The word on the street was that Jay Z and R. Kelly were in the process of completing a collaboration album. The word on the street was also that Beanie Seigal was signed to Bad Boy. Well, today’s press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel (nyc), confirms that kings of hip-hop and r&b have completed the now heavily anticipated project, “The Best of Both Worlds.”
Set to drop on March 26th, “The Best of Both Worlds” is a project unlike any other. With the success of the “Fiesta” remix, and “Guilty Until Proven Innocent” both Def Jam and Jive felt the project would bring out the best in their artist. When asked what was the inspiration the fueled this project, Hova stated that his inspiration is life, while R. Kelly stated his was the duo together. He stated, “you mix the potions, and see what is created, that’s how great things happen.”
The album, featuring production by R. Kelly and Trackmasters, is the first time artist of such caliber have completed a 100% collaborative effort. Many questions were asked in reference to whom contributed what. The record companies as well as the artist express deeply that this is a 50-50 effort. To show how 50/50 this effort is, Barry Weis and Kevin Liles flipped a coin on some key executive decisions such as distribution and promotion. They relayed that this project was not too difficult to organize being that both companies have had a good relationship for the past twenty years.
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On the all-star panel to introduce the concept of hip-hop and r&b in an all out collaborations was P. Diddy, Russell Simmons, Andre Harrell, Ronald Isley, Tone(Trackmasters), and Arch Bishop Don Juan. They all expressed that this is not simply an album of today, it is a trend setting event. “The Best of Both Worlds is an opportunity to bring Jay Z and R. Kelly, two of the most important brands of our culture, for one-time only unprecedented event,” Kevin Liles added. “This is clearly more than just an album-it’s a movement. One album, one tour, one movement, all for one culture.”
The first single to be released is the club friendly “Honey.” In addition to video programming, BET will air a 30-minute special behind the scenes of The Best of Both Worlds. Beanie Seigle and Lil Kim are the only guest appearances slotted, and an all out tour is planned for the summer of 2002.
