There is no denying the fact that R. Kelly and Jay-Z are power hitters within the respective realms of R&B and hip-hop. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it was only a matter of time before the two came up with the great idea of combining their superstar names for an entire album - an album to supercede all others. Sadly, the highly anticipated collaboration, "The Best of Both Worlds," hardly lives up to its self-entitlement.
The problem begins with the title. The superlative "Best" suggests the album will be set apart from all others - it takes two platinum artists and extracts the "Best" of both talents. But any discriminating consumer will not be convinced that this album is the "Best" of anything except marketing gimmickry. This rings especially true for those of us who know all about the individualistic musical talent exhibited in "Reasonable Doubt," "In My Lifetime 1" and "Dynasty" by Jay-Z, as well as "12 Play," "R. Kelly" and "TP-2.com" by R. Kelly. If you know what these two artists are capable of, this album pales in comparison.
|
|
|
The tricky part about putting out an R&B and hip-hop combination LP is that each song needs to either have an intrinsic commercial value (catchiness) or an intrinsic artistic value (real depth). Anything in between just doesn't come off right. On a positive note, I have to give the producers some props for recognizing the importance of finding the right combination of Jay-Z's hard knock lyrics and R. Kelly's traditionally inspirational vocals. I have much respect for their ability to play the delicate game of give and take.
On the other hand, there are definitely moments when the R&B stylings of R. Kelly are a little overbearing and the lyrical flow of Jay Z leaves much to be desired. The album's production and overall quality is inconsistent, which is to be expected from lesser artists - but not from the best.
In discussing their new creation, Jay-Z and R. Kelly have emphasized their desire to tell it like it is, because they're "from the dirt." After all, like most other hip-hop artists, they have no other desire but "keeping it real" for their fans. At first, this statement seems off-putting because the majority of their lyrics are about their overindulgent lifestyles as international superstars. In a sense, this is keeping it real, but it's not the kind of reality that the two imply they want to give to people. Taking this theme with a grain of salt, however, it is easy to enjoy the good beats and choruses.
There are a few tight party anthems that Jay-Z and R. Kelly put together well, although their collaborations in the genre of sexually explicit songs is disappointing. As individuals, they've proven their knack at bringing bedside manner to the forefront in songs like "Feeling on Your Booty" and "I Just Wanna Love You," but something vital got lost when combining forces. Hip-hop and R&B artists ranging from Ginuwine to the 69 Boys to Luke have known for years that songs with sexual themes can only be successful if they're catchy and innovative - in itself, the theme pushes the limits of what can be considered popular music. The majority of sexually themed tracks on the album just leave the listener counting down to the song's end.
Admittedly, one reason I'm so critical of the album is not only because it doesn't reach its potential, but also because of the artists' general attitude toward their album. Jay-Z claimed at the album release party that the duo are just creative people, so what they do is create. Well, the demonstration of this creativity is extremely lacking on "The Best of Both Worlds." While the two artists have managed to come up with some respectable songs, they haven't rocked the boat of hip-hop. Another favorite quote is the one in which R. Kelly proclaims that their collaboration will promote more unity among black artists. This is a rather profound statement about an album so unexceptional.
Four tracks at the most will get airtime, whether it's on the radio or in the dancehall; this includes the two tracks that have already received good consumer feedback - "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Get this Money." My personal favorites are "Green Light," "The Streets" and "Take You Home With Me." In fact, most of the songs keep my head bobbin'. Like I said before, these guys are phenomenal, and everyone knows it. But they should have reached deeper to please their fans this time, and they didn't rise to the occasion.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
