KINGDOM COME - JAY-Z DEFENDS KINGDOM COME

Rapper JAY-Z has defended his critically-panned album KINGDOM COME, insisting the project was "experimental and sophisticated". The Big Pimpin' hitmaker had his worst reviews and lowest sales figures with the 2006 release - his much-hyped comeback record after announcing his retirement from rap in 2003. But he stands by the LP despite all of the media criticism. He says, "I thought Kingdom Come was experimental and sophisticated. But people hold me to a different standard. I was just reading a Rolling Stone review of American Gangster (his latest album), and they were like, 'Jay-Z can't just make new records, he has to make epochal records'."