Kingdom Come (Jay-Z album): Difference between revisions

Untitled

Kingdom Come is a 2006 album from American rap artist Jay-Z released on November 21. The title comes from the DC Comics limited series of the same name, where Superman returns from self-exile to an apocalyptic and chaotic world. In its opening week, the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 680,000 copies. This gives Jay-Z his 9th #1 album and the best first week sales of his career. It is also the best first week sale for any rap album of 2006, surpassing T.I.'s King.

Album information

The album officially signified the end of Jay-Z's 2003 retirement. Production was supplied by Kanye West, Just Blaze, Dr. Dre and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, and guest appearances include Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin. The beat for the title track "Kingdom Come," produced by Just Blaze, contains a chopped-up sample of "Super Freak" by the late Rick James.Jay-Z's second single "Lost One", produced by Dr. Dre, was recently leaked to the Internet. The song addresses Jay's split with Roc-A-Fella co-founder Damon Dash, his relationship with Beyonce Knowles, and the death of his nephew. The third single is going to be Minority Report & Beach Chair, and the video will be made in New York as a medley. At the MTV Europe Music Awards, Pharrell confirmed that he produced a track that featured both Jay-Z and Usher; the song is entitled "Anything" The song "Minority Report" is about Hurricane Katrina and includes a few news reports and Kanye West saying, "George Bush doesn't care about black people. "

Past collaborators Kanye West and particularly Just Blaze made significant contributions to the album's production. This is the first time Dr. Dre has played a substantial role in a Jay-Z album, as he produced four beats and mixed every song on the album. Relatively unknown newcomers P-Money, Scyience, and DJ Khalil also contributed to the album's production, as well as Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin.

Rumors prior to Kingdom Come's release that longtime Jay-Z collaborator Timbaland and up-and-coming production duo The Runners had contributed beats to the album proved to be untrue. Also rumors that his former rival Nas and a various array of other rappers, including Kanye West, Young Jeezy, and Eminem proved to be false. The only guests on this album are R&B Singers, including Chrisette Michele and Beyoncé amongst others.

Kingdom Come's opening track "The Prelude" features the additional vocals and the return of Pain in da Ass who often introduced on some of Jay-Z's earlier album introductions in an impersonation of F. Murray Abraham's character Omar Suarez from the movie Scarface, most notably on Jay-Z's 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt.

Cover

The original CD cover has a red box that can be used to see changed faces of Jay-Z from the inside cover art and a couple written lyrics on the inside of the booklet. The limited edition also includes changeable pictures, as well as a message inside the case.

Track listing

#	Title	Songwriters	Producer(s)	Featured Artist(s)	Time
1	"The Prelude"	S. Carter, B. Hughes, M. James	B-Money		2:44
2	"Oh My God"	S. Carter, J. Smith, G. Allman	Just Blaze		4:17
3	"Kingdom Come"	S. Carter, J. Smith, R. James, A. Parker, L. Miller	Just Blaze		4:24
4	"Show Me What You Got"	S. Carter, J. Smith, J. Boxley, C. Ridenhour, E. Sadler, M. McEwan, J. Pate	Just Blaze		3:44
5	"Lost One"	S. Carter, A. Young, M. Batson, D. Parker, C. Payne	Dr. Dre and Mark Batson	Chrisette Michele	3:43
6	"Do U Wanna Ride"	S. Carter, J. Stephens, K. West	Kanye West	John Legend	5:29
7	"30 Something"	S. Carter, A. Young, M. Batson, D. Parker	Dr. Dre		4:13
8	"I Made It"	S. Carter, K. Abdul-Rahman, D. Winslow	DJ Khalil		3:25
9	"Anything"	S. Carter, P. Williams, U. Raymond	The Neptunes	Usher, Pharrell	4:22
10	"Hollywood"	S. Carter, S. Smith, R. Perry	Scyience	Beyoncé	4:17
11	"Trouble"	S. Carter, A. Young, M. Batson, C. Pope, D. Parker	Dr. Dre and Mark Batson		4:53
12	"Dig A Hole"	S. Carter, K. Dean, S. Garrett	Swizz Beatz	Sterling Simms	4:11
13	"Minority Report"	S. Carter, A. Young, M. Batson, D. Parker, S. Smith, D. Fumo, E. DeCurtis	Dr. Dre	Ne-Yo	4:33
14	"Beach Chair"	S. Carter, C. Martin, R. Simpson, A. Young	Chris Martin and Rick Simpson	Chris Martin	5:08

Limited edition tracks

Limited edition album contains a bonus CD with three live tracks from Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt 10th Anniversary concert, which was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, June 25 2006.

#	Title	Songwriters	Producer(s)	Featured Artist(s)	Time
15	"Politics as Usual"	S. Carter, D. Willis, C. Biggs	Ski		4:17
16	"Can't Knock the Hustle"	S. Carter, J. Foster, M. Miller	Knobody, Dahoud Darien & Sean Cane	Beyonce	6:34
17	"Can I Live"	S. Carter	DJ Irv		5:00

iTunes/Napster bonus track

#	Title	Producer(s)	Featured guest(s)	Composer(s)	Time
18	"44 Fours" (Bonus track)				3:40

There is also another limited edition version of the album which features a DVD containing footage from a concert Jay Z held in Britain, plus his video for the single "Show Me What You Got".

Samples

The Prelude

• "Keep The Faith" by Mel And Tim

Oh My God

• "Whipping Post" by Genya Ravan
• "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin

Kingdom Come

• "Super Freak" by Rick James

Show Me What You Got

• "Shaft In Africa" by Johnny Pate
• "Darkest Light" by Lafayette Afro Rock Band
• "Show 'Em Whatcha Got" by Public Enemy (vocal sample from Flavor Flav)

Minority Report

• "Non Ti Scordar Di Me" by Luciano Pavarotti
• Various news reports about Hurricane Katrina
• Kanye West's unscripted comment at a Hurricane Katrina telethon that "George Bush doesn't care about black people"

Charting

U.S. Billboard 200
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15
Position	1	6	15	32	27	21	25	29
Sales Per Week	680,000	143,146	101,000	86,730	135,979	60,932	31,901	23,425
Total	680,000	823,146	924,146	1,010,876	1,145,867	1,206,799	1,238,700	1,262,128

United World Chart
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15
Position	2	9	23	41	38	25	34
Sales Per Week	695,000	199,000	142,000	127,000	175,000	94,000	48,000
Total	695,000	894,000	1,036,000	1,163,000	1,338,000	1,432,000	1,480,000

References