Unfinished Business 2004 Album

R. Kelly Jay-Z

R. Kelly and Jay-Z's first collaborative effort, 'The Best of Both Worlds', was a let down, and was released around the time of R. Kelly's issues with legalities, so I guess this was take two on the artists' attempt to bring the best of both worlds together. This album is apparently comprised of unreleased songs from their first album, that would also serve as promotion for their tour. However, the tour was short lived with R. Kelly and Jay-Z taking shots at each other during the following years. I guess the two were never meant to be a true team. Although this is said to be predominantly made up of cuts that didn't make their first album, the quality is a touch higher in my opinion. One of the first things I've noticed is that the sound is more towards hip hop, whereas the 'The Best of Both Worlds' is more R&B sounding. This may be because R. Kelly had less to do with the production on these songs compared to the pair's debut with Tone of Trackmasters credited with most of the beats. Like 'The Streets' was on their debut as well, 'Don't Let Me Die' is in the same kind of vein and is by far the strongest song here. It has so much more energy and emotion than anything else here, not to mention layers in the production. It's like it's the only song that they put a lot of effort into. 1. The Return 69/100 See track 11. 2. Big Chips 50/100 Ehh. The production is weak here and vocally there is nothing to save for later. 3. We Got 'Em Goin' 70/100 A decent bangin' hip hop track with Kelly rapping and a catchy enough hook. 4. She's Coming Home with Me 75/100 More Kelly rapping here. It's interesting with a collaboration between a rapper and a singer that Kelly does so much rapping on this album. Another catchy hook sung by Kells backed by a toe tapping melody. Part 2 of 'Somebody's Girl' from 'The Best of Both Worlds' as Jay says. 5. Feelin' You in Stereo 56/100 This is the one solo R. Kelly produced song and you can pick it from the jump. It sounds similar to some songs from the album 'TP.3 Reloaded' from 2005 and also has his signature figurative language touches. It's nowhere near his best though. Jay jumps in for a low effort quick eight bars towards the end of the song. 6. Stop 60/100 Another with more of a hip hop feel to it. It feels like a sample but I'm not sure it is. This one is safe and feels a bit too monotonous. Kelly takes shots at Sisqo who he felt disrespected him by claiming to shut R&B down. "20's on the drop/ Blue and yellow rocks/ Keke yelling stop/ Sisqó's album flopped." 7. Mo' Money 51/100 A remix of 'Get This Money' from 'The Best of Both Worlds' 8. Pretty Girls 73/100 Similarly to 'She's Coming Home with Me', there is a catchy melody and good hook. 9. Break Up (That's All We Do) 75/100 10. Don't Let Me Die 95/100 The choir, the way the song seems more like a collaboration between the two artists than a number of other songs, the passion in Kelly's vocals, etc. It all just comes together to make this the best track here and probably the best track from the two Jay/Kelly collab albums. 11. The Return (Remix) 75/100 Where in the original, Kelly sings putting on a Slick Rick accent, here we have the man himself. This adds to the original by adding Slick Rick and some beat boxing by Doug E. Fresh with Kelly singing over it that should've gone on longer. It plays as a homage to the legends and hip hop. I know I'm meant to give this album a 0 to show how sanctimonious I am, but nothing is bad here. Although this isn't his greatest vocal performance by any means, R. Kelly does most of the heavy lifting, which is a good thing as he is the more talented artist of the two, and there is enough to like. It's a consistently decent project. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Vocals/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: She's Coming Home With Me, Pretty Girls, Break Up (That's All We Do), Don't Let Me Die, The Return (Remix)