Well they certainly didn’t make it boring, did they? Of course with Kanye West and Jay-Z rapping together over a whole album, how could it be? Kanye and Jay’s much anticipated album Watch The Throne was released digitally on August 8 at 12 a.m. through iTunes to an eagerly awaiting public. What made the release that much more special and intriguing is that Jay-Z and Mr. West somehow managed to avoid a leak, something that has been plaguing the music industry and especially those in hip-hop since the invention of the internet. No other major album in the last several years has managed to keep fans completely in the dark up until the actual intended release date with some albums being leaked weeks (Eminem’s Recovery) and even months (50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct) before the scheduled date. The only other high-profile album that has managed to do this somewhat is Dr. Dre’s Detox album, considering Dre has been working on it for close to 10 years it is a miracle we haven’t heard any of the Doctor’s songs. Of course Detox might be a myth and the reason we haven’t heard anything is because there’s nothing to hear. Let’s just move on though because thinking about that makes my head hurt.
The original plan for this collaboration was to make it a 5 song EP but as the two hip-hop legends worked together they decided to scrap that idea and just make a full length album instead. Upon hearing the news I was extremely excited, how could you not be? But then H.A.M (Hard As a Motherfucker), the album’s first single was released in January of 2011 and doubts started to creep in. Maybe Kanye had gone too far with his musical experimentation after his wildly successful My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album and maybe Jay had lost it, the last thing he had released at that point in time was his commercially successful but critically polarizing The Blueprint 3 in 2009 and other than some stellar guest spots on songs (Rick Ross’ Free Mason, Kanye’s So Appalled) he had been absent from the musical spotlight. However as soon as these doubts started shaping in my head they were pushed away. If anyone deserved the benefit of the doubt, it was these two (Kanye made a whole album where he sang over 80% of the songs in auto-tune enjoyable). And sure enough, whatever doubts I had vanished completely after hearing Otis, the second single off Watch The Throne. The song sampled the Otis Redding classic Try a Little Tenderness to great effect giving the song a soulful feel that took me back to Kanye’s earlier albums and Jay delivered with lyrics such as Photoshoot fresh/looking like wealth/im bout to call the paparazzi on myself. I loved the song but others were quick to criticize the song by saying it lacked soul and made up for it in arrogance. I found this argument confusing because listening to a Kanye record without hearing at least some cockiness is like listening to a Wiz record without mention of smoking weed or a DJ Khaled record without him yelling nonsensically in the background, it’s just not going to happen. So how does the rest of the album shape up? Here are my thoughts:
The album starts with Odd Future’s Frank Ocean singing What’s a King to a God?/What’s a God to a Non-believer?/Who don’t believe in anything? over a beat produced by Kanye West and 88-Keys. These opening lines exhibit the album’s grand aspirations and fit well with the overall feel. Both Kanye and Jay spit good verses on this track with Jay comparing Kanye’s beat making ability to Jesus’ as a carpenter and calls his flow the holy ghost. My one gripe about this song is the chorus, although I am a big fan of Frank Ocean (if you haven’t heard his mixtape/EP “Nostalgia, Ultra” already, do it as soon as possible) this particular hook seems out of place musically and in my opinion slows down the momentum of the song that is created by the two verses. With that being said this is still a very good song and a nice way to start the album.
Lift Off (ft. Beyonce)
The second song of the album feels more like a Beyonce song that Kanye and to a lesser extent Jay-Z (only raps 5 lines on this one) have hopped on. The production by Kanye sounds very big (hard to describe without hearing it) and something that could have been on 808’s and Heartbreak. I am not always the biggest fan of Beyonce (whenever I hear Run the World (Girls) I cringe painfully) but she delivers on this song that also features an actual countdown to lift off in the background.
Niggas In Paris
This song features a dubstep-inspired last minute and samples the Will Ferrell movie Blades of Glory and still manages to be one of my favourite tracks on the album. The beat made by Hit-Boy is amazing (seriously if you don’t bob your head while listening, check if you still have a heartbeat) and Jay and Kanye don’t disappoint lyrically with Ye’ chiming in with his opinion on the royal wedding Prince William’s ain’t do it right if you ask me/Cause if I was him I would have married Kate & Ashley and Jay spitting Y’all know that shit don’t phase me/The Nets could go 0-82 and I look at you like this shit gravy.
Otis
My thoughts on this song have been expressed above. Really enjoy this one
Gotta Have It
This Neptunes’ produced record has Kanye and Jay trading lines one right after the other in such an entertaining fashion that it makes you sad that there aren’t at least a couple of other songs on the album that sound like this one. It even has a Ferris Bueller mention Imma need a day off/I think I’ll call Ferris up that will be seen on many Facebook statuses for years to come. Very enjoyable song.
New Day
Whatever soul was missing in Otis is made up for and more in New Day. A song produced by Wu-Tang’s resident beat maker RZA that has the two rappers speaking to their unborn sons about their future lives. The story behind this song is that when Jay heard Kanye’s verse he didn’t want to rap on it and “ruin” the song since West’s verse was so personal and emotional. Upon hearing it I can agree with Mr. Carter because Kanye holds nothing back rapping And I’ll never let my son have an ego/he’ll be nice to everyone wherever we go/I mean, I might even make him a republican/so everybody know he love white people. In the end Jay decided to rap and gave us an equally impressive verse telling his future son Sorry Junior, I already ruined ya/cause you ain’t even alive/paparazzi pursuin’ ya. One of my favourites on the album.
That’s My Bitch (ft. Elly Jackson)
The first miss-step of the album in my opinion. Not to say the song isn’t interesting because with an eclectic (but somewhat overbearing and annoying) beat made by Q-Tip and the two artists delivering catchy lines about the opposite sex, it is. It’s just that after the emotionally charged New Day, the song seems out of place and because of this it is my least favourite song on the CD.
Welcome To the Jungle
This is not a cover of the Guns and Roses classic although Jay can’t resist calling himself the black Axl Rose. It is instead a Swizz Beatz produced record that is a Jay-Z song in everything but name. Kanye has only 4 lines on this song and allows Jay to shine on this personal record that has him looking at himself in the mirror and reflecting My uncle died, My Daddy did too/Paralyzed by the pain, I can barely moveMy nephew gone, My heart is torn/Sometimes I look to the sky, Ask why I was born.
Who Gon Stop Me
More of the same here as Jay and Kanye rap confidently over a repetitive beat made by Sham “Sak Pase” Joseph. Not sure why but this song was the only one that seemed forgettable on the album. Maybe it’s because this type of boastful song has been done better in the past by the duo but this was not one of the highlights. Even so, this song is still by no means bad and is more an example of how good the album is that it sounds worse in comparison. It even contains of the more obscure sports references I’ve heard in all of rap with Kanye rhyming Last night ain’t go so well/Got kicked up out of the hotel/Got a little freaky like Marvin Albert/Yes! Tell Howard Cosell.
Murder to Excellence
The second Swizz Beatz produced song (S1 produced the second part of the song) on the album is this smooth sounding song that begins with the duo rapping about black on black murder, Kanye raps I feel the pain in my city wherever I go/314 soldiers died in Iraq/509 died in Chicago and then switching over to voice their opinions on black excellence. Probably the most serious song (topic-wise) on the album and yet still retains the easy-listening vibe that is found throughout.
Made In America (ft. Frank Ocean)
The second song with Frank Ocean on the chorus works much better in my opinion and really shows the listener that Frank’s voice is truly one of the best in the business today. Also, in contrast to No Church In the Wild, the hook on this song excellently complements the two verses that have Jay and Kanye reminiscing of life before stardom. We’ve heard these stories before from both rappers but what worked before works here as well.
Why I Love You (ft. Mr. Hudson)
For the last song on the album Kanye and Jay-Z receive help from British singer Mr. Hudson who most notably appeared on Jay-Z’s hit Forever Young. This is the second song on the album that feels like a Jay-Z song with a Kanye feature. The song has Jay speaking his mind on people who he feels are disloyal to him (Beanie Siegel, we’re looking at you) I tried to teach niggas how to be kings/And all they ever wanted to be was soldiers/So the love is gone, Til blood is drawn/So we no longer wear the same uniform. This song could have been much worse than it ends up being because for whatever reason Mr. Hudson’s voice fits great with the chorus and makes this a good way to end the album.
So what have we learned after 12 (the deluxe edition of the album has 4 songs, 2 of which (H.A.M. and The Joy) have been released previously and 2 others that feature more of the same from Kanye and Jay) songs by 2 of the best rappers in the game today? We’ve learned that Kanye certainly hasn’t slowed down since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and that Jay-Z is still one of the best. We’ve learned that although Kanye is better at beat-making and the musical aspects of the business, Hov still outclasses him on the lyrical side of things. In the end I feel that this album has somehow lived up to the great hype surrounding it (gives hope to The Game’s R.E.D. album coming out later this month) and in the process might have even saved the music business financially speaking if releasing a major album without any leaks is now a possibility. We will have many chances to find out in the near future as several heavily-anticipated albums are coming out (The Carter IV, The R.E.D. album, Take Care, God Forgives I Don’t, Cole World, Radioactive). As it stands right now, this is the album of 2011, how it will be viewed in years to come only time will tell but for the time being it should be enjoyed.
Score: 9.1/10
Luka Milanovic
@Luka_M91 on Twitter
@Luka_M91 on Twitter
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