Unfinished Business | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 26, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2001–2004 | |||
Studio | The Chocolate Factory and Rock Land Studios (Chicago) Baseline Recording Studios (New York City) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:34 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Jay-Z and R. Kelly chronology | ||||
| ||||
Jay-Z chronology | ||||
| ||||
R. Kelly chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Unfinished Business | ||||
|
Unfinished Business is the second and final collaboration album between American rapper Jay-Z and American singer R. Kelly. The album was released worldwide on October 26,2004. It was distributed in the United States and Canada by Jive Records and Island Def Jam Music Group,by the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and its subsidiary Jive Records,except in Canada and the United States of America where Island Def Jam Music Group and its labels Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records replaced BMG. The album was composed of unreleased tracks from the recording sessions of 2002's The Best of Both Worlds ,although slight additions were made. [1]
The album was promoted by the "Best of Both Worlds" concert tour with R. Kelly and Jay-Z performing songs from both their solo and joint albums. The "Best of Both Worlds" tour filled with tension and accusations that boiled over at an October 31 show where R. Kelly was accused of erratic behavior and was pepper sprayed by a Jay-Z associate. Jay-Z and the tour promoter then banned R. Kelly from the tour claiming "lack of professionalism". R. Kelly responded by suing his co-act and touring company for $75 million for breach of contract,among other things,on November 2. [1] [2]
Unfinished Business was supported by two singles:"Big Chips" and "Don't Let Me Die". They were both sent to radio stations,but only the former saw a physical release. [1] Like its predecessor,the album was criticized for repetitive lyrics but was a commercial success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart,selling 215,000 copies in its first week,and later was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 2004. [3] [4]
R. Kelly appeared on Jay-Z's "Guilty Until Proven Innocent". In 2001,Jay-Z was featured on R. Kelly's popular single "Fiesta Remix" that shot up to fifth on the Billboard Top 100. The positive reception to both songs opened dialog between the two for a possible joint album. In December 2001,R. Kelly confirmed the album's existence and name in an interview with MTV at that year's Billboard Music Awards. [5] In January 2002,the two announced Best of Both Worlds in a New York City news conference. [6] [7] When the album was leaked on February 22, [8] the release date was moved up seven days to combat piracy. [9] Outside parties speculated that the album would be the biggest release of the year and easily sell multi-million. However,in February 2002,an unknown person sent a sex tape to the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper,claiming that it was R. Kelly and an underage female. [10] This would be illegal under Illinois law,which states that adults cannot have sexual intercourse with a minor. R. Kelly denied the claims. [11] In response to the public outrage,Def Jam cut all promotion plans of the album,including music videos and the planned tour. Jay-Z also refused to appear with R. Kelly in anything. [12]
Best of Both Worlds was criticized by critics for uninspired and recycled song meanings. It debuted number–two on the Billboard 200 with 223,000 units scanned. [13] Despite the lack of promotion,it was still considered a commercial failure;the total was less than half of the artists' last solo efforts. Jay-Z's The Blueprint and R. Kelly's TP-2.com sold 427,000 and 543,000 respectively in their debut week and debuted number–one. If any chances of doing a tour lingered,they were crushed in June when R. Kelly was arrested for 21 counts of child pornography after witnesses claimed the woman in the video was 14 years old. [14] He was later acquitted of all charges in 2008. [15]
In November 2003,R. Kelly appeared at Jay-Z's "farewell" concert that was featured in the 2004 documentary film Fade to Black . The response from the crowd led to two to reconsider the idea of touring again,noting how R. Kelly's studio album that year, Chocolate Factory was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. After watching Kelly get back on top,keep his fanbase,and go platinum in only 3 weeks,Jay-Z and Def Jam jumped back on the bandwagon. On September 21,Unfinished Business was confirmed. [1] [16]
As the album is composed of unreleased tracks of R. Kelly and Jay-Z,the recording took place during the Best of Both Worlds recording sessions. The two never met in a studio,instead sending tracks to each other to finish. Jay-Z described the process in their Best of Both Worlds press conference.
"It was definitely a friendly competition. He'd send me something and I'd be like, 'Oh, he killed that. Now I've got to kill it, too.' And every time I sent him something, he'd be like, 'Maaaannnn. All you've got to do is rap. I've got to put it in perfect pitch and harmony and still be saying something. You're putting pressure on me." [6]
R. Kelly in a 2001 MTV interview stated that they had recorded nine songs by December 10. [5] Album producers Tone and Poke also made sure the songs moved along.
Tour by Jay-Z and R. Kelly | |
Associated album |
|
---|---|
Start date | September 29, 2004 |
End date | October 29, 2004 (was scheduled to last through November 28) |
No. of shows | 24 (40 shows were planned) |
R. Kelly concert chronology |
The Best of Both Worlds Tour was a United States-only, 40-city tour to promote Unfinished Business, headlined by Jay-Z and R. Kelly. Artists affiliated with Roc-A-Fella performed with Jay-Z during his solo sets. It was sponsored by Atlanta Worldwide Touring. [17] The tour was originally planned for 2002, but was scrapped after the R. Kelly accusations surfaced. It was originally announced on August 19, 2004, [18] [19] with initial tour dates coming on August 27. [20] The remaining shows were announced on October 6. [21] The concert was expected to gross $30 million.
Although the concert was well received by critics, they noticed tension between R. Kelly and Jay-Z. The two only performed together on stage for the beginning and finale sets. Sean Daly of The Washington Post wrote on their interactions, "Did any of it look remotely genuine? Absolutely not. How about "As the Best of Both Worlds Turn?". [22]
To help promote voting in the upcoming presidential election in the United States, Jay-Z used the tour dates in Ohio to register eligible voters using his organization Voice Your Choice and music executive Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. [23]
The concerts began with a video depicting a news report high-speed police chase of two buses heading to the arena. At the climax, the arena is darkened and the two vehicles crash and break a faux-wall on the stage. From there, R. Kelly and Jay-Z exit their respective vehicles clad in white suits and perform "The Best of Both Worlds", "Shake Ya Body", "Take You Home With Me A.K.A. Body", and "Somebody's Girl" from the Best of Both Worlds album. R. Kelly then goes backstage while Jay-Z and his entourage perform their set. From there, the two transition with 10 to 20 minute sets consisting of their songs. After about five, they then conclude with the songs "Fiesta Remix", "Big Chips" and "Hell Yeah".
During the first Rosemont concert, R. Kelly ran a skit that made light of his court case. [24] [25] Due to national outrage, he removed the act from the second concert. For reasons both Jay-Z and R. Kelly dispute, Kelly was more than two hours late for the next day's concert that ended at 1 AM—and, to make matters worse, R. Kelly left before the final joint set. The tour was unable to make it to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the next concert and was therefore canceled. [24] On October 17, Jay-Z left early to attend to an emergency, but was later seen at the R&B singer Usher's birthday party. R. Kelly stopped his set midway through the October 23 St. Louis concert for difficulty with the lighting. [23] The Milwaukee and Hartford shows were canceled for technical difficulties.
The tension boiled over in New York City's Madison Square Garden on Friday, October 29 when R. Kelly told the audience that two men were showing their guns to him. [2] [26] [27] [28] Although various media reports dispute the actual time of the disturbance, it is presumed to be near the beginning to an hour into R. Kelly's set. Madison Square Garden security then searched the area but found nothing and gave clearance for R. Kelly and his bodyguards to return. [28] On their walk back, they were suddenly pepper-sprayed by Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith, a childhood friend of Jay-Z and rushed to nearby Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center. By this time Jay-Z was performing onstage in place of R. Kelly, unaware of the backstage violence. After a 45-minute set, he told the crowd he would have a show for them in a few minutes. [28] Jay-Z returned with several musicians in the crowd Usher, Mary J. Blige, and rappers Foxy Brown, Ja Rule, T.I., P. Diddy and his Roc-A-Fella entourage.
Following the show, both Jay-Z and R. Kelly interviewed separately with New York City radio station WQHT personality Angie Martinez. Jay-Z mocked R. Kelly's claims of a gun in the audience, saying, ""That's Madison Square Garden. You cannot get a gun in Madison Square Garden. Does he know where he's at?" [28] He also confirmed the rumors of their strained relationship and called R. Kelly insecure about his louder reception at concerts and being over-concerned about stage lighting. [26] [28] Although R. Kelly confessed that he had not actually seen any guns, he was cautious after a threatening phone call earlier Friday. [28] He also expressed his desire to perform at Saturday's show. [28] The next day, Madison Square Garden banned R. Kelly and his group from that night's show, and Atlantic Worldwide Touring banned R. Kelly from the rest of the tour, which was renamed Jay-Z and Friends. [27]
After a statement detailing his disappointment at being barred, R. Kelly sued Jay-Z, Atlantic Worldwide, and his production company Marcy Projects on the next day (November 1) for breach of contract and $75 million in damages ($60 million in punitive damages and $15 million for lost income) as a result of not being able to tour. [2] The suit alleged that lighting problems caused by Jay-Z's production staff had been plaguing his performances since rehearsals in September and had to resort to fixing them himself or hiring a professional. It also accused Jay-Z of being jealous of the 60/40 split R. Kelly had over the tour gross and thus conspired the events that occurred at Madison Square Garden pressured Atlantic Worldwide to remove him. [2]
Jay-Z countersued in January 2005, claiming R. Kelly showed erratic behavior that included: being periodically late or absent from meetings and rehearsals, missing deadlines for material, and sudden demands and requests that led to several concert delays and cancellations that resulted in loss of gross. R. Kelly's lawyers challenged it as "inaccurate smears of Mr. Kelly that are utterly irrelevant to the issues of the case". [29] They further claimed it didn't deny that the rapper refused to work with R. Kelly after the Madison Square Garden incident and thus broke the contract. [29] It was ultimately thrown out by a judge in May 2005, who agreed. [30]
Jay-Z referenced R. Kelly's lawsuit on a remix of the 2004 hip hop song, "Drop It Like It's Hot". [31]
These niggas givin' out cases like a liquor store
Runnin' to the DA tryin' to get me for it
All the money it made, I'm like forget the law
I'm not 'fr-iz-aid, it J-iz-ay homie you got pl-iz-ayed
Take it like a man, the flow ran you off the st-iz-age (go sit down)
Wastin' ya time tryin' to sue S Dot tell ya lawyer
Take that civil case and drop it like it's hot
Ty Smith was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, which carried one year of prison, on November 12 for the pepper-spraying incident. [32] In November 2005, R. Kelly filed another lawsuit against Jay-Z, claiming Smith was awarded with vice president of Def Jam's artist and repertoire. [33] Regardless, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in 2006 in a plea deal that contained no jail time. [34]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [39] |
Pitchfork | (6.7/10) [40] |
RapReviews.com | (7.0/10) [41] |
Rolling Stone | [42] |
USA Today | [43] |
The album received mixed reviews from critics whom criticized the album for having the same theme as their previous outing and accused both artists of a cheap cash–in to promote their tour. Jon Caramanica of the Rolling Stone criticized Jay-Z's raps as boring. [44] Rapreviews.com's Steve Juon judged the album as a tolerable release, saying "this time R. Kelly's peanut butter R&B is actually de-emphasized a little in favor of Jay-Z's hip-hop chocolate. That's fine by me, because it tastes better that way. Not as good as an unrestrained and unfettered Jay-Z does by himself mind you, but it's an improvement." [45]
Unfinished Business debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 215,000 copies in its first week. [3] This became Jay-Z’s seventh US number one album and R. Kelly's fourth. [3] In its second week, the album dropped to number ten on the chart, selling an additional 71,000 copies. [46] On December 1, 2004, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over one million copies in the United States. [4]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Return" |
| 3:53 | |
2. | "Big Chips" |
|
| 4:43 |
3. | "We Got 'Em Goin'" (featuring Memphis Bleek) |
|
| 4:00 |
4. | "She's Coming Home with Me" |
|
| 3:49 |
5. | "Feelin' You in Stereo" |
| R. Kelly | 3:42 |
6. | "Stop" (featuring Foxy Brown) |
| Tone | 4:22 |
7. | "Mo' Money" (featuring Twista) |
| Tone | 4:08 |
8. | "Pretty Girls" |
|
| 3:34 |
9. | "Break Up (That's All We Do)" |
| Tone | 4:31 |
10. | "Don't Let Me Die" |
|
| 4:51 |
11. | "The Return (Remix)" (featuring Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh) |
|
| 2:58 |
Notes
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [4] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Robert Sylvester Kelly is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul", and "the Pied Piper of R&B". Kelly's career ended in 2019 following his arrest and subsequent convictions on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving sexual abuse of minors.
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known professionally as Nas, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas made his recording debut on Professor's group, Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".
Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Born and raised in New York City, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. He served as the president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007 before founding the entertainment company Roc Nation the following year.
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper. Upon being signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1996, she released her debut studio album, Ill Na Na, in November of that year to critical and commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sold over seven million units worldwide, and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "I'll Be".
The Best of Both Worlds is the first collaborative album by R. Kelly and Jay-Z. It was released on March 19, 2002 through Jive Records, Roc-A-Fella and The Island Def Jam Music Group. The production on the album was primarily handled by R. Kelly and Poke and Tone, but also features production by Megahertz and Charlemagne. The album also features guest appearances by Beanie Siegel, Lil' Kim and Devin the Dude.
The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label has signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by Universal Music Group. It consisted of labels created under the operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordings. On April 1, 2014, Universal Music Group publicly announced the disbandment of the Island Def Jam Music Group, leaving IDJMG and its affiliated subsidiaries as separate sister labels.
American rapper Jay-Z has released thirteen solo studio albums, four collaboration albums, one live album, one compilation album, one soundtrack album, two extended plays, one hundred and fifteen singles, nine promotional singles and eighty-two music videos. As of December 2014, Jay-Z has sold 29,179,000 studio albums in United States.
Malik Deshawn Cox, known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper. He is best known for his affiliation with fellow New York City-based rapper Jay-Z, with Cox often described as his hype man and protégé. Cox signed with his Roc-A-Fella Records label imprint in the late 1990s, through which he has released four major label studio albums: Coming of Age (1999), The Understanding (2000), M.A.D.E. (2003), and 534 (2005). He has since founded his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and Warehouse Music Group in 2016—through which he signed rapper Casanova.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his association with Jay-Z and his label Roc-A-Fella Records, to which Grant signed in 1998 and became a flagship artist. His debut studio album, The Truth (2000) was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200. Along with his solo career, Grant was the de facto leader of the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective State Property, which he formed with Roc-A-Fella labelmates, and who debuted in 2002 with a namesake film in which Grant starred. The group released two well-received studio albums.
Young Gunz is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, composed of rappers Young Chris and Neef Buck. The group is part of Beanie Sigel's State Property collective and were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. Young Gunz' 2003 debut single, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop", reached the top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Come Home with Me is the third studio album by American rapper Cam'ron, released on May 14, 2002, by his own label Diplomats Records, Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. There are featured guest appearances from Jimmy Jones, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey, DJ Kay Slay, Daz Dillinger, Tiffany, Jay-Z, McGruff, Memphis Bleek, and Beanie Sigel. To date, it is his most commercially successful album; it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 226,000 copies, and eventually sold one million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
Diplomat Records is an American hip hop record label co-founded by Harlem rappers Jim Jones and Cam'ron.
Christopher Francis Ries, known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He rose to fame as one-half of the Philadelphia-based hip hop duo Young Gunz, which he formed with rapper Neef Buck in 2001. That same year, the duo joined the larger Philadelphia-based hip hop group State Property; both acts were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records by the same time.
The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas, commonly referred to eponymously as Nas, or simply Untitled, was released on July 15, 2008 by The Jones Experience, Columbia Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. Its original title Nigger was omitted due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production, and provocative subject matter. The album features guest appearances from Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes, and The Game, among others.
The Blueprint 3 is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation and Roc-A-Fella, through distribution from Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. It is the third album in the Blueprint series, preceded by The Blueprint (2001) and The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse (2002). Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 at several recording studios and was handled by Kanye West, No I.D., The Neptunes, Jeff Bhasker, Al Shux, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, The Inkredibles, Swizz Beatz, and Timbaland. The album also features guest appearances by Kanye West, Rihanna, Drake, Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, J. Cole and Alicia Keys among others.
"D.O.A. " is a song written by American rapper Jay-Z and produced by No I.D. The song was released as a digital download on June 23, 2009, and as the first single from Jay-Z's 11th studio album, The Blueprint 3. The song made its world premiere on the New York radio station Hot 97 on June 5. Its lyrics address the overusage of Auto-Tune in the music industry. The song samples "In the Space" by French composer Janko Nilović. The bridge is inspired by Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" and interpolates lyrics from Kanye West's "Big Brother", and "You're Nobody " by The Notorious B.I.G. The song won Jay-Z his eighth Grammy Award, and his second for Best Rap Solo Performance. It peaked at No. 24 on Billboard Hot 100.
The albums discography of Roc Nation, an American company and record label, consists of three studio albums, one collaboration album, one compilation album and two mixtapes by Jay-Z, four studio albums and two mixtapes by J. Cole, one studio album by Alexis Jordan, one studio album by Hugo, one studio album by Rita Ora, and one studio album by Rihanna. Upcoming studio albums are also included.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Choir Vocals: Armirris Palmore, Faith Howard, Jeffrey W. Morrow & 7 more