Watch The Throne
Watch The Throne, by Jay-Z & Kanye West ((c) 2011)
It’s here. The release of the summer is finally here. Jay-Z and Kanye West have finally released the much-anticipated collaboration album Watch The Throne.
An album that was originally rumored to come out in January of this year, Watch The Throne has caused for much unrest in the music world all year.
The first collaborative single ‘H*A*M’ was released on January 11 and left many scratching their heads. Produced by Lex Luger — known, for better or worse, for producing ‘Hard In Da Paint’ for Waka Flocka Flame — the single only garnered three stars (out of five) from nearly 6000 reviews on iTunes.
Fans perhaps expected more from the last living King of Hip Hop Jay-Z and the Prince Kanye West. After West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (December 2010) garnered a five-star review from Rolling Stone and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, fans expected genius from then on from West. And Jay-Z’s career speaks for itself. The first single was an unexpected flop.
Perhaps the failure of ‘H*A*M’ led the pair to rework how the album would sound and, from what I hear on the album, it was for the best.
The music lives up to its title as Kanye and Jay-Z trade verses for the album’s entirety discussing their journey to and life at the top — and they are undoubtedly at the top.
From many of Jay’s lines, we learn that life at the top hasn’t been all it’s cracked up to be. Jay-Z spits as plain as day “I’m fucking depressed” in ‘Welcome To The Jungle.’ Need more? “My uncle died / My daddy did too / Paralyzed by the pain / I can barely move / My nephew gone / My heart is torn,” he says earlier in the same track.
We learn through Jay’s lyrics on this album that although he has had such a successful career it hasn’t been easy, in both business and in his emotions.
I was wondering why Jay-Z would take on a(nother) collaboration project when he’s been on top for so long (11 No. 1 albums in a row). He alludes to the death of NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt in ‘Lift Off’ (featuring Beyoncé): “When you Earnhardt as me eventually you hit a big wall / 5, 4, 3, 2 we need fuel.” This says that perhaps Jay-Z thought he needed something fresh to keep his career afloat.
Kanye West dips into the emotional tanks as well, spitting: “Just when I thought I had everything / I lost it all / So que sera / Get a case of Syrah / Let it chase the pain / before it goes too far” in ‘Welcome To The Jungle.’ Here West alludes to his dramatic fall from the top, from hip hop darling to critics’ most wanted. He says how losing it all caused him severe pain, so he would drink (“syrah” or “shiraz” are a type of grape used to make strong wine) before his emotions carried him over the edge (suicide?). Maybe. Just a thought.
Both the good and the bad of the “good life” are explored throughout this album in a way only Jay-Z and Kanye West can do.
The “good” reaches its peak in ‘Otis’ where Jay and Kanye trade conscious verses like a good boxing match, blow after blow.
And then the “bad” reaches its peak (or valley) in ‘New Day’ where both are speaking to their future sons, apologizing in advance for the lives the boys will live. Jay-Z spits: “Sins of a father make your life ten times harder.” This line speaks for both Jay and Kanye. Because of the lives those two have lived their future sons may never get to live a normal life.
Watch The Throne is an exploration of the lives of Jay-Z and Kanye West, both when they are together and when they are apart. The overall message (to me) is that through the good times and the bad, they are still the best. Critics can say what they want. There may not be a song on the album that gets millions of spins on the radio.
But the hip hop community gets it. Jay-Z and Kanye West have never been about pleasing the mainstream music business. (This isn’t a Lil Wayne and Drake collaboration.) This is two of the greatest hip hop artists of all time coming together for what will go down as an historic album. This is luxury rap at its finest coming from the King and the Prince.
Rating: 4/5
p.s. I found it interesting that in iTunes track listing, the artist was listed as “Jay-Z & Kanye West” for every song except ‘H*A*M’ (the flop). That song was listed as “Kanye West & Jay-Z” perhaps because West was responsible for bringing in Lex Luger which could have been a reason for the song’s semi-failure.
B+ 