Watch The Throne – Jay Z & Kanye West – 2011 written by SOULONE

Let’s get one thing clear.

This will not be the biased, shallow, fragmentary, take on ‘Throne’. Nope. No snark-fest here.

It won’t be,

“How they gon’ use a Otis Redding sample and not pay tribute to Otis Redding mayne??!!”

The song is called OTIS.

or,

“All they rappin’ ’bout is money..sheeeeit I ain’t rich. I cant relate…”

(see: “No Church In The Wild”,”New Day”, “That’s My Bitch”, “Murder to Excellence”, “Made In America”, and well…just listen to the album.)

This will not be “that” take. It will be fair. Impartial. Just.

Not the chew it up, vomit, one listen, polar/extremist, spit it out just to HAVE a take and actually absorb it later, *Twitter* 140 character take. Agreed?

Fact is, most hip-hop collab albums usually fall short of the mark. Usually inconsistent (The Firm), usually incohesive (Jaylib *victim of circumstance*), usually missing (Common/Q-Tip), or usually just plain “huh?” (Nas/Damian Marley). With the exceptions of OB4CL, which can be debated as to whether it’s an actual collab, or RAEKWON’S ALBUM (what up Flash? LOL), and Black Star, they also usually end up disposable in a very short time. (*note* MC/producer collabs were not included, only MC/MC)

With that being said, understandable if the idea of another MC/MC collab doesn’t necessarily excite you. Cool. Got it.
But, if you can’t get excited about the two biggest rap superstars in the world releasing a two-and-half minute, no-chorus, straight sample chop with no real drum programming to speak of, lighting in a bottle SINGLE….?? stop reading now…

Enter ‘Watch The Throne’.

Not exactly too much or too little of anything, ‘Throne’ on the surface, is the complete opposite of its reviews. Narcissistic, but not too narcissistic. Silly, but not too silly. Cerebral at times, but definitely not too cerebral ever. Many critics suggest that it’s over the top in brash bravado, and while the braggadocio IS present, it isn’t overwhelming. ‘Throne’ walks a fine line between ever getting TOO anything, good or bad included. “No Church In The Wild” is one of Jay/Ye’s best offerings chemistry-wise, over a pulsating 88-Keys backdrop (shout 88, that shit is MEAN), and “Lift Off” is the stadium status type of serving everyone should have expected from ‘Throne’ (shouts ‘Rell for the last 30secs. Classic bongos Neptunes sh*t). “Nigg*s In Paris” is much more Ye’ than Jay, (which is a common theme throughout ‘Throne’) but works, and anytime I can get Jay rhyming over this and this, i’ll take it. Swizz Beats shines (damn…who said THAT?) on “Welcome To The Jungle“, and “Murder To Excellence” is an awesome glance into black on black violence (there’s your substance snarky). BTW, is it just me, or are the beat change-ups on this album SECOND TO FUCKING NONE???

‘Throne’ has its pitfalls (‘Who Gon Stop Me’, ‘Why I Love You’), and it isn’t surprising they exist. Jay/Ye’ lack any real chemistry to speak of as MC’s, and Jay sometimes sounds a bit uncomfortable, however always inspired and focused.

Is it conceited?
Condescending?
Contradictory? (D.O.A. anyone??? What happened Hov?)

Yep. Yep. And yep.

But, one thing I’ve learned from rap music after a lifetime of disappointments and pleasant surprises is to least try to figure out what something IS, instead of harping on what it ISN’T. ‘Throne’ has much to offer sonically, and the careful listener will notice an interestingly, much more than usual revealing side of Jay-Z, and an extra human and passionate (and also hilarious) Kanye (even for Kanye).

Maybe (just maybe) the approach to making music that will be performed for and heard by millions calls for a bit of a different formula than music that (let’s face it) probably won’t. I for certain, don’t know. And although neither Ye’ nor Jay surpasses either of their previous best efforts, this experiment went relatively well. Especially solid considering the disaster it could have been. Whether or not ‘Throne’ will become another disposable hip-hop collab casualty of course remains to be seen. Hell, it’s really very unfair to “review” anything less than 24-hours after its release. But this is just a “take”. A “take” on the states of upheaval and outrage fans are for some reason in, and a “take” on the actual music. Not saying it’s classic, but it definitely is no dumpster fire. Relax.

First off let me start by saying that I have the highest expectations possible for ‘Good Ass Job’ (Def Jam 2010 *fingers crossed*). Not because I thought ‘808’s And Heatbreak’ was a cluster-fuck of burning trash, I (for one) actually love(d) most of it. Not because Ye’s “rapping again”. Not because of the rumored all-star cast of artists contributing to the album, including the likes of Dwele, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, QTip, Officer Ricky, Symbolyc One, and a host of others (maybe Hov. probably Hov.) My expections are high because, well, he’s Kanye…
So although it’s pretty absurd to even review a song that may or may not be finished, may or may not be mixed, hell, may or may not even be on the album, there are so many triumphs as well as pitfalls here, so many read-between-the-lines’ AND in-your-face’s, that I can’t NOT. Because well…he’s Kanye.
Plus I’ve been waiting on this for like, months so…
The dichotomy within this song is so hard to ignore, similar to the duality in his own character. (see: Gemini. Twin. Or Aries. Most times, ram, sometimes, lamb.)

Example…

He reminds you that he can’t REALLY rap…

“…they say / I was the abomination(?) of Obama’s Nation…” Errrr. What??

“….my furs is Mongolian…” Uhhhhh, what??

He reminds you that he really CAN rap…

“…I just needed time alone, with my own thought/got treasures in my mind, but couldn’t open my own vault…” Brilliant.

“…Reality is catching up with me/ takin’ my inner-child, I’m fighting for it, custody…” WOW.

Is this a love letter from Kanye TO Kanye??

“…ion’t need yo p#ssy, bitch I’m on my own d*ck…”

“…he knows/he so/ fucking gifted…”

Or a suicide note??

“…I was drinking earlier, now I’m driving…”

“…Now this would be a beautiful death (Jumpin’ out the window)…”

Or should ANY of this be even taken literally??

?????

A tad bit on the self-conscious and reflective (in its own way) side for a guy presumed *COUGH* to be a self-absorbed ego maniac…right??

Managing to cover the past 18 months in under 5 minutes, (the “break-up”, the introduction of Amber Rose, the VMA stunt/relapse, the cry for help that is the ‘Run This Town’ verse, ect.), “Power” is actually quite the lightning-in-a-bottle. And a breath of fresh air, considering that the song reflects how he FEELS, and feeling is what fuels creativity. Not just rhyming because you can rhyme good.

Simplicity?
Complexity?

Doesn’t matter. It’s about the FEELING. And even WITH the inception of Aubrey Graham, when was the last time you could tell how a rapper FELT in a song?? Sure how ‘Ye feels may be clouded by all that Riesling he drinks (LOL), or a few light-skinned girls and some “Kelly Rowlands” (im not mad, have you seen Kelly lately?), but at least it’s HONEST.
SO honest in fact, that Kanye may actually have the third best performance on HIS own song, following Symbolyc One one the beat, and then Dwele on the chorus. Big drums, big guitars, big sample, big beat, big chorus. Oddly enough, Ye’s lyrics are overshadowed by the music, and for a guy who’s presumed *COUGH* to always push himself to the forefront, he’s essentially playing a supporting role on his first post-hiatus offering??

Hmmmmmm.

Not to mention that (DON’T LOOK AT MY FACE) B.E.T Awards performance….

Hence, “You got the power to let power go??”.

His raps could stand to be louder, noticeably ,and although they’re still mostly filled with the witty narcissism and chuckles we expect, they are overshadowed by the music. Could it be the mix?
Possibly. But I think there’s more to it than that. Purposely.
As soon as he starts to get respect as an emcee (Graduation), he ditches emceeing (808’s). He acts like he doesn’t really give a fuck, obviously he does. “Power” seems to be a mixture all of Kanye’s previous works, only now with the notion that he’s not the underdog anymore. And although the song doesn’t give me chills (yet), I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Late Appreciation Tracklisting

DJ Soul One shows us it’s better to be late than never w/ his tribute to the ever controversial Mr. West (insert echo here)

1. John Holt – I Will
2. Jay –Z feat. John Legend – Encore
3. Common feat. Kanye West – Go
4. Ludacris – Stand Up
5. Jadakiss feat. Kanye West – Getting’ It In
6. Mos Def – Brown Sugar
7. Kanye West feat. Talib Kweli, Q-Tip & Rhymefest – We Can Make It Better
8. Trina and Tamara – Joanne
9. Slum Village feat. John Legend & Kanye West – Selfish
10. Kanye West – I Wonder
11. GLC feat. Kanye West – Big Screen
12. Common – The Game
13. Kanye West feat. Adam Levine – Heard Em Say
14. John Legend – Heaven
15. Lupe Fiasco – The Cool
16. Consequence feat Kanye West & John Legend – Grammy Family
17. Kanye West feat. Camron – Gone
18. Grav – Line For Line
19. Common feat. Dwele – The People
20. Rhymefest feat. Kanye West – Brand New
21. Kanye West feat. Common – Back To Basics
22. The Game feat. Kanye West – Wouldn’t Get Far
23. Kanye West feat. Dwele – Flashing Lights
24. Nas feat. Kanye West – Still Dreamin’
25. Talib Kweli – Get By
26. Mariah Carey – Stay The Night
27. Lil Kim – I Came Back For You
28. Aretha Franklin – Spirit In The Dark
29. Kanye West – School Spirit
30. Kanye West – Heartless
31. John Legend – Used To Love You
32. Common feat. Kanye West – Southside
33. Jay Z – Takeover
34. Jackson 5 – I Want You Back
35. Jay Z – IZZO
36. Scarface feat. Jay Z & Beanie Siegel – Guess Who’s Back
37. Jay Z – Lucifer
38. Kanye West – Crack Music (Live)
39. Camron feat Kanye West – Down And Out
40. Beanie Siegel - Truth
41. Scarface – In Cold Blood
42. Kanye West feat. Young Jeezy – Amazing
43. Alicia Keys – U Don’t Know My Name
44. Janet Jackson – I Want You
45. Donal Leace – Today Wont Come Again
46. Kanye West – Family Business
47. Kanye West – Late (Live)

Download the Kanye Mix