AMG Review of Best of Both Worlds [Clean]

Jason Birchmeier
All Music Guide

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). Unfortunately, Jay-Z's contributions (interjections and verses, mainly) sound like filler on The Best of Both Worlds, although Kelly fares better, supplying some potent hooks and co-producing the tracks with the Trackmasters (i.e., Poke and Tone), but he can't carry the album alone. Still, there are some moments where the collaborations click, particularly on the album's singles, "Get This Money" and "Take You Home with Me." [The Best of Both Worlds was also made available in a "clean" version with all profanity removed.]