In terms of sheer anticipation, Jadakiss' buzz was at an apex at the time of this album's release. While fellow LOX members Sheek and Styles flashed improved flows and lyrics on their group's sophomore strike, We Are the Streets, Jadakiss remained the group's undisputed frontman. And with the streets virtually foaming at the mouth, Jadakiss returned from the lab to birth his solo debut, Kiss tha Game Goodbye on this day in August, 2001. The majority of reviews -- including the above-referenced review in AllMusic -- found it ironic that the crew jumped ship from Diddy to get away from the shiny suits, then Jada went directly after mainstream attention with his debut. Surely he woulda had a better chance at that just sticking it out with Puff? Yes/No/Maybe? That's not to knock the harder album cuts on here, such as the Alchemist-produced "We Gonna Make It," featuring Styles; the DJ Premier-blessed "None of Y'all Betta," featuring Styles and Sheek; and "Feel Me", also produced by The Alchemist, among others. While Styles P remained closer to the independent route, Jada was always more comfortable taking those mainstream budgets and making it happen -- even if it meant sacrificing his chances at having a true "classic." In the Rhyme & Reason article below, Jada said it in his own words when discussing "What You Ride For?": "There's something for everybody." That's straight label talk. West Coast, Down South; an Aerosmith remake and more, there's a lot going on with this album. You can read more about the various cuts below...
In the case of "None of Y'all Better," Jada says, "You know you can't make a classic album without using Premo. He's like the god of producers. We made it a LOX song because nobody better than the LOX." 100% facts, gotta have a DJ Premier beat! For "Feel Me," he shares, "That's like a personal joint that I'm giving people. Everybody wanna know a little something about your life. That's 40 bars of just me spillin' my guts out." For "We Gonna Make It," he says, "I had to do that one. That's like more of my element right there. I pulled out Alchemist. I was feeling it. That was my first time ever meeting him. I threw my man Styles P on there. You know, Jadakiss and Styles collaboration." Then there's "Knock Yourself Out," where I cram to understand, "Everybody always come up to me and ask me when I wanted to do a song for the clubs, for the ladies. That was the politics of the whole thing." On the flip-side is the Nas-assisted, "Show Discipline," which Jadakiss describes: "I just wanted to do a hard joint, real hard, for the "hood." I wanted Nas on there. My own vintage, that's all that is." If nothing else, Jada knows how to keep it simple, stupid. Dig into the full Rhyme & Reason article and more below + of course, revisit Jadakiss' Kiss Da Game Goodbye today! D-Block!
