Jadakiss, 'The Last Kiss'

The buzz: Five years after Jadakiss released his sophomore album “Kiss of Death,” this third solo effort, the long-delayed “The Last Kiss,” is finally seeing the light of day. The New York native rapper was a close friend to the late Notorious B.I.G., and is best known for his controversial 2004 single “Why?” featuring Anthony Hamilton.

The verdict: Even with several producers involved (including heavyweights like the Neptunes), this LP's overall sound is unified, slickly polished and lyrically balanced. On “What If,” a series of questions asked with the help of Nas, Jada posits politically aware questions similar to what he did on “Why?” Tracks such as “Things I’ve Been Through,” which cleverly samples Luther Vandross, and “Letter to B.I.G.” (featuring Faith Evans) are tender counterpoints to rougher joints like the trap-rappin’ “Come and Get Me” (with S.I. and Sheek Louch) and the anti-abuse anthem “Smoking Gun” (with Jazmine Sullivan).

Did you know? With Styles P and Sheek Louch, Jadakiss is one-third of D-Block, the rap group formerly known as the LOX and rumored to be putting together a new album. A motivational anthem about working hard with your team, “One More Step” with Styles P is among the standouts on “The Last Kiss.”

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