Jadakiss
Ignatius
Def Jam
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In the last 20 years, few emcees in all of hip-hop have proven to be as consistently witty, clever and skilled at setting fire to vocal booths as Jadakiss. Notwithstanding, Kiss has struggled to release a signature LP to place at the apex of his acclaimed career. Most wouldn’t go as far to say Kiss has a bad music catalog, but if you remember The LOX from their days on the NYC mixtape circuit circa 1997, you probably had some really high expectations for his solo career.
Jadakiss’ 2001 debut album Kiss tha Game Goodbye and its 2004 follow-up Kiss of Death both heralded hits like “Knock Yourself Out” and “Why?” respectively, but as full-length projects neither necessarily represented defining moments within hip-hop culture like Doggystyle (1993), Illmatic (1994), or Supreme Clientele (2000). With Jadakiss’ lyrical ability, distinct vocals, and appeal that ranges from underground mixtape aficionados to Upper East Side yoga princesses who recognize him from collaborating with mainstream pop artists like Mariah Carey, the bar has always been set high for the Yonkers, NY native. His reputation was hard-earned and has deservedly landed his name amongst the top tier of hip-hop’s elite.
Now in the nineteenth year of his solo career, Jadakiss was originally introduced to us as one third of the lyrical wolfpack The LOX. Having the arduous task of keeping rap royalty like the Notorious B.I.G. on his A game, The Lox had some of the strongest momentum going into Y2K. Now an elder statesman within the culture, Jadakiss has the life experience of being a revered legend, successful business owner, father and survivor of musical peers that range from Christopher “Big Pun” Rios to Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom and friends like the album’s namesake Ignatius Jackson. Ignatius, his fifth album, marks the culmination of this experience and may very well constitute the magnum opus of his acclaimed career.
Ignatius devotes a lot of time reflecting on the twenty-plus years that Jadakiss has been a high-profile artist inside the music industry. The LP’s lead single “Me” lands as the latest testament to his ability to create a hit record for the masses, delivered with his signature mafia Don narration. Producer Bryan-Michael Cox offers up an ebullient beat for Jadakiss to recount many of his career hallmarks, which include commercials with basketball icon Allen Iverson and his label disputes with executive supreme Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Jadakiss, who has always used his street introspection as a cornerstone of his high caliber lyricism, opens Ignatius with the bars, “Ain’t no benefits when you part-time / we did enough dumb shit, from here on out, we on smart time / The love and hate joint is different from the chalk lines / cause real n****s are built off hard times,” to set the overall tone for the LP.
“Huntin Season” picks up the pace and features Pusha T who drops in to offer what would have earned a coveted “rhyme of the month” accolade in an earlier decade. Not that Jadakiss is outright overshadowed, the two veterans set flame to the track as they exchange hard bars for this modern-day rap clinic.
“Keep It 100,” “Catch and Release,” and “I Know” featuring John Legend all offer verses that reflect on the good and bad of relationships, but “NYB (Need Your Best)” is where Jadakiss goes ten toes down for the grown and sexy. With rhymes like, “you be the vegetable rice, I’ll be the soy sauce / Alexa, play somethin’ loud to knock the noise off / Go at it like animals / so hot that it’s flammable / you tryna snatch my soul and you know I’m tryna damage you,” Jadakiss cements Ignatius in being as much of an in-home couple’s treasure, as it will be the jewel of many commuters’ playlists.
“Gov’t Cheese” reunites Jadakiss with former Bad Boy and D.I.T.C. hitman Buckwild for one of the LP’s more uptempo tracks that showcases a new generation of lyricist: Nino Man and Millyz with vocalist Dej Loaf.
“Kisses to the Sky” is the celebratory toast to all that Ignatius unapologetically isn’t. It is not Kiss tha Game Goodbye Part 2 or a failed attempt to revive ‘90s East Coast Boom Bap. Instead, it successfully scores as something more precious. A survivor’s ball from a veteran who has transcended the harshness of Yonkers, NY and achieved longevity within an often-unforgiving industry. Jadakiss’ disputes as an artist are well documented, but he is one of the rare artists who has maintained friendships with his original group members, twenty some years after entering the rap business together. Substantive accomplishments like this become more valuable in the wake of losing one of your best friends, like Ignatius Maurice Jackson, whom Jadakiss named the deeply personal project after.
The entire album is well organized, with “Kisses to the Sky” featuring Da Boss Rick Ross being no exception. The opposite of a melancholy tear-jerker, “Kisses to the Sky,” and Ignatius in its entirety, celebrates the lives of those Jadakiss has lost and shows his commitment to thrive within his own existence. To start, he gives us what I’m sure will endure as a hip-hop album-of-the-year contender and possibly a time-marker that documents how one of rap’s most revered stepped to the forefront to honor the unfortunate list of hip-hop’s dearly departed.
Notable Tracks: “Angels Getting Pedicured” | “Huntin Season” | “I Know” | “Kisses to the Sky” | “NYB (Need Your Best)”
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