Placed side by side, Jay-Z’s “Kingdom Come” and Snoop Dogg’s “Tha Blue Carpet Treatment” paint a potent picture.
Not only are the album covers visually striking – red- and blue-tinted close-ups of Jay-Z and Snoop – they are also a telling aural portrait of mainstream American hip-hop in the current era. And it’s not all pretty.
Jay-Z is one of the greatest MCs of all time, a fact he’ll happily share with you. He’s an East Coast original who made headlines with his retirement after 2003’s “The Black Album.” “Kingdom Come” is his comeback record, his unretirement party. And he’s signed onto giant ad campaigns with Budweiser Select and Hewlett Packard to welcome himself back.
Snoop is as West Coast as the Oakland Raiders football franchise. He’s one of the original party MCs who spends more time on marijuana references and getting people’s hands in the air than on social consciousness. Snoop is one of hip-hop’s most consistent figures: At any given point in the past decade, Snoop has had a song (or guested on a track) in the Top 10.
“Kingdom Come” and “Tha Blue Carpet Treatment” were released Nov. 21. And that’s not all they share. Think back to how most of us felt last Thursday after all that turkey and cranberries. Stuffed. Overwhelmed. Bloated. Tired.
All are apt adjectives in describing these records, both of which are heavy on the hot production and the lazy MC work.
“Kingdom Come” has no business following the hotness of “The Black Album.” Many of Hova’s partners in production are still hanging around, and while they did their homework, Jay-Z didn’t keep up his end of the bargain. If you’re going to hypothetically take three years off from the business to become a businessman, you should do more than just lazily pick up where you left off.
The title track is a masterful reworking of Rick James’ “Superfreak,” but aside from a toying reference to MC Hammer, who also heavily sampled the track, Jay-Z sounds tired here. He’s not just a suit, and he’s more than hip-hop’s savior, he says. He’s Clark Kent and Superman. If that’s true, he hasn’t donned his tights and cape since 2003.
The lead single, the Just Blaze-produced “Show Me What You Got,” starts with him almost apologizing: “What do you want me to do? I’m sorry. I’m back.” The track is a party anthem, and it’s fine for the dance floor – or a Budweiser commercial, as Jay-Z has proven in a national television campaign. “I am the Mike Jordan of recordin’,” he brags.
While that’s an accurate comparison – as Michael Jordan wasn’t anywhere near the top of his game upon coming back from retirement – it’s not likely what Hova was going after.
“Oh My God” is the disc’s standout track. Its nontraditional, rock-styled presentation is on fire. And Jay-Z’s Jesus complex – emphasized by the repeated female voice exclaiming, “Oh, my God, Hov” – makes better sense here than in any of the album’s 16 other tracks.
At 20 tracks, “Tha Blue Carpet Treatment” is a slightly more consistent record, although it’s only that way because Snoop’s bar is set much lower than Jay-Z’s. Snoop records are known for their filler, but they’re celebrated widely for the one or two radio jams they produce, and admired by the hard-core fans for the less hit-oriented tributes to West Coast rap/R&B.
Like all of Snoop’s records in the past decade, this one is big on the collaborations. Only five are credited to Snoop alone; the others are spread among familiar voices Akon, Jamie Foxx, Dr. Dre, E-40, Ice Cube, Nate Dogg, R. Kelly, The Game and George Clinton.
These tend to make for the bigger hits, and that rule holds true here. Akon contributes his smooth vocals to Snoop’s baritone rhymes with “I Wanna Love You,” and R. Kelly adds his magic to “That’s That,” although the song titles and content in both cases are far cruder in the uncensored record versions.
But they don’t necessarily make for the best songs. The hottest track here is all Snoop, and while “10 Lil’ Crips” isn’t a massively thoughtful effort, it’s an on-point banger – the kind of track Snoop rolls with better than anybody. It’s like an urban fairy tale, and while it’s grossly exaggerated in traditional Snoop style, it’s a bumping ride that proves that Snoop can still rock a house, even without the help of his fellow superstar MCs.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
