NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - Anyone walking into the swank Waldolf-Astoria hotel
Thursday morning would've been hard-pressed to figure out exactly what was going on.
Jay-Z and R.
Kelly had scheduled a press conference there to hype and answer questions about their March 26 release, The Best of Both Worlds, but it felt a lot more like a party.
Funkmaster Flex was spinning both superstars' greatest hits on the wheels of steel, and a spread of spinach-and-mushroom omelets and hash browns was left out for all to indulge upon. The morning's hosts, however, were nowhere to be found. They had been out until around 5:30 a.m., partying and finishing up their album, so they sent a few of their friends to make time with the press.
After the presidents of Jive and Def Jam addressed the crowd, attorney Johnnie Cochran came out to introduce moguls Andre Harrell and Russell Simmons. After words of praise for Jigga and Kelly, they introduced a panel of guests that would give even more kudos to the music kings. Ronald "Mr. Biggs" Isley, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Tone from Trackmasters, independent music retailer George Daniels, reformed pimp Bishop Don "Magic" Juan and P. Diddy all came out to support.
"I'm basically here - to be honest - I'm here as a fan," Diddy said. "These are my two favorite artists in the whole wide world. I go to all the concerts, I've got all the albums, I know every lyric to every song. It's just a pleasure to be here. I can't wait to see the concert, I can't wait to hear the album."
"What The Best of Both Worlds means to me," Magic told the spectators, "is when you have two fine gentleman like these come together it's gonna be a spiritual explosion. It's spiritual 'cause the [fans are] gonna know the music of the hip-hop world is one world, under one nation on the music side."
That was the perfect segue back to Flex as he debuted the album's first offering, titled "Honey," which is about being under pressure from your girl to stop chasing money in the streets. "This is mean and vicious, man," said Jay's voice, blaring from the speaker over a sample of the Bee Gees hit "Love You Inside Out."
"Lord forgive, I'm ballin' outta control/ I got the spirit of a hustla pouring outta my soul," Jigga went on to rhyme on the track. "Mommy, I love you, but there ain't no stoppin' my stroll/ If you wanna be down with me, you gotta go."
"Stuck bee-tween these two worlds," Kelly's voice sang as it oozed through the speakers. "What I'm gonna do with two girls?"
"Get This Money," whose slow Spanish guitars made it sounds like a sequel to the remix of Kelly's "Fiesta," which Jay appeared on, was also previewed. On that song, Kelly and Jay do their best to reach a light-speed pace, singing and rhyming about raking in the dough.
"We had the 'Fiesta' remix and ['Guilty Until Proven Innocent,']" Jay told the crowd, beginning to explain how the collaborative LP came about. "Hearing how those are, we would always talk back and forth: 'We should do a whole album together.' We're creative people - creative people create. Just the idea of having a whole album with myself and R. Kelly is such an amazing prospect."
As Kelly explained earlier this month, the two tried to bring the best out in each other while recording, even though they were not together for most of the LP's production.
And if Jay and Kelly can put their egos to the side long enough to wrap up and promote their album, then their labels - Def Jam and Jive, respectively - can surely figure out a way to join forces and make cheddar together. As determined by a coin toss, the album will be distributed on Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam in the U.S. and Canada, while Jive will handle distribution internationally.
