Earlier this month the gruff-voiced rapper Jadakiss released “Five Star Kiss” with Don Mega. This was on the heels of “Top 5 Dead or Alive,” which came out at the end of last year.
As a teenage rapper in the ’90s Jadakiss was a close protege of The Notorious B.I.G.’s. Jadakiss went on to have artists like Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne as guests on his records.
On his new record, Jadakiss peppers the songs with recollections about his younger days in Yonkers, N.Y., where he now owns a juice bar. Elsewhere Jadakiss and one of his crew debate the merits of varying psychoactive effects of different types of weed. The raps might be more or less predictable, about sex, money, competition, drug dealing (or “distribution” as he likes to call it) and empire, but some of the backing tracks and samples are deliriously weird, like “This Is Incredible,” which sounds like a dizzy loop from a brass-heavy Wagner overture. “D Block Double R” toggles between slinky funk and a weird strummy folk sample. It’s disorienting and absurd but entertaining.
Jadakiss performs with Beanie Sigel at Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven, Thursday, May 26, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $60. Information: 203-624-8623, toadsplace.com.
