Worth the Wait: Jadakiss Hosts an Exclusive Listening Session in Atlanta
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Yes,
Jadakiss may have been two hours late to his own shindig (an exclusive
listening session at Universal’s offices in Atlanta), but by the time
he finished running through the songs on his newest album, The Last Kiss, nobody cared.
Askia
Fountain of Neyo’s Compound Entertainment, Bernard Parks (DJ Toomp’s
manager) and DJ Jelly were among the movers and shakers in the
building, but the real star of the night was the music. Balanced in
content, immaculately produced and overflowing with stellar lyricism, The Last Kiss is the album that Jadakiss fans have been waiting for.
Several
songs drew applause from the crowd, including “Cartel Gathering”
featuring Ghostface and Raekwon and the angry, introspective “What If”
featuring Nas. On the track, Jada-Muah wonders, “What
if Payton was fightin’ dogs instead of Mike Vick?” He goes on to ask,
“What if you really had to be nice to get a deal? What if all of these
rappers’ ice was really real?”
Meanwhile,
“One More Step” featuring a fierce back and forth with Styles P,
elicited “oohs” and “aahs” of appreciation from listeners. Other
notables are “Smoking Gun” featuring Jazmine Sullivan, which touches on
the topic of molestation.
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The
only missteps on the album occur when Jadakiss tries to go pop, but
thankfully those tracks are few and far between. Easily the best
hip-hop release of the 2009 season, Jadakiss has returned with an album
that was well worth the wait.
The Last Kiss will drop on Roc-A-fella/Def Jam on April 7.
