Jadakiss' most recent proper LP, The Last Kiss, was unmemorable save for its ability to move over 100,000 units in its first week. Those numbers wouldn't have generated much money, power, or respect during the LOX's heyday. For Jada-- in 2009's cratered rap economy, and coming off two heavily A&R'ed solo albums-- it was a commercial triumph. Kiss would go on to praise The Last Kiss as his best marketed album, and all the while, tracks like "Broken Safety" and "Cartel Gathering" had everyone else wondering if a record of nothing but vivid gun talk over grimy beats would've done just as well as all of those joints with Mary J. Blige and Trey Songz. It certainly would've been cheaper.
One of the year's most entertaining mixtapes, The Champ Is Here 3, now makes you wonder if it's a moot point anyway: If nothing else, The Last Kiss helped finance this. Like most of the best mixtapes around, Champ is informed by the spirit of competition, and it's no coincidence that boxing and basketball are the parallels to which Jada draws his own work. As with his best stuff, there's a pugilistic grace to his rapping here; nearly every line draws contact, but unlike associated "punchline" rappers, there's little wasted movement surrounding his pithier bon mots. Beyond proving Jada can create a cohesive document of his prodigious skill, Champ Is Here 3 combats some of the problems that have dogged him over the years. There's a run with instrumentals from the Game's "Bang", Young Jeezy's "Sky's the Limit", and Rick Ross' "Maybach Music 2" that suggest Jadakiss doesn't have the poor ear for beats after all.
This is unlikely to be anyone's introduction to Jadakiss, more likely to appreciate by his connoisseurs. And that's perfectly fine-- 90s East Coast rap mavens will appreciate Jada rapping over Brand Nubian's "Slow Down" and "Who Shot Ya", as well as Uncle Murda returning from the major label hinterlands to steal "Pussy" and "It's Whatever" with his absurdly hilarious brand of blustery ignorance. LOX historians can indulge in Jada and Styles' nearly unparalleled tag-teaming raps on "Top 5 Dead Or Alive", while Sheek Louch becomes increasingly entertaining in his delusion, boasting "I wore shiny suits when I was down with Diddy" as if anyone listening to a Jadakiss mixtape in 2010 was unaware of that.
The Champ Is Here 3 ain't perfect, but at least it's for the reasons mixtapes typically ain't perfect. Original tracks like "All Falls Down" make you wait out forced hooks for Jada to start rapping again, and are here to remind you why Jada's Def Jam records so rarely live up to their capability. Meanwhile Champ's second half is littered with also-rans-- the D-Block d-listers who are effortlessly eclipsed by Jada on "Coach of the Year", while Masspike Miles and inexplicable DJ Drama associate La the Darkman prove why they remain the definition of "bum-ass mixtape rappers." But with all that said, The Champ Is Here 3 serves as comfort as Jadakiss says things like "it's enough money for everybody" while talking about the proposed follow-up, *Top 5 Dead or Alive. *Maybe it'll be the fourth straight lame Jadakiss solo album, but isn't it a bit ridiculous that his followers complain that his retail albums are weak when his best work is available for absolutely nothing?
