Watch The Throne

Record Label: Roc-a-Fella / Roc Nation / Def Jam

9.2/10 dropps

If hunger had a clear sound, it might be the combination of Jay-Z and Kanye West off their collaboration record, Watch The Throne. The two rap icons sound hungry and ready to eat the world with their massive egos and huge music to back it up. An album with two masterminds trading exchanges on all different topics and ideas, paving the way for old and new producers and beat makers, and most of all shutting the haters up who thought this wasn’t going to be a win. A win would sum this album up, but it’s winning all over the place.

The album starts off with a percussion groove on “No Church In The Wild” featuring hype heavy Odd Future affiliate Frank Ocean. The heavy bass line over the track with familiar Kanye sample noises and a bit of auto tuning really allow Ocean to shine as he’s truly sounding like a rising star. As for the rap duo, bot deliver solid verses, throwing in a good amount of punch lines and humor. The follow up track is stadium status epic Beyoncé assisted “Lift Off.” Easily one of the most exciting and addictive tracks on the record, this is a sure pleaser with potential to be excellent performed live with it’s extravegent presence . The song transitions into a nice instrumental closer which paves the way for something a bit more hard on “Niggas In Paris” A song that embodies absolute swag, with Hova and Yeezy absolutely murdering the track with that untouchable lyrical delivery. For a typical Kanye sample heavy production major “Otis” takes traditional soul music and chops it into something funny and obnoxiously good with the pair throwing top notch verses one after another.

Further into the record old friends Pharrell and Q-Tip add some seasoned production skills, as well as the RZA and Swizz Beatz throwing in their own contributions on the record. “New Day” is an interesting Nina Simone sampled track, with RZA laying down a piano and bass driven sound, with Kanye and Jay rapping about the lives of their nonexistent sons. A little less epic, a little more real, the song shows Kanye talking about his future child not leading the same life and making the same mistakes he’s made in his. The song shows a nice side of humility and realness from two bigheaded monsters. “Murder To Excellence” reveals a sensitive subject in its relation to the hardships of underdeveloped neighborhoods and the community within. “Murder To Excellence” throws in a really interesting switch on it’s beat halfway through, leaving it’s chanting chorus and adding a percussion and tribal derived ambience. For something completely coming out of left field, “Who Gon Stop Me” takes the rappers adventuring into the popular realm of synth heavy dubstep. Yes, dubstep. This sounds like a Jamie XX/Mount Kimbie meets a radio hip-hop mix of greatness, and yes it works. This track shows Kanye at his junior genius level, the type of lyrical style that paved his future. A few nice bonus tracks add some extra flavor to an already tasteful album, but the Soprano Mafia dark “Primetime” lives up to it’s name with Jay-Z stealing the show backing up his story of getting to this stage, but finding the fountain of youth to stay the best even at his age. What’s really impressive and exciting about this entire record is the transition of the tracks, and how the beats refuse to stay simple, continuing to develop into deeper detailed sounds, pushing Kanye and Jay to that next raw level.

Watch The Throne was expected to be a big deal since it’s announcement earlier this year. Many feared it would jeopardize the already amazing success of Kanye’s previous Dark Fantasy, which received such high praise, however this record took its time and it paid off. Two great friends, supporting one another like brothers, allowing each to shine, but always subconsciously trying to outdo the other. For any Jay-Z or Kanye fan, this present is sure to please you, and for all those that aren’t the biggest of fans, it’s time to pay attention.

-Jay Wolman

Watch The Throne:Niggas In Paris