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The Best of Both Worlds (Jay-Z and R. Kelly album)

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The Best of Both Worlds is the first collaborative album by R. Kelly and Jay-Z.[1] 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 Best of Both Worlds
Studio album by
R. Kelly and Jay-Z
ReleasedMarch 19, 2002
Recorded2001 - 2002
Genre
Length49:16
Label
Producer
R. Kelly and Jay-Z chronology
The Best of Both Worlds
(2002) 		Unfinished Business
(2004)
R. Kelly chronology
TP-2.com
(2000) 		The Best of Both Worlds
(2002) 		Chocolate Factory
(2003)
Jay-Z chronology
MTV Unplugged
(2001) 		The Best of Both Worlds
(2002) 		The Blueprint2: The Gift & the Curse
(2002)
Singles from The Best of Both Worlds
  1. "Honey"
    Released: January 16, 2002
  2. "Get This Money"
    Released: March 2002
  3. "Take You Home with Me a.k.a. Body"
    Released: May 21, 2002

The Best of Both Worlds was supported by three singles: "Honey", "Get This Money" and "Take You Home with Me a.k.a. Body". The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 223,000 copies in its first week. Despite this, critical reception was generally mixed.[2]

Singles

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The album spawned three singles from its songs. The first single, "Honey" was released on January 16, 2002 as the lead single for the album. It was produced by R. Kelly and Poke and Tone. The song contains a sample of "Love You Inside Out" by the Bee Gees. The single failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 but managed to peak at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] The second single, "Get this Money" was released in March 2002. The third single, "Take You Home with Me a.k.a. Body" was released on May 21, 2002. Both of which failed to chart.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
Blender     [5]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[6]
Robert Christgau  [7]
Rolling Stone     [8]
USA Today    [9]

The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Some critics praised the album while others gave it poor reviews. Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic stated that "while the idea of a collaborative album was a reasonable one, the album falls terribly short of both artists' high standards". He also called the album uninspired and claims it "rates among the poorest efforts -- arguably the poorest -- in either Kelly's or Jay-Z's catalog to date." He gave the album a two star rating out of five.[4]

Steve Jones of USA Today gave the album a better review, calling the album "falls short of genius". He claims "The two charismatic hitmakers mesh well and represent for their respective genres." In addition, he also believes that "They don't, however, really push each other to the next level or break the ground you might expect from this kind of meeting of the minds." He gave the album three out of four stars.[9]

In retrospect, Jay-Z said: "I think the first The Best of Both Worlds is amazing".[10]

Commercial performance

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The Best of Both Worlds debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 223,000 copies in its first week.[2] This became Jay-Z's fifth US top-ten album and R. Kelly's fifth on the chart.[2] In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, selling an additional 137,000 copies.[11] In its third week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling 82,000 more copies.[11] On May 14, 2002, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over one million copies.[12] In 2002, The Best of Both Worlds was ranked as the 99th most popular album in the US.[13] As of November 2004, the album has sold 875,000 copies in the United States.[14]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Best of Both Worlds"
Megahertz3:12
2."Take You Home with Me"
3:35
3."Break Up to Make Up"
  • Carter
  • Kelly
  • R. Kelly
  • Poke and Tone
4:08
4."It Ain't Personal"
  • R. Kelly
  • Poke and Tone
4:24
5."The Streets"
  • Carter
  • Kelly
R. Kelly4:34
6."Green Light" (featuring Beanie Sigel)
  • R. Kelly
  • Tone[a]
2:48
7."Naked"KellyR. Kelly3:08
8."Shake Ya Body" (featuring Lil' Kim)
  • R. Kelly
  • Poke and Tone
3:19
9."Somebody's Girl"
  • Carter
  • Kelly
  • Barnes
  • Olivier
  • R. Kelly
  • Poke and Tone
3:41
10."Get This Money"
  • Carter
  • Kelly
  • R. Kelly
  • Tone[a]
3:04
11."Shorty"
  • Carter
  • Kelly
  • Barnes
  • Olivier
  • R. Kelly
  • Poke and Tone
4:10
12."Honey"
  • R. Kelly
  • Poke and Tone
4:02
13."Pussy" (featuring Devin the Dude)
  • Carter
  • Kelly
Charlemagne4:50

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[33] Gold 100,000*
United States (RIAA)[12] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Best of Both Worlds: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  2. ^ a b c "'NOW 9' Takes Hits To The Top". Billboard. March 28, 2002. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "UK Singles Chart - May 25, 2002". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  4. ^ a b https://www.allmusic.com/album/r581535
  5. ^ Weiner, Jonah. "R. Kelly and Jay-Z: The Best of Both Worlds, Jive/Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, 2002". Blender. Archived from the original on June 23, 2003. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  6. ^ "Best of Both Worlds". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  7. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: R. Kelly & Jay-Z". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  8. ^ "R. Kelly: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 20, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "USATODAY.com – R. Kelly, Jay-Z can do better than their 'Best'". usatoday.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  10. ^ "JAY-Z - Rap Radar Podcast (Part 2)". YouTube. 6 September 2017.
  11. ^ a b Abbey Goodman (April 3, 2002). "Celine Dion Tops Albums Chart; WWF Avant Make Strong Debut". MTV. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "American album certifications – Jay-Z & R. Kelly – The Best of Both Worlds". Recording Industry Association of America.
  13. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  14. ^ "Big 'Business': Feuding Kelly, Jay-Z Top Album Chart". Billboard. November 3, 2004. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  15. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 8 April 2002" (PDF) (632). Australian Web Archive. April 24, 2002: 2. Archived from the original on April 23, 2002. Retrieved July 28, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ "Austriancharts.at – R. Kelly & Jay-Z – The Best of Both Worlds" (in German). Hung Medien.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – R. Kelly & Jay-Z – The Best of Both Worlds" (in French). Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. April 11, 2002. Archived from the original on November 4, 2004. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  19. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. April 25, 2002. Archived from the original on May 1, 2002. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – R. Kelly & Jay-Z – The Best of Both Worlds" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  21. ^ "Lescharts.com – R. Kelly & Jay-Z – The Best of Both Worlds". Hung Medien.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – R. Kelly & Jay Z – The Best of Both Worlds" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – R. Kelly & Jay-Z – The Best of Both Worlds". Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – R. Kelly & Jay-Z – The Best of Both Worlds". Hung Medien.
  25. ^ "Jay-Z Album Chart History in UK Albums Chart". Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "Jay-Z Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Jay-Z Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
  28. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  29. ^ "Top 100 rap albums of 2002 in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  30. ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2002" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  31. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  32. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  33. ^ "French album certifications – R Kelly & Jay Z – Best of Both Worlds" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
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