Everybody wants to go out on top. But nobody really wants to quit while they're ahead. That's the eternal curse of the champion -- pride. It's what makes boxers climb into the ring past their prime. It's what convinces basketball legends to play baseball. It's what brings zillionaire rappers back to the mic for one more album. And aside from a few rare exceptions, the results are never good. Jay-Z's new CD, we are sad to say, is not one of the exceptions.

The predictable Kingdom Come -- the 36-year-old Jigga's much-hyped comeback album after his lengthy three-year "retirement" from recording -- captures Jay-Z as we've never seen him before: Off his game.

Backed by samey-sounding tracks from familiar producers like Just Blaze, Dr. Dre, Swizz Beats, Kanye and The Neptunes, Jay-Z tries to take the high road on many of these cuts, rhyming about his massive success, philanthropic efforts and political connections. And to be sure, he's still got the same instantly identifiable voice and intoxicating flow.

But when the millionaire mogul lamely proclaims "30 is the new 20" or boasts about having "good credit 'n' such," it's embarrassingly clear he's lost touch with both his audience and the hard-knock life that fuelled his earlier triumphs.

Kingdom Come does have a few cuts of interest -- Show Me What You Got is driven by a kicking live band, Anything has an addictively bouncy chorus, Minority Report contains a collage of audio samples from news stories during Hurricane Katrina, and the title track creatively slices and dices Rick James' Super Freak.

But nothing here has the power of 99 Problems or Izzo (H.O.V.A.). And most of the credit for the better cuts seems to belong to the producers and players, not the man who oughta be at the centre of the action -- and at the top of his form.

Much as we like having Jay-Z around, Kingdom Come makes you wish he had known when to quit.

Track Listing:

1. The Prelude
2. Oh My God
3. Kingdom Come
4. Show Me What You Got
5. Lost One featuring Chrisette Michele
6. Do U Wanna Ride featuring John Legend
7. 30 Something
8. I Made It
9. Anything featuring Usher & Pharrell
10. Hollywood featuring Beyonce
11. Trouble
12. Dig A Hole featuring Sterling Simms
13. Minority Report featuring Ne-Yo
14. Beach Chair featuring Chris Martin