Jay-Z's return to rap with last year's highly anticipated Kingdom Come had the feel of an aging sports legend returning to the game painfully past his prime. Inspired by a new Ridley Scott film starring Denzel Washington, American Gangster is more like an action hero's comeback. And as Rocky Balboa's Sylvester Stallone or California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can attest, old action heroes only get more rich and powerful. "I'm gettin' it," the Def Jam chief confirms on hypnotic first single "Blue Magic," with rhymes as jagged and glinting as co-producers the Neptunes' beats: "Blame Oliver North and Iran Contra/ I ran contraband that they sponsored." It's the kind of free-associative wordplay New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne has all but owned since Jay's 2003 "retirement." Wayne honors the master with playful sing-song on "Hello Brooklyn," basically letting Hova outrap him. Notorious B.I.G.-sampling "Ignorant Shit," a Black Album outtake featuring hard-edged Jay protégé Beanie Siegel, strays from the theme for an obscene, dead-right rant about the idiocy of blaming hip-hop for Don Imus. "Please don't compare me to other rappers," Jay adds on not quite aptly named "No Hook," elsewhere likening himself to a young Michael Jackson. When the horns hit on "Party Life," Jay declares, "This is black superheroes' music right here." His character on the record is more criminal than crime-fighter, but Shawn Carter is a businessman. American Gangster confirms he's still a compelling artist, too.

-- Marc Hogan