eMusic Review 0
Jadakiss is the mascot for locally famous rappers everywhere — someone with a deafening hometown buzz who, for any number of perplexing reasons, cannot convert that energy into Something Larger. Jadakiss was blessed with a raspy, ear-snagging voice and an ability to get to the point in a minimum number of words — his verses have a lean, hard economy of thought and language that usually makes him the most vivid presence on any song he's on.
Except, of course, his own. The Guest Rapper Who Can't Make His Own Hits is a familiar stock character in rap — Twista, Ludacris and Busta Rhymes have all suffered from the affliction to varying degrees — but Jadakiss's case is more complex, compounded by an equally acute case of Mid-Level Rapper Languishing On A Major Label. His albums, when they have come, have always been saddled with B-level market versions of whatever sound was "hot" at the moment, as determined by his A&Rs — which of course meant that said sound was already well on its way to cooling when Jada picked up on it. Kiss Tha Game Goodbye, his first solo record, opens with an apology to his fans for making… read more »
