Wednesday August 22, 2001 |

Kiss Tha Game Goodbye

Ruff Ryders/ Interscope

Grade: A

Leaving Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy label may have been the most important decision Jadakiss and The Lox ever made. Not only did their credibility rise when they signed with the Ruff Ryders label, they stopped having to wear those shiny suits Puffy likes so much.

The highly anticipated debut solo record from Jadakiss, "Kiss tha Game Goodbye," is here and lives up to all the expectations.

Jadakiss is good at what he does - hard gangster rap - but he also takes time on this record to make some serious MTV-playable songs, many already minus the expletives.

This album has a truckload of singles - the Timbaland-produced "Nasty Girl" is bound to see some radio play, along with the red-hot Neptunes-produced "Knock Yourself Out."

Jadakiss doesn't let his hardcore fans suffer too much, starting with songs like the soul-driven "Jada's Got A Gun," (what kind of track is this?) summing up his style with, "I'm the reason you moved your family to a whole new other block."

Jada also brought a few friends along for this ride, using Snoop Dogg on the silky "Cruisin'." Nas is featured on the grooved-up "Show Discipline" and label-mate DMX appears on "Uh-Hunh!" The rest of the Ruff Ryder family is spread out on the entire record.

What makes this album truly remarkable, however, is Jada's ability to paint lyrical pictures and landscapes so detailed that listeners feel as though they are watching a movie more than listening to a record. The beats that support this kind of microphone wizardry are also of the highest caliber, since it looks like Jada brought in the best of the best of today's hip-hop producers. You can let this disc play from front to back without skipping a song - a rarity these days.

Whether you are a fan of The Lox or not, "Kiss tha Game Goodbye" will settle the stomach of even the hungriest hardcore rap fan.