In Brief

* * Jadakiss, “Kiss Tha Game Goodbye,” Ruff Ryders/Interscope. This member of the LOX has garnered deserved accolades for his cunning wordplay, but he mostly misses the mark on his highly anticipated debut album. The New Yorker’s laid-back delivery sometimes sounds apathetic rather than relaxed, and his punch lines aren’t as consistently strong as usual. Solid production from Swizz Beatz, the Neptunes and others does little to push this collection to higher ground.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.