Both
R. Kelly and
Jay-Z were flying high around the time of
The Best of Both Worlds, so the idea of a collaborative album was a reasonable one, following up the success of
The Blueprint (2001) and
TP-2.com (2000).
The Best of Both Worlds falls terribly short of both artists' high standards, unfortunately, sounding as if the vocals were phoned in, which in the case of
Jay-Z they probably were, for his contributions (interjections and verses, mainly) sound like filler here.
Kelly fares better throughout
The Best of Both Worlds, supplying some potent hooks and co-producing the tracks with
the Trackmasters (i.e.,
Poke and
Tone), but not even he can carry an album this uninspired. Still, there are some moments where the collaborations click, particularly on the album's singles, "Get This Money" and "Take You Home with Me." Overall, though,
The Best of Both Worlds rates among the poorest efforts -- arguably the poorest -- in either
Kelly's or
Jay-Z's catalog to date.