Artist: Jadakiss
Album: The Last Kiss
Release Date: 4.7.09

If you show me a person who claims to have a bad album from Jadakiss, I’ll show you a person who’s either a liar or doesn’t know good hip-hop. J-to-the-muah delivers The Last Kiss, his third studio album and the final offering in the ‘Kiss’ trilogy. Line for line, Jadakiss is one of the best (albeit underrated) lyrical rappers to ever touch the mic. So while he’s only put out 3 studio albums compared to 6 by a better charting rapper, Jada makes up for his lack of quantity with a surplus of quality – and that makes all the difference. The Last Kiss brings to the table a slew of featured artists, which is where the project tends to fall a bit short.

As good as The Last Kiss is, I won’t go so far as to say it’s a classic. Pain and Torture is the opening track, jump-starting the project on a very high note. Definitely feelin What If, although it sounds like an updated mix of his hit Why feat. Anthony Hamilton. His content turns introspective on the Luther-sampled Things I’ve Been Through, while Pharrell and Bobby V. lend their contributions on another favorite Rockin’ With The Best. Wu-Tang’s Ghostface and Raekwon step in on another of the album’s best tracks Cartel Gathering. One of the standouts on the album is Jazmine Sullivan’s appearance on the Grammy-worthy Smoking Gun; she brings her soulful vocals to a song that really requires it due to the sensitive content. By My Side was a great choice for a single with Ne-yo tearin up the hook as Jada gives the ladies some room to turn the swag up. Faith Evans teams up with Jada to close out the album with Letter to B.I.G., an open letter to Kiss’ former labelmate, friend and icon in hip-hop.

The Last Kiss is not without some misses along the way. Swizz Beatz' contributions on Who's Real are hot, but can you honestly say it doesn't sound like something you've already heard (sounds just like the beat from T.I.'s Gucci Rag)? Grind Hard features Mary J. Blige and her vocals are just a little bland on this one, nothing really blew me away about this struggle-to-success story. Avery Storm has sounded better too, and his vocals on I Tried are disappointing. I’ll catch flack for saying this, but I wasn’t feeling One More Step with Styles P; even when they were in the Lox, Styles P wasn’t really on Jada’s level, so to hear him now next to a more mature and developed Jada really widens the gap.

While Jada’s talent is in great supply, the album’s features are what really take away from it’s overall quality. It seems that this album was an attempt to get more mainstream, which in turn leads to more sales – can’t fault him for trying. However, out of the 16 tracks here, he could have cut about 4 not-so-hot joints and made this into a classic album. Still, the album’s bangers are just that, and Jada’s still reppin the home of hip-hop to the fullest.

Sound-Savvy officially rates The Last Kiss with 4 out of 5 platinum headphones.

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Video: Jadakiss feat Ne-yo - By My Side
Jadakiss feat. Swizz Beatz and OJ Da Juiceman - Who's Real