Watch The Throne: The Review I Know You Weren’t Waiting For…
But my opinionated ass is gonna give it to you anyway…
Intro
If you don’t know what Watch The Throne is or just have little to no interest in hip-hop music in general you should go ahead to another post right now because this is about to get real wordy on a topic you don’t care about. For those that do care, you certainly remember when Kanye tweeted this almost a year ago:
From that moment to the present, people have been speculating not whether history will be made but when. We waited anxiously for a taste of what Watch The Throne might sound like. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, 5 tracks turned into full length album, and the only thing we had to show were a couple of G.O.O.D. Friday tracks featuring Jay-Z that eventually made their way to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. While these were some highly praised tracks, they shared the same quality that almost every Kanye and Jay song had up to that point: one of the artists clearly out performed the other. The same conversations that were being had about the Boston Celtics in 07-08 or the Miami Heat in 10-11 were happening over a hip-hop album: How will their egos mesh? Is there enough mic for the both of them?
The Build-Up
We got a taste in January with the first single “H.A.M.” It was well received, with lines quickly incorporating themselves into the lexicons of hardcore hip-hop heads and casual listeners alike. In the end, though, it really never resolved any of the aforementioned questions. In July, we got “Otis”, featuring a stellar sample of the late great Otis Redding. More bravado, more millionaire rap, more quotes (“I invented swag/Poppin’ bottle’s puttin’ supermodels in a cab” “I made ‘Jesus Walks’, I’m never goin’ to hell”/ Couture level flow, it’s never going on sale”), and for the first time it sounded like Kanye and Jay were really vibing together. The back and forth nature of their rhymes was akin to the first time we saw LeBron and Wade run a fastbreak together: you just knew if they continued to work together like that, no one would be able to stop them. In the days leading up the release, questions of leaking began to swirl: namely what if it leaks? On the Angie Martinez Show, Jay assured everyone that they had taken every precaution to make sure it wouldn’t leak. And on August 8th, just like Jordan in Game 7 of the 1998 Conference Finals, Jay delivered with his guarantee: an iTune exclusive release without a prior leak.
There were some that were calling it a classic having only heard the singles; others were calling it a over-hyped on the same premises. While Jay and Kanye are two of my favorite artists, I am very much a realist and at times a skeptic, so my my stance was in between: reserve judgement on the project until we get the entire thing. As soon as my copy of the deluxe version finished downloading, I began listening to it… at 3 in the morning. After I took my ass back to bed, I decided I would listen to the album all the way through as many times as possible the next day to get a feel for the entire project. Once I had a feel for the project, I would then go back to specific songs that stand out to me for good or bad.
Initial Thoughts
The album starts out strong with a much anticipated collaboration with Frank Ocean. Produced by 88-Keys, the hand drums and guitar sample of “No Church In The Wild” are a marked change from the heavy operatic synth of the Lex Lugar produced “H.A.M.” While different musically, the tone of the track is just as dark. Ocean sings opens with the hook:
“Human being to the mob / What’s a mob to a king? / What’s a king to a god? / What’s a god to a non-believer / Who don’t believe in anything? / Will he make it out alive? / Alright alright / No church in the wild.”
Jay and Kanye essentially spend the rest of the album exploring aspects of this juxtaposition: you can be a god to some but the notion of being a god means nothing to a non-believer. The album is divided by an eerie musical interlude: one after “No Church In The Wild, the second after “A New Day”, another after “Welcome to the Jungle”, and the forth just before “Illest Mother Fucker Alive”. These interludes are almost musical palette cleansers as the tenor after the interludes generally change quite a bit. The album on the whole plays well all the way through: with 12 standard tracks and 4 bonus tracks. The only real hiccup in terms of playability comes at the end of the standard album and just before the bonus tracks. There is a three minute gap at the beginning of track 13, “Illest Motherfucker Alive”, that had everyone on Twitter asking, “Is there something wrong with this track??” My hypothesis is that Jay and Kanye wanted to achieve the same feel from the end of The Blueprint and other classic albums where you just let that last track play thinking that it will just loop around and start the record again only to find that there are bonus tracks. The problem with that is the fact that the bonus tracks were separate tracks rather than one long final track. Also it was an iTunes only digital release: everyone could see the tracklisting and knew there were still 4 more songs. On the whole, this is certainly an enjoyable album for a hip-hop fan. As one of my good friends pointed out: good commercial hip-hop is still good hip-hop. I think most will agree that the production was a high point on the album. We have come to expect the unexpected with Kanye in terms of production. Kanye and Jay-Z have done great features on each other’s albums, but how would they fair as a duo?
The Standouts
Let’s start with the most acclaimed song from the listening party reviews, “Niggas in Paris”. I can see how it would be amazing in the Hayden Planetarium with a Kanye orchestrated light show. This was produced by Hit-Boy and described by him as a track that Kanye said he had to have while he and Jay were in… well… Paris. 
It just has an undeniable energy to it with it’s sparse synth melody, snares and hard hitting bass drums. This is far from an introspective track. Kanye and Jay portray a nouveau riche, “They should have never given us ni**as money” mentality. The chorus is simple and catchy with Jay chanting, “Ball so hard, mu’fuckers wanna fine me” and Kanye responding, “That shit cray.” Expect both of these phrases to make it in to everyday conversation or blog posts sometime around yesterday. The next track that stands out to me is “A New Day”. This was produced by RZA and has just an amazing Nina Simone “Feeling Good” sample, that I personally think outshines “Otis”. The result is an surprisingly introspective track where the artists write open letters to their unborn sons. Much like the last few tracks on MBDTF, Kanye lays all of his cards on the table: referencing his failed relationship with Alexis Phifer, his George Bush rant, the Taylor Swift incident, and even Amber Rose. Jay certainly sticks with the theme, but his consistency and lyrical prowess are certainly overshadowed by Ye’s honesty and emotion. ”That’s My Bitch” and “Who Gon’ Stop Me” are certified stand on the table in VIP with bottles in each hand club bangers that could get play in any club. If I was an A&R, I would push for “That’s My Bitch” to be the next single. “Murder to Excellence” is another surprisingly introspective track that takes the listener from the duo’s upbringings in two of America’s “murder capitals, where they murder for capital” to their present day status as members of the world’s elite. After the aforementioned long ass silence, “Illest Motherfucker Alive” comes starts of the bonus track section in grand fashion as yet another brag track rife with quotable lines (“I need a slow motion video right now… ‘Cause I feel like Hype Williams shootin’ a nigga…” “Fuck your awards like Eddie Murphy’s couch / The Roc is in the building we should have stayed in the house!”). This is also the track referencing Russell Crowe from the mini-doc, which leaked recently, that Kanye and Jay brought Crowe in to hear.
The Skippables
Don’t let the crazed fanboys fool you, WTT definitely has some tracks that miss the mark. In my opinion, the first skip worthy track is “Lift Off” featuring none other than Mrs. Carter, Beyonce. It is like the movies with all-star casts and a cookie-cutter feel good plot vying for an Oscar. You know they were in the studio thinking, “The radio is going to go nuts over this.” Unfortunately, whatever chemistry Jay and B have at home didn’t come through on this track.
Another track that falls short, but just barely, is the Swizz Beatz produced “Welcome to the Jungle”. No, this isn’t a rehash of the Guns ‘n Roses classic (thank God), but Swizz’s need to be heard on almost ever beat he makes is distracting. I spent half the track bobbing my head and the other half wishing Mr. Keys would shut the fuck up. The last track that I thought was a bid of a dud was “Made in America”, Frank Ocean’s second feature on the album. While it’s cool that Hov and Yeezy gave the young sensation another look, I just don’t think the song fits his vocal style. I felt like they wanted John Legend vocals, but didn’t want to pay John Legend studio fees. The song just needed someone that could really convey the heft of the prayer-like hook, and Frank just doesn’t have the vocal chops. All that being said, these “duds” are like a 17-5-5 game from LeBron: objectively speaking they are actually pretty good, but you just expect more from players of such an elite caliber.
CB’s Verdict
One thing that was increasingly clear over the course of this album is the age difference between Kanye and Jay at least in terms of mentality: Jay sounds decidedly older than Kanye. While Kanye comes off as eager and at times wreckless, Hov sounds like an old pro who has had his fun and is content to watch from the sidelines. On tracks like “A New Day”, you can hear impending fatherhood in his tone while Kanye’s verse is much more hypothetical and self-reflexive. That said, I found the styles to be quite complimentary, with Jay playing a stayed Dean Martin to Kanye’s animated Jerry Lewis.
I felt the production was top notch and often times found myself getting so entranced in the beat that I had to rewind the track to catch the lyrics. If I had to give it a numerical rating, I would give WTT a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
Conclusion (Wrap that shit up, B!)
People expected Watch The Throne to make history, but only time will tell if this is truly a classic album. With first week sales at a projected 400-450K and rumors circulating about the album already going platinum off pre-sales alone, I think it’s clear that this will continue Kanye and Jay’s track records of platinum records (this would be Kanye’s 6th and Jay’s 15th). I would say for the total hip-hop novice that dislikes talk surrounding the “problems” of the rich and famous, regardless of how clever the wordplay is, it would behoove you to skip this album completely. For the connoisseurs of fine beats and rhymes, this is certainly worth a play or 10.
While some see Kanye as a conceited, self-important pre-Madonna: the man told people that he could rap and that he was going to be big and he has become arguably one of the biggest names in music over the past 10 years. Even the album that no one said they liked (808’s and Heartbreak) went platinum! His music reflects his personality in that it is honest to a fault and undeniably creative, and those traits certainly come out on WTT. Some say that Jay-Z is long past his prime and is an old man struggling to remain relevant in an ever changing market place. The truth of the matter is at 41, Jay can still go toe-to-toe with any younger artist there is in terms of flow, content, and lyrical complexity (he is arguably the most complex rapper we have ever seen). A lot of people make the comparison between Jay-Z and Jordan on the Wizards and that is absurd. He is more like the 97-98 Jordan: while he certainly lacks the explosiveness he once had, but he continues to out-perform younger competition because of his knowledge of the game.
Treat the album like a bottle of red wine: give it some time, let it breathe, take in the aromas and the notes, and then give your take on it.
Watch The Throne on iTunes now and in-stores Aug. 12th.
