Mad about music: A worthy comeback for Jay-Z
By Susan Pugh on Nov. 08, 2007
The Associated Press
Jay-Z is the first to admit that his retirement from rap was entirely too premature: Like the self-proclaimed Mike Jordan of rap once famously said, “I can’t leave rap alone/ the game needs me.”
After claiming that he’d release no more albums, last year’s “Kingdom Come” CD was Jay-Z’s first comeback attempt. However, just like Jordan’s return to the NBA after his first hiatus, Jay’s return only partly lived up to expectations. Although the disc scored his best opening week sales until that point, it was roundly received as a relative letdown, with too many soft-edged rhymes about his cushy, celebrity lifestyle.
“American Gangster,” his tenth studio album, represents Jay’s comeback from that comeback — his chance to reassert himself as hip-hop’s pre-eminent wordsmith and hustler-gone-legal chronicler. This time, he unquestionably delivers the goods — showcasing deft metaphors about his own ghetto ascension and an uncanny ear for dramatic sonic backdrops.
“American Gangster” is proof that Jay-Z hasn’t lost his gift of making some of the most undeniably inventive and assured hip-hop music, or as on “Roc Boys” he sums up: “This is black superhero music.” Bold words, but it’s hard to argue with someone who’s comeback twice and remains the genre’s most exciting voice.
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