Though the years have made Jadakiss a living legend on the streets and within the industry the solo and group albums that have placed him in that position have been few and far between. The three-man group he’s been a part of since the height of the Bad Boys days has released all of two albums since 1998 and Jada himself hasn’t seen a retail shelf since the summer of 2004. Only a handful of rappers have managed to sell major units over the course of the past few years and with his latest effort, The Last Kiss, he is hoping to once again cash in on his already solid foundation. 

Jadakiss comes out swinging on he album’s two opening gems “Pain And Torture” and “Can’t Stop Me Now” before fumbling the ball on the Swizz Beatz and OJ Da Juiceman assisted “Who’s Real.” The game’s two raspiest spitters combine efforts on the Don Cannon produced jewel “Somethin Else” where Jada and Young Jeezy proclaim to be bigger than all your other favorite rappers. Styles P drops in to dish Jada a boatload of CP3 style assists on the standout “One More Step.”

Though it sounds eerily similar to “Why” Jada does another magnificent job as he and Nas spit 2009 political, social, and life questions on “What If.” A soulful vocal sample from the legendary Luther Vandross is utilized to the fullest as Jada encompasses the events that have molded his career over the past 13 or so years on “Things That I’ve Been Through.” Jada supplies a fair amount of smooth R&B shit with the extra playalistic and Pharell assisted “Rockin With The Best.” On the Raekwon and Ghostface Killah assisted “Cartel Gathering” Jada insists that The Last Kiss is a French, not a peck. 

Though The Last Kiss isn’t Jada’s defining body of work it still proves to be another powerful collection of street savvy and commercially persistent music. The Last Kiss features its fair share of food for thought all the while not diluting the overall grimy integrity that Jada has built up with his two previous joints, Kiss The Game Goodbye and Kiss Of Death. Thankfully this won’t be the last time we hear from Jadakiss, it’ll just be the last time we will hear the word kiss in any of his album titles. Now we wait until sometime around 2013 when he finally decides to start the new collection of work.    

VERDICT – 15 / 20
LYRICS: 4
PRODUCTION: 4
DELIVERY: 4
CONSISTENCY: 3