Jay-Z’s coming-out-of-retirement album Kingdom Come features an older, wiser rapping from the secure throne of a music icon. On this album, he has nothing left to prove. He has transcended the shuck and jive of mainstream hip-hop to create an album showcasing more depth and maturity than many typical Jiggaman tracks.
Kingdom Come shows a more emotional and open Jay-Z than on previous efforts. On The Black Album you could feel Jay-Z’s struggle between creative growth and commercial success when he spat lines like “I water down for my audience to double my dollars / They criticize me for it / Yet they all yell ‘Holla’.” Jay-Z is finally comfortable enough to risk creating an album that isn’t so easily accessible.
Singles like “Show Me What You Got” are overshadowed by tracks where we see a more grown-up Jay-Z. “30 Something” nicely sums up the feel of the album. Here Jay-Z boasts, “30 is the new 20.” To the young rappers thinking their little bit of shine and ghetto fairy tales give them clout, Jay-Z says, “You ain’t got enough stamps in your passport to fuck with young Hov.” Taking the position of a seasoned vet, Jay-Z calls out rappers for their tacky materialism, showing that it pales in comparison to the refined taste that comes with experience.
On “Minority Report,” the gem of this album, Jay-Z delivers a poignant rap about the Katrina tragedy, along with a scathing indictment of those who failed the victims: “Just put my money in the hands of the same people who left my people stranded/Nothing but abandoned.”
Though it lacks Reasonable Doubt’s level of lyrical dexterity or the polished mainstream appeal that made Jay-Z rap’s first lasting pop star, Kingdom Come is brimming with laidback flow and wisdom. Here we see Jay-Z enjoying his spot at the top rather than defending or fighting for it.
