REVIEW: Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch The Throne

Jay-Z & Kanye West
Watch the Throne
(out of 5)

Kanye West’s My Dark Twisted Fantasy was really good – great actually. Jay-Z’s latest Blueprint was a bit average to be honest. Maybe Watch the Throne is the self-proclaimed King of New York’s attempt at wrestling back the crown from the very protégé he created (and who co-wrote the record).

Maybe I am reading too much into this effusive piece of pop culture. The rags-to-riches ghetto narrative these two artists have employed over the years has grown alongside their art, and near damn rivalled it. Music writers thrive on such meta-storytelling. Smart artists know this.

The collaborative effort is a true aim at the pinnacle of pop music, and in many ways an attempt to defend ‘the top’, where these elusive artists dwell. In this regard, enlisting and sampling established artists such as Beyonce, Otis Redding, RZA, The Neptunes and Q-Tip, and recruiting young up-and comers such as Odd Future’s Frank Ocean (my current favourite 2011 thing), could be seen as defending the crumbling glass castle that is celebrity culture.

During an interview in 2008, West himself stated that “it’s lonely at the top”, but that doesn’t seem to stop him wanting to stay and play there. 

Commentary aside, though not as comprehensive as Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne is a tremendous musical effort from the pair (and everyone else who features). Covering the usual themes of gold, girls, glory, fame, street cred/violence, racism, US culture, etc, the record backs the lyrical play with beats produced by some of pop’s finest (just read the credit list).

The full sixteen-track record (no fillers or skits) lasts for over an hour, which means I haven’t quite caught all of its nuances yet (give me another month). Over the first couple of listens my favourite tracks thus far include the record’s kick-starter ‘No Church in the Wild’ featuring Frank Ocean. West’s line “coke on her black skin made a stripe like a zebra/I call that jungle fever” gives me jitters with its blatant mixed imagery of the primal nature of drug abuse. On a lighter note, ‘Lift Off’ does right by using Beyonce’s swagger and ever-amazing vocal strength to drop-kick the track right over the posts.

Other highlights include ode to the American dream ‘Made in America’ (again with Ocean’s smooth vocal interludes). ‘Who’s Gon’ Stop Me’ samples Flux Pavillion’s giant dubstep hit ‘I Can’t Stop’ (not the first time this has happened in hip hop this year – Chiddy Bang beat NY’s royalty to it on their most recent mixtape Peanut Butter and Swelly). In fact dubstep lines show up more than once on the record (‘Why I Love You’ lifts Cassius's 'I <3 U So'). West and Jay-Z have no problem co-opting other successful parts of pop music when they see a strategic advantage.

Watch the Throne is a self-explanatory attempt by hip hop’s biggest egos to once again dominate the pop charts. There is no pretence here, both artists are compelling artists and producers. The record will climb the charts, and it deserves to quite frankly.

Kanye West & Jay-Z - Otis

By Theo Sangster.