25 Fall Albums We Can't Wait to Hear

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Image credit: Jay-Z Photograph by Jeff Riedel

Jay-Z

In 2002, Jay-Z declared that his next CD, The Black Album, would also be his last. His future lay not in the beats but in the boardroom. And that ambition became a reality when, in December 2004, he was announced as the new president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. How to explain, then, the news that this fall he will release a new CD, Kingdom Come? ''It was the worst retirement, maybe, in history,'' he admits. And then he launches into an impromptu a cappella preview of the title track, which was inspired by a 1996 comic in which Superman comes out of retirement to save the world. The lyrics that effortlessly roll off his tongue may help explain his return: ''Take off the blazer/Loosen up the tie/Step inside the booth/Superman is alive!''

So without further ado, let us welcome, and celebrate, the return of Jay-Z, a.k.a. Jigga, a.k.a. Hova. He is, arguably, the most powerful man in the music business — but without his music, well, he's just Clark Kent.

The album's still a work in progress, and the mogul in him doesn't want to divulge too much. But soon his obvious enthusiasm for the project overwhelms his better judgment.

''It's more in the vein of The Black Album than The Blueprint,'' he says. ''I've been experimenting with things, different types of music.'' In addition to Timbaland, Jay-Z has called on the production skills of Kanye West and Dr. Dre. He also hopes to reteam with Rick Rubin, who oversaw the thunderous ''99 Problems'' off the triple-platinum Black Album. ''Oh, and actually, Chris Martin produced a track on there,'' he adds casually. Yes, Coldplay's Chris Martin. ''We met at a charity dinner and just really kept in touch. He sent me these beautiful chords for this song called 'Beach Chair.' I had Dre put some drums on it. It's really, really incredible.''

Kingdom's lyrics, too, come from a wide variety of sources. A track called ''Most Kings'' is inspired by a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting (which he owns). ''Lost Ones'' finds the man who once rapped about his inability to shed tears dealing with the car-crash death of a beloved relative. ''One of the most crushing things that ever happened to me was losing my nephew,'' he says. ''As you mature you realize that being vulnerable isn't weak. You realize that a man is himself.''

He doesn't yet know who will guest-perform on the CD (''I take care of that at the end''). But one candidate is Eminem, who has kept an almost invisible profile since a spell in rehab and his short-lived remarriage to Kim Mathers. ''I speak to him from time to time,'' says Jay-Z. ''He's holding up. You know, he went through a tough time. He's getting stronger.''

Another possible guest, of course, is his frequent collaborator Beyoncé, who has also been his girlfriend since…Well, it's hard to pinpoint when they did get together, given that both parties decline to even admit that they are a couple, despite the massive evidence to the contrary. To cite just one example, on the recent Beyoncé single ''Deja Vu,'' Jay-Z raps that ''We used to bag girls like Birkin bags/Now I bag B''; the accompanying clip features the rapper being suggestively pawed by the former Destiny's Child frontwoman.

Yet Jay-Z could not be more emphatic in his denial that the track represented any kind of official ''coming out'' for the couple. ''No. No. No. No,'' he says. '''Bag' is not having sex. To 'bag' someone is to court them. I don't mean having sex.'' But the rapper does concede that those who watch the clip and think ''Damn, it's good to be Jay,'' would not be wrong. ''At times, man,'' he laughs. ''At times! Ha!''

(This is an excerpt from Entertainment Weekly's Sept. 22, 2006, cover story. For the full text, click here.)

Written and reported by Clark Collis, Ryan Dombal, Michael Endelman, Pat Gilbert, Leah Greenblatt, Derek Manson, Whitney Pastorek, Vanessa Rothschild, Simon Vozick-Levinson, Margeaux Watson, and Chris Willman)