The appeal to being a gangster has been around for years and years. From those old, cultish black and white gangster films, to the more modernized "Scarface" and "Goodfellas", to 1989's Straight Outta Compton, being a drug lord with thousands of soldiers and arms seems to be the dream of every single fucking MTV rapper out there it seems. Even underaged emcees who aren't old enough to drive constantly talk about how "real" they are and how many people they've killed, yet people still believe. In the mainstream, being a gangsta is the "cool" thing to do, and pretending to be a ruthless, cold-hearted killer is seemingly a way of life. I find it kind of funny that these con-artists claim to have been responsible for hundreds of deaths, yet never saw a day in prison despite the fact that they're basically confessing to these crimes on each and every song. Either way, being fake seems to be popular, and for those greedy individuals out there, the only way to "get rich or die tryin".

Jadakiss is one of those emcees whom I despise for various reasons, and this isn't even the reason why. I've grown to tolerate gangsta rap as long as there is something meaningful behind it, or the lyrics are above average. Jadakiss is by no means a BAD rapper, but he pisses me off far too often. Besides the fact that Jada does nothing except brag about his riches and faux-toughness, he brags about being one of the best rappers ever, and only God knows how he came to that conclusion. Jadakiss has only been around since the mid-90s, and has yet to drop anything resembling a classic. Kiss of Death is only Jadakiss' second album, and he considers himself one of the greatest rappers dead or alive. How mother fucker? Jadakiss is no better than 50 Cent, Fabolous, or anybody else who raps about the same played out subject matter we've heard for the past 10 years.



Track List & Rating

1. Intro (NOT RATED)
2. What You So Mad At? (*)
3. Shine f/ Snoop Dogg & DJ Quik (*)
4. Bring You Down (**)
5. Time's Up f/ Nate Dogg (****)
6. Why f/ Anthony Hamilton (***)
7. U Make Me Wanna f/ Mariah Carey (*****)
8. Hot (skit) (NOT RATED)
9. Hot Sauce To Go f/ Pharrell (***)
10. Real Hip Hop f/ Sheek Louch (****)
11. Shoot Outs f/ Styles P. (****)
12. Still Feel Me (****)
13. By Your Side (***)
14. Gettin' It In f/ Kanye West (*)
15. Air It Out (***)
16. Welcome To D-Block f/ Eminem, Styles P, & Sheek Louch (*)
17. Kiss Of Death (**)
18. I'm Going Back (**)



A lot of people consider Jadakiss the best rapper out of the trio the L.O.X., and I for one completely disagree. While Jadakiss does nothing more than brag about money, murder, and mayhem, Sheek Louch and Styles P deliver more meaningful compositions and actually provide a social consciousness within their music, of which Jada has virtually none. Besides just that, Sheek and Styles are much more dangerous than Jada on the mic. Even when Jadakiss TRIES to be socially concious, he fails at it miserably because he comes off as being fake. In fact, his current hit single "Why" is a prime example of how forced his so-called suffering is. Jadakiss adaps the formula of asking various questions revolving around a number of topics which he claims to have had in mind. No folks, it's a gimmick. Jadakiss asks questions about corrupt politicians, world problems, and poverty, but then decides it's funny to ask about expensive cars and shoes, which completely kills the credibility. I got a few questions for you Jada. Why in the fuck are you complaining about shoes, basketball and a "Pecan Jag" on a song where you're talking about world problems? Why is this song as fake as it is? Why is Jadakiss incapable of creating a meaningful song? What makes this song even stupider is the fact that Jada doesn't even attempt to answer his own questions. His "pain", and it's unbelievably contrived, and the only saving grace here are the few good moments, and of course, Anthony Hamilton's hook singing.

The lead single "Time's Up" sounds nice, but winds up being a borefest after a couple listens. This is your typical Dr. Dre production (which he probably didn't even produce in reality), with Nate Dogg singing a hook which is about as played out as L.A. Gears. With wannabe-punchlines like "I'm waitin for a que/Q like Suzie" and "I'm in the hood like bootleg movies", don't expect this song to be anything past average. Jada repeatedly brags and brags about how good of an emcee he is (which he isn't), how hard he is in the hood (which he isn't), how hard it is to be him (I doubt it), putting the "game in the cobra clutch" (never), and whatnot. The only thing reasonably good is the bouncy production, composed of threatening pianos and violins, but that's not going to make me want to hear it again, is it?

Remember what I said about Jada trying too hard to be introspective? Well "Why" isn't the only time. "Bring You Down" finds him "reminiscing" on his "storied past" about selling drugs and all of that crap. He tries to tell a rags of riches story and describes that you need your own heart to survive. The topic is good, but sadly he never sticks to it. He bounces back and forth between describing his faux-troubled childhood and how he had to peddle crack to make money. I'm not too sure exactly how sincere Jada was being, but I really don't buy this as anything more than yet another gimmick. But see, that's the kind of image that Jadakiss gives off to people. His overall feeling is just false, and the smart can spot it. The beat is unbelievably whack (bunch of xylophones and a drum/snare mix), and the hook is just... bad. At least he's trying. "Still You Here" is a good song, I will admit it. Jada actually hit me for once in his entire career, reminiscing about all of the hardships he had to endure on his way to being an emcee. Jadakiss sounds remarkably honest on here, and perhaps it's the beat and subject matter that add to the authenticity, or perhaps the fact that Jada doesn't brag. Maybe it's the fact that Jada spits in a much more slow-tempo, thoughtful way as if to get his message out. Maybe it's because we don't hear the fucking laugh. More on that later.

Of course, a (fake) gangsta rapper without a shitload of sorry-ass club songs is like a hispanic family without a barbeque. "Shine" could very well be the low-point of Jada's career, with a fallen off, near-dead Snoop Dogg and a long-since-dead DJ Quik, there isn't much to here at all... although it does bring back several painful memories of "Right Thurr" and that kind of nonsense. "Hot Sauce To Go", besides having a whack title, is whackness unlimited. This sounds as if it were blatantly ripped from a Nelly album, and given to Jadakiss. The bongo drums and bass (like all other Neptunes beats) provide an actual listenable beat, and Jadakiss' lyrics are a little notch higher than average. Jada actually proves that he can craft a club song that's actually light on commercialism, and heavy on actual danceable vibes. This is much more fitting for a single because it's not obnoxious, even despite Pharrell's annoying voice having a pop-up here.

The rest of The L.O.X. pop up on more than one occasion here, obviously to boost up their buddy Jada. "Real Hip-Hop" is a pretty decent track if I do say so myself. The energetic lacing of violins and funky guitar and synthesizer provide a real good 70s vibe to it. The violin slowly builds into a crescendo, but the problem is that it builds a bit TOO much and rises to the point where it plays insanely, and can drive the listener mad in the process. Sheek Louch from The L.O.X. steals the show with his confident dismantling of sellout rappers. Jada attempts to keep up, but always resorts back to the damn gangsta image and gunplay. Sheek actually spits knowledge about hip-hop and comes off pretty clever with some memorable punchlines, which makes this a pretty nice track. The other member of The L.O.X. Styles joins Jadakiss on the awesome mafioso storytelling track "Shoot Outs". A loud, vivrant mixture of powerful guitars, violins, and drums lace a truly powerful track fitting for a hardcore gangsta film (i.e. Scarface), when you know that there will be a murder and it'll probably be drug related. Styles and Jada trade verses fantasizing about being drug lords, and actually sound authentic on this one.

"Welcome to D-Block" has both members of The L.O.X. guest starring, as well as Eminem, and is awful. When an artist who used to be one of the best has been reduced to single handedly ruining a song, that is the ultimate defining level of falling off. Eminem is at that level. Now it seems that all of the sudden Eminem is gangsta, glorifying senseless killing and how dangerous D-Block is, etc, etc, I'm not buying it. This little bitch doesn't even know the meaning of the word ghetto. It's funny that a man who claims to be as cold as he claims now spent the majority of his career bitching about his mother, his drug-addict wife, and being bullied in school. I'm afraid nobody over the age of 15 believes that Em is gangsta. Anyways, the beat is whack (like all of Em's beats post-2002), and the rest of the group comes off extremely average with the exception of Styles, who single handedly steals the show. Styles adapts his flow to strictly street poetry, describing the harsh living in "D-Block", without sounding obnoxious like Jadakiss and Em do. By the way, will somebody tell this fucking cocksucker Slim that he can't sing worth a shit and his choruses do NOTHING but annoy the living shit out of me.

Jada returns to bragging on "Kiss of Death". Don't confuse this with the same cut that was on the Ruff Ryders compilation, cause that one was actually pretty good. This is just boring bragging. "I'm Going Back" is introspective Jada once again. Production-wise, I'm liking the soft tempo, smooth feeling to it. Jadakiss' lyrics and topics are nothing really extraordinary, as could've been done over a beat as good as this one. Jada raps about the rap industry and his history in it, claiming that he'll be returning the way he used to be. Well, last time I checked, Jada was never too good and he never changed, which makes that statement irrelevant. Regardless, Jada's not bragging for once and the beat makes this pretty listenable.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Jadakiss has this laugh that he uses during the album where he goes "KA-HAA" at the start of almost every song or his own verse. This is VERY FREAKIN ANNOYING. He basically squeals it out and does it over and over again. He needs to seriously cut that out. I gave him some slack on it here, but if he continues to use it on future albums and I review them, then the ratings will drop. Yes folks, it's that damn annoying.

Kiss of Death is a very unusual album to review. This is probably one of the most balanced albums I've ever had to listen to, perhaps even more than Beautiful Struggle. On one hand, we've got Jadakiss' inflated ego getting in the way of good music, with him constantly bragging about either his self proclaimed skills or something materialistic (cars, jewelry, women, etc). On the other hand, he actually makes a small amount of GOOD songs on here where he's actually honest (the guest appearances help a LOT). On a third hand (who has a third hand?), a lot of the songs on here have potential, but wind up being average because something was missing. Either Jadakiss brags too much, or the subject matter is played, or the lyrics are just weak, or the beat is annoying. Either way, something prevents them from being good. Now to conclude this, I'll have to say that this album is probably not worth spending your money on, so I won't recommend it. However, I will say that this does give us hope and show potential that Jada has the ability to do SOMETHING good, even though I doubt we'll see him get any better than this.

2.5 Stars... Rounded up to 3 Stars






SIMILAR ALBUMS:

Mobb Deep - Murda Musik

Nas - I Am

Lloyd Banks - The Hunger for More

Young Buck - Straight Outta Cashville



Great Music To Play While: Being in the hood like bootleg movies, and screamin KA-HAA!!

Recommended: No