Jadakiss
Kiss Tha Game Goodbye
Ruff Ryders/Interscope
While the Ruff Ryders have given the world Eve, I wish they would take Jadakiss and put him back where he came from. This CD is twenty-one tracks of lyrical confusion and hate. Unless you are already a fan, or really enjoy close to two hours of solid rapping that sounds like one long, agonizing song interrupted only by the occasional “skit,” leave Kiss Tha Game Goodbye right where you found it. In the best sounding song lie the worst lyrics: “Grab your guns/Kill your moms/Kill your pops/Sell your crack” in “Show Discipline.” While it seems to be almost sarcastic (in interviews done by Rolling Stone, The Source, Vibe, and F.E.D.S., Jadakiss, a.k.a. Jayson Phillips, seems to be a very driven and positive man), it’s very hard to tell, and the rest of the album is about bling bling, name brands, hot cars, shooting, “niggas,” and jail. Even though he’s the first member of The Lox to go solo, it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before and unless his message becomes clear, people will be buying his stuff because he advertises himself like a cleaning product. His rhymes are original for the most part and the lyrics do have a definite flow to them, what they’re saying isn’t made too clear and the politics of the business seep through into his material.
Ruff Ryders/Interscope Records, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404
