Kanye West & Jay-Z:Otis

One of the most anticipated and talked about music projects over the last few months has been the collaborative Watch The Throne from hip-hop gods Kanye West and Jay-Z. With a final track listing and a set release date of August 1^st digitally and August 5^th physically, the ego heavy hitters released a new track off the record entitled “Otis.” The song features and off and odd sample of Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness”, mainly chopping Otis’s famous lines into strange sounding grunts and guitar stabs. As for the lyrical content, the two go at it, throwing punches at each other verse after verse without taking a break for a chorus. The flow of the track is very old school, with Kanye picking up exactly where Jay leaves off and so on and so forth. A complete opposite from the previous stadium dramatic single “H.A.M”, this song shows a more relaxed and funny side of the rappers, yet still able to drop some easy conversation punch lines. Watch The Throne will feature production from Kanye, Swizz Beatz, Q-Tip, Pharrell, No-Id, and more, and feature guest appearances from OFWGKTA affiliate Frank Ocean, Bruno Mars, Beyonce, and G.O.O.D Music signee Mr. Hudson. This is an album with a ton of high expectations, so let’s see if these guys can exceed them.

-Jay Wolman