Originally titled Kiss My A**, Jada figured retail wouldn’t be down, so he finishes his Kiss trilogy with The Last Kiss. A deal with Def Jam and the resurgence of The Lox members, Jada starts things off with his third solo release.
Pain & Torture: Hard hitting beat and slicing strings play, as the epic background starts the album off right. Jada is on point firing on all cylinders and sounding fresh over the beat. 3.5/5
Can’t Stop Me: Neo Da Matrix absolutely knocks out the soulful production that is a fresh summer New York joint. Jada is in cruise mode and glides over the beat with his calm collective flow. 4.5/5
Who’s Real: Bouncy beat with a corny Swizz Beatz hook who exclaims, “if your real and you know it clap your hands”. Southern newcomer OJ Da Juiceman sounds largely out of place and the track is plain filler. 1.5/5
Grind Hard: Lavish synth track that has a grand celebratory feel courtesy of The Inkredibles. Mary J. Blige doesn’t deliver her best performance and the track comes off mediocre. 3/5
Something Else: Horn laden beat with tapping hi hats. Jeezy joins in on the southern sounding beat, resulting in a decent east-south collab. 3.5/5
One More Step: Festive production that has some uptempo yet feel good vibe. Jada and fellow Lox member Styles P trade bars. While it doesn’t quite flow as smoothly as you’d like, its a decent track. 3/5
Stress Ya: Jadakiss does what he can however The Neptunes production is one of the weakest in recent memory. A monotone synth goes throughout, while the knocking percussion saves the beat from being total disaster. 2.5/5
What If: Same formula as Kiss Of Death’s “Why”, except a bit more glossy than the soul filled and real talk of “Why”. If you’d like a glossier and smoother “Why”, you’ll like this, but the hook isn’t nearly as grabbing and the lyrics aren’t as memorable. 3/5
Things I’ve Been Through: Reflective track that sounds a bit cliched, intended to be deep reflection of the past. The track seems to merely scratch the surface rather than really get deep, but the sample and style make it forgivable. 3/5
I Tried: Nelly’s protege Avery Storm sings the hook, but the track is filler. From the overly glamorous production to the Storm hook, the track is forgettable, plus the sample or background vocal is repeated too many times. 2/5
Rocking With The Best: Attempting to create a smooth “two step” dance number, Jada comes off as dull, while the hook is dull and the track isn’t too memorable. 2.5/5
Smoking Gun: Jazmine Sullivan connects on the hook, delivering a soul filled hook that hints at Alicia Keys. Jada drops some storytelling throughout each verse and sounds comfortable on the fitting production from Denaun Porter. One of the better collaborations. 3.5/5
Cartel Gathering: With a decent beat, that’s all that’s needed, as Wu members Ghost and Rae join Jada for some straight up fire. They don’t necessarily murder the track, but its some good storytelling that is an east coast gem. 3.5/5
Come And Get Me: One of the three real street numbers, tension building strings and keys create a dark mood. S.I. sounds horrible on the hook, while Sheek and Jada do their part. 3/5
By My Side: Smooth bassline and hook by Ne-Yo, but the track comes off as a decent dance single. Satisfactory single, however it doesn’t impress, merely decent radio track. 3.5/5
Letter To B.I.G.: Real authentic tribute to B.I.G., Jada gets real here, as Faith Evans softly croons. Off the Notorious soundtrack, its one of the best tracks on the album, not to mention Needlz guitar riff and reflective state. 4/5
Something Else [Remix]: Fitting that they make a giant posse remix for this southern celebratory banger. However, Jada gets Jeezy and his CTE associate, Blood Raw, along with no names, Snyp Life, bully, AP and Boo Rossini. Original sounds better than the remix. 3/5
Death Wish: Alchemist continues to murder the dark grimy beats, as Jada completely devours the beat. A true street knocker that has a deathly coldness to it, while Wayne drops his typically off kilter metaphors. 4.5/5
Respect My Conglomerate: Focus samples an interesting british accented woman vocal, while the beat knocks and Busta knocks out the track. Jada and Jeezy do their thing as well and this is a solid bonus that will be featured on Busta’s album. 4/5
Jada’s always suffered when placed in the solo position and sadly his struggles continue. For one thing, there is an overly long list of guest appearances that are unnecessary for a rapper of Jadakiss’ caliber. A true New York vet, he seems to drop fire and consistent solid bars in guest appearances, however his solo albums have lacked. The album overall is fairly commercial and consists of a few southern bangers, mainly glossy and shiny beats, with a few gems. There is a number of filler, from the corny “Who’s Real”, tepid “Grind Hard”, mundane “Stress Ya”, misfiring lady number “I Tried” and out of place “Rocking With The Best”. There are a few gems, the soulful uptempo “Can’t Stop Me”, decent dance number “By My Side” and the street banger “Death Wish”. A fitting tribute on “Letter To B.I.G.”, intriguing storytelling on “Smoking Gun” are other bright points, but the overall album lacks from the production and lack of east coast bangers. A little less commercial appeal and trimming to the guest list and the album would have been okay, instead after a 5 year wait, we get an overly commercial album and guest list, that has filler and only a few true gems.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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