Best of Both Worlds: Unfinished Business

Didn’t Jay-Z retire? Isn’t R. Kelly in jail yet? Didn’t their first album together suck? Ignoring these questions, Jay-Z and R. Kelly combine forces again on Unfinished Business, and the results are very businesslike, with both parties turning in performances that are professional, competent, and largely devoid of passion. “The Return” rides an undeniably jaunty beat, but the piped-in crowd noise really sets the agenda: The excitement is assumed, but never actually created. Jigga’s flow still mesmerizes, his rhymes rolling out smoothly despite not having much to say. R. Kelly isn’t one to be out-smoothed, but there’s something disturbing about hearing him declare things like “I can’t stop pimpin’!” in light of his current legal imbroglio. Later, Kelly disses Sisqo, which feels kind of sad and desperate, the equivalent of bitch-slapping Vanilla Ice. There are moments when both of these guys’ enormous talents shine, but they just remind us how much less this is than the sum of its parts.