November 21st 2006 marked the day that Jay-Z returned from his proposed “retirement.” The expectations were set ridiculously high for Young Hova but if anyone could exceed expectations, the Jiggaman could….right? Apparently not. Although “Show Me What You Got” became a burner in the clubs, some predicted that this Jay-Z album just wouldn’t be up to snuff. Then the reviews began to surface. Definitely not up to Jay-Z standards. The marketing push that Jay put behind the album was unprecedented (from Monday Night Football ads to Budweiser commercials and, of course, the Jay-Z Hangar Tour) and resulted in first week sales reaching close to 700k but the critics and the streets began to speak.

“But what may cause the most arguments is that S. Carter seems to be representing Park Avenue more than the Marcy Projects on this album. True, false, or irrelevant?” – HipHopDX.com (rating 3.5 out of 5)

“The material shows a lack of direction from an MC whose age and position put him in uncharted waters.” – Allhiphop.com (rating 3.5 out of 5)

“Not to abuse the tired cliche of "grown folks music", but this is it, defined.” – Hiphopsite.com (rating 4 out of 5)

“…like athletes, we expect rappers to disappear when they turn 30. We have no use for them as they become older and more comfortable with themselves-- even if their minds are as sharp as ever…But that's Kingdom Come: Jay boringly rapping about boring stuff and being totally comfortable with it” – Pitchforkmedia.com (rating 5 out of 10)

“Jay-Z is hip-hop, yes, but the dirty little secret that he likes us to ignore is that hip-hop is not Jay-Z” – popmatters.com (rating 7 out of 10)

Wow…look at that last statement and then plant it alongside the other clips. Does anyone see a recurring theme here? While most of the reviews couldn’t argue with how Jay-Z is the “kingpin of the ink pen/monster of the double entendre” the problems arise about Jay’s subject matter. Gone are the days of “Sex murder and mayhem romance for the street” and instead we get riddles of “good credit and such.” Sadly, in Hip Hop this has become blasphemy. But why has the dream materialized become so incredibly out of touch? Why does Hip Hop have to be hustlin’, pimpin’ and slangin’? Although Kingdom Come didn’t deliver the goods as expected (according to the general consensus), it did tear open a gaping generation gap question that needs to be addressed. Has Jay-Z and artists like him outgrown his audience?

What Jay-Z has become is a dream materialized. Hip Hop has been deeply rooted in the struggle to come up and achieve a dream. But when that dream is achieved does that mean the struggle stops? Obviously so, according to many. See, there’s a big difference in struggling for food as opposed to struggling to maintain wealth and health. Hip Hop has never really seen a dream materialize, rather many dreams have been halted abruptly. Just when Tupac and Biggie were hitting their collective strides their lives were ended by a hail of bullets. Continued on page 2 »