The Best of Both Worlds

iTunes Review

In early 2002, Jay-Z and R. Kelly were at the top of their respective games. Jay's stranglehold on the rap industry had yet to be eclipsed by 50 Cent, and Kelly was still a few months away from being charged with multiple counts of child pornography. The reigning kings of hip-hop and R&B teaming up for an album was a no-brainer, and on paper it seemed destined to be a guaranteed smash hit. Unfortunately it didn't quite pan out that way, thanks mostly to surprisingly limited promotion (no videos or tour), which went from slim to non-existent once the R's legal problems exploded. While not exactly a career highlight for either one of them, it does sport plenty of entertainingly over-the-top sex rhymes, particularly on guilty pleasures such as "Take You Home With Me (A.K.A. Body)" and "Somebody's Girl." Veteran New York hitmakers the Trackmasters provide incessantly upbeat production on just about every track, with handclaps, freaky keyboards, and "Fiesta"-style acoustic guitar clips galore, while we also get treated to impressive cameos from XXX-rap specialist Lil Kim ("Shake Ya Body") and Houston humorist Devin the Dude ("P***y").