After a short delay, Jadakiss has released 5th solo album. The delay was for good reason. The album was originally supposed to be released on Friday February 28th, but with the state of the times in the New York Hip-Hop community, with the passing of Pop Smoke, Jadakiss decided to wait an extra week to release the album. The Jadakiss Ignatius album was released on Friday March 6th.

A widely buzzed about single was supposed to be released two weeks prior to the album release, but the content was a bit raw considering Pop Smoke’s death. The single, “Hunting Season,” which features Pusha T is still be featured on the album.

Jadakiss released an official statement with the announcement of the new album release date to ease the minds of fans and explain why he felt it was necessary to push the album back just a bit.

“The New York hip-hop community is mourning the untimely passing of one of our brightest young stars, and I felt it was best to pause for a moment to come together and reflect. The IGNATIUS album means a lot to me – it celebrates the life of my brother Icepick Jay, another one we lost too soon. It was Jay’s dream for me to collaborate with Pusha T on a new song. The single we’d planned to release together – “Hunting Season” – is a lyrical metaphor about taking out MC’s in the rap arena, and we didn’t want anyone to confuse it with anything else. So out respect for Jay’s memory, for Pop Smoke’s memory, Pusha and I agreed to put this one on hold for a minute. You can hear it when the album drops on March 6th. Listen as it’s intended: two MC’s who love hip-hop, and have a lot of love and respect for the next generation coming up.” – Jadakiss

The lead single from the Jadakiss Ignatius album is “Me” and the follow-up single, “Kisses To The Sky” features Emanny & Rick Ross. Watch the visuals for both singles below.