Kingdom Come (Jay-Z album)
Kingdom Come is the ninth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 21, 2006, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was considered a "comeback album" for the rapper, as 2003's The Black Album was promoted as his final release. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Just Blaze, DJ Khalil, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz and Kanye West among others. The album also features guest appearances by John Legend, Beyoncé, Usher, Ne-Yo and more.
Kingdom Come
November 21, 2006
- Baseline Studios (New York City)
- Sony Music Studios (New York City)
- Studios 301 (Australia)
59:21
Kingdom Come was supported to four singles: "Show Me What You Got", "Lost One", "30 Something" and "Hollywood". The album received generally lukewarm reviews from music critics but was a commercial success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 680,000 copies in its first week. At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, Jay-Z earned a nomination for Best Rap Album.
Background[edit]
Kingdom Come was the first Jay-Z album released since 2003's The Black Album, which had been widely hyped as Jay-Z's "retirement" album. The video for that album's hit single "99 Problems" had ended with Jay-Z going down in a hail of gunfire. Jay-Z stated in interviews that that scene represented the "death" of Jay-Z and the "rebirth" of Shawn Carter. Because of this, Jay-Z had originally planned to release Kingdom Come under his real name of Shawn Carter, but decided in the end to release it under his more-famous stage name Jay-Z. The album's second single, "Lost One" (produced by Dr. Dre) addresses Jay's split with Roc-A-Fella co-founder Damon Dash, the death of his nephew, and supposedly his relationship with actress Rosario Dawson.
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 B-Money, Syience, and DJ Khalil also contributed to the album's production, as well as Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin. Kingdom Come's opening track "The Prelude" features additional vocals from Pain in da Ass who featured on some of Jay-Z's earlier album introductions, impersonating characters from films such as Scarface, Goodfellas, and Carlito's Way.
Commercial performance[edit]
Kingdom Come debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 680,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan.[23] This became Jay-Z's ninth US number one album and tied him with the Rolling Stones for the third most number-one albums in the US.[23] In its second week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling an additional 140,000 copies.[24] On December 14, 2006, the album certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of two million copies.[25] As of August 2009, the album has sold 1,510,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[26]
Samples credits[28]