video, made the paper towel bandana a thing. And he’s done it without going up his own ass and becoming a grumpy old man (although there are two jabs at skinny jeans within the first five minutes of his new album), instead adjusting for whatever the commercial sound of the moment is without compromising who he is. The collaborations are too frequent and too few feel natural, leaving Jadakiss with the same problem he had before – consistent emcee but inconsistent LP.Here’s what’s certain: Jadakiss has lasted two decades-as part of the LOX, as one of Diddy’s ghostwrtiers, and as a solo artist-as a rapper making the kind of sharp-tongued, punchline-filled rap songs that will give you whiplash the moment you figure out what color the whip is. New listeners will enjoy the solo tracks that showcase Jada’s lyricism and unique, nasal flow, but there just aren’t enough of them. Older heads will appreciate the nods to earlier records but simultaneously be underwhelmed at the new takes on them. The problem with “Top 5 Dead or Alive” is its attempts to appease all types of Hip-Hop fans, and never really rewarding any. Even the metaphorical “Rain” which features Nas feels antiquated, shoehorned in at the end of the album as an afterthought. These formulaic moments are what hold the album back: a weed track with Wiz Khalifa (“So High”), a hugely dated Swizz Beatz effort in “Jason” and some skits that should have been left in the 90s. Even the Styles P duet on “Synergy” feels like a chopped up “We Gon’ Make It” with neither really tearing the track apart as they once would. For many, he was the one you waited for on a LOX track, the verse you anticipated on a Ruff Ryders collaboration. His performance is consistent throughout this album but never reaches excellence – the levels needed to be a legitimate Top 5 emcee. It also helps to highlight how Jadakiss isn’t stealing songs any more. Lil Wayne’s tasteless “She had cancer, I had to hit her with that chemo dick” is either hilarious or offensive depending on your experience with cancer, and overshadows a decent collaboration on “Kill”. Another strong song is “Ain’t Nothin New” which is precisely the type of track I want to hear more of from Jadakiss, with its Neo-Soul influence from Ne-Yo and a Buda/Grandz/Beat Butcha beat that has just enough of a filthy quality to it. The reliance on hooks is nothing new on Jadakiss albums, but “Main in the Mirror” shows that the man that claims to parallel park on the track is capable of delivering a good one himself. The Akon-produced instrumental shows Jadakiss has an ear for strong production, something that helped previous singles such as “Time’s Up”. (Youthful Offenders)”, bringing back memories of Styles P’s “Locked Up” from over a decade ago. The former is classic Jadakiss, throwing down one-liners atop a brash, cinematic Swizz Beatz instrumental that harks back to New York gems such as Fabolous’ “Breathe” and Fat Joe’s “300 Brolic”.Īkon joins Jada on “Y.O. This track won’t convert any Jadakiss followers to Future’s style of incoherent slurring atop ear-splitting bass, and sits uncomfortably between two strong tracks in “You Don’t Eat” and “Y.O. When Jada sticks to his traditional formula, he sounds infinitely more natural than he does trying to fit in with Future on “You Can See”. Despite my reservations from first impressions, there’s some good music on “Top 5 Dead or Alive”. It’s as if Jadakiss knows full well that his claim is unrealistic and has had to enlist some superstar names to give it some level of legitimacy. That’s madness when this album is considered a comeback project from one of the greatest emcees of all time. My point is, to put yourself on that pedestal without any real evidence is supremely cocky, but then emcees have been claiming to be the best for years.Įxcluding the “Intro” Jadakiss has a guest on all but one other song. But this isn’t a piece about mine or anybody’s Top 5 list, as it can vary wildly and cause endless arguments. When you throw in names such as Biggie, KRS, Nas and Jay-Z, it can be argued that Jadakiss isn’t even a “Top 5 Dead or Alive” in New York alone. Pharoahe Monch and Rakim are two who are levels above Jadakiss for a start. Any list of five best emcees looks at the elite guys who have released classic material on a consistent basis. Considering he has been active for two decades, that’s a lot of missed opportunities. He doesn’t have a classic piece of work, either solo or as part of The LOX. Jadakiss is not a “Top 5 Dead or Alive emcee” – there I said it.
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