Jay-Z picks his worst album
(Credit: NRK P3)

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Jay-Z picks his worst album

Jay-Z is the kind of icon that rarely misses. A legacy of serious releases, Jay’s discography is one of the best hip hop has ever witnessed. From his debut album Reasonable Doubt all the way up to his most recent release 4:44, the Brooklyn native is an accurate musical marksman.

During the 1990s, rap wasn’t quite yet the commercial commodity it is today. Nowadays, selling out arenas and having your song played on the radio is as easy as getting yourself a good PR team. But, back when Hova was making his name in the business, the only thing people really cared about was your record and your music. It has given Jay the impetus to always pursue artistic greatness on his albums. Some, however, don’t quite match up to his own exceptionally high standards. When Jay was asked to pick his worst album of all time, he knew exactly which one it was.

Speaking to Capital Extra as part of a wider feature, Jay ranked his albums from worst to best. While picking the cream of the crop was an easy enough venture, picking his “classic” debut LP Reasonable Doubt, his least favourite album was perhaps a little more interesting.

The icon picked out Kingdom Come as his worst LP, with the simple line from Jay “First game back, don’t shoot me,” telling you all you need to know about the album. We’re more than happy to agree with Jay on this one, as it also featured at the bottom of the pile for our own ranking of the albums.

The truth is, everyone gets a bit rusty, don’t they? That was certainly the case for Kingdom Come, a record that landed in 2006 after Hova had been on a hip hop hiatus for three years. While he hadn’t stepped up to a mic in those years, his fame and notoriety had grown ginormously. It meant expectations for his return were high and perhaps increased the height from which he could fall.

Perhaps because of this, the record falls short, especially in comparison to the rest of his canon. While some moments on the album screamed that prime Jay was about to return (‘Dig a Hole’ being the pick of the bunch), they were drowned out by a huge bout of cheesy pop singles.

So, if you’re looking for a classic Jay-Z album, listen to the man himself and head for Reasonable Doubt and leave Kingdom Come well alone.