Jay-Z & Kanye West- Watch The Throne; 10 years still treasured.
It is the year of 2011 and collaboration tapes were getting popular. It started with Eminem & Royce Da 5'9 dropping Bad Meets Evil It was one of those things that even today we have collaborations that were mean’t to happen while the other your just scratching your head. After Eminem & Royce came Starlito & Don Trip with the debut of their collaboration project, “Step Brothers”,(2011). Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y, “How Fly”, (2009) to this topic about Watch The Throne. Let me begin a new paragraph to get this the proper respect this collaboration album deserves.
Kanye West & Jay-Z are the element of this generation. After Jay retires in 2004, Kanye drops his debut along with his collaborations on beats or remixes, he intended on keeping Rocafella Records lit for Jay-Z. His loyalty was always to Dame but Ye went ahead and made Jay happy keeping Rocafella’s name alive. The moment these two decided to do a collaboration album sounded like a hoax because it was too good to be true. Not that I didn’t believe in it but it sounded distinguished. Talking like a young immature me, you got a selfish greedy bastard with an egotistical maniac on one CD, what more can I ask for? This album was so great, I literally skipped the next two years in music because at the time I wanted to be a rapper, I would study this to understand perfectionism. Kanye & Jay are not perfect but this album made them look perfect because they brought the best out each other and they both wanted to be Number 1 on Everything.
The attraction for the idea when them two wrote “Ham” which dropped early 2011. I did my guessing and realized they are the best collaboration since Method Man and Redman or Ghostface Killah and Raekwon because of how quick two collaborators can read each other’s mind so fast. Each artist cherish their albums like it is art and they move foward with the times which each album. When them two step to each other face to face, it was like watching Godzilla V.S King Kong; Two heavy weights destroying buildings and civillians to see who number 1 is.
On August 8th, 2011; the two heavy weight artist went at each other’s throne live from the Mercer. A studio out in France where them two can collaborate and figure out who will come out on top when it comes to who watches the throne. Hov handled his own while Kanye spazzed through the whole album It was hard figuring out who did their thing but it was neck to neck. I broke down each song and talked about the purpose of each song very carefully.
- No Church in The Wild Feat. Frank Ocean- Frank Ocean being your hook man back in 2001 was like having the Pope shake your hand. His golden voice can turn a trash song sound like a Grammy Hit. With Jay-Z explaining the dangers of religion with lies of a priest, Kanye gets biblical with his verse making his own laws and religion where he states his theory about deception. Fucking someone without telling him is a sin? Yeezus, your turning religion into entertainment and as a guilty pleasure; I like this idea. This is art to me.
- Lift Off Feat. Beyonce- This song, I rarely listened too but this song has a purpose because this is one of those tracks if you listened to Watch The Throne as a whole, you will end up realizing even the weakest song has a purpose on the album because it is telling a story. I thought the production was excellent but the topic I could not mess with until i listened to it as a whole.
- Niggas In Paris- Ball so hard you can’t find them. Paris is a fancy spot that every human wants to be around. Where this idea came from, Hit Boy made a dope beat and asked Hov & Ye to hop on the beat and they went ahead and murdered this in cypher form. After the session, they both came to an agreement and said to themselves this is it. Ironically, this song end up being a Hit to the point if Hov or Ye end up being in a Verzus battle, this would be their bullet to end a round.
- Otis- The Otis Redding sample made sense when these two creative genius come together and make a back and forth song between one another. This song is monumental because when it comes to who wants to be number 1, it is all about how you carry yourself. This was to the point where if one lost against another, they would not be upset if they lost because they would think they won. Hov had my favorite line where he said “ Live from the Mercer/ Run up on Yeezy the wrong way I might merk ya” which signifies how Jay has grown but still remained grimey. This song is important because it proved that Jay can still hang with the times.
- Gotta Have It- Kanye took a song I hated in 2011 called Racks on Racks and made a parody out of it. Thank you Ye because you made ignorance look so incredible on this song. This song is about rich, lavish items that get flaunted to show who the kings of rap are. 2011 is a tough time where skinny jean rappers are taking over and these OG’s remained strong and relevant through these tough times.
- New Day- Hearing a Rza beat is like hearing a score to a movie that has a good story line. Every sound has a meaning and it does matter when it comes to the concept of everything. It is like these two rappers were doing confessionals and I felt that. Favorite line where Kanye says “ I might even let my son become Republican/ So he let the world know he love white people” because he is being comical about how Pro-Black he was before he met Kim Kardashian and he switched up. Kanye is the best ignorant genius because he can say some ignorant things but make it look smart or meaningful. It is hard to do so but Ye makes it look like a genius wrote it. Jay raps about celebrating life and when his seed comes, he will not repeat what his father did to him.
- That’s My Bitch- A rap metaphor for Hip-Hop being their bitch. This funky beat balances the two collaborating and it brings together peace and unity. In this song, you got to realize that there are plenty of art references and it brings a picture to what they are doing. Anything they do, they make it sound good and them two made a collaboration about the how this culture is an art form but referring music as their bitch.
- Welcome To The Jungle- Jay-Z took this whole song and made it his solo. This song was actually a test to see if Hov can spazz through the year. My favorite line was when Hov said “I look in the mirror, my only opponent” where he clarifies there is still no competition. The man or woman in the mirror should be your only opponent because every day, you are trying to better yourself and you must listen to this song if you want to be better than you were yesterday.
- Who Gon Stop Me- This song reminds me of 2011 where Dub-Step was taking over with the drops. The beat switches up and it reminds the crowd that Jay may be old but he remains one of the top tier elite rappers in this day and age. He mentions that he is street smart and book smart so you know Hov catches up. Ye manages to bring the best out of Hov with his crazy production
- Murder For Excellence- Kanye took over the song while Jay reminds the fans he arrieved the day Fred Hampton died. This song is revolutionary because of the sounds that make you want to march and step up for what you believe in. This song brought the best out of Kanye because he is preaching knowledge on this song. The topic is about murder and how it took over the community. This should be the Official Black Lives Matter’s theme song if they wanted one.
- Made In America Feat. Frank Ocean- Again with the Frank Ocean hooks. He manages to take a soft beat and make something hard out of it. Kanye responds back to those who laughed at him for that infamous South Park episode entitled “Gay Fish” where Hov raps about the same drug that made him rich before rap. He is telling a story about his come up into the game and reminds us he ain’t changed because he is still hustling. This song is even neck because they were even in this competion
- Why I Love You Feat. Mr. Hudson- This song is sad because they describe the love they had for the music game. This was not a diss but more of a reminder that Hov loves Beans. That is one thing fans do not understand. Anyways this outro is a celebration of life and how it is supposed to feel. Jay-Z’s verse ends the song well while Kanye trips out and gives the world the best assist since Russel Westbrook putting up triple doubles in a game.
- Illest Mother Fucker Alive- Kanye raps his shit while Hov Spazzes with him. Ye raps about the riches and lavish life describing currency and what it is supposed to mean while Jay reminds us of how hard he balled since the beginning of his music career.
- HAM-The radio sngle that sparked the world if Jay got beef with Wayne. He mocks Baby’s money while Kanye talks his definition of going HAM and brings up the crazy parties he participated in. This Lex Luger produced track can cause ruckus. It was even on the NBA 2k 13 soundtrack to hype the fans up.
- Primetime- A simple beat where this is a reference to Deion Sanders. The best athlete that ever stepped on this planet. Both of them feel like they are in their prime and they will not let anything step into their way when it comes to the throne. This is my favorite track because of Hov’s numerical metaphors which makes listeners want to raise their cognitive mind while Kanye raps his celebration on a song. Kanye wants the spotlight although Jay spit his numerical rhymes rapping 48 laws of power with 38. Just listen and check his scheme on this.
- The Joy Feat. Curtis Mayfield- A hilarious song where Ye raps about the future. Kanye raps about not knowing how to raising children while Hov reminisces on the sample he raps on. He raps so patiently while Kanye comes on there and exaggerates to relieve some stress. This music is therapeutic and Kanye expresses himself better on music than anyone else.
Overall
Ye & Hov did prove who ran the throne. This collaboration CD is important because there was not a collaboration CD where you could not enjoy between each other in years. This CD made it to where art is appreciated and the two artist managed to make something out of luxury. These songs are important because of how each artist read each other and how they end up creating something for all generations to look up. This is one of those collaborations where it looked like Andy Warhol teamed with Jean-Michel Basquiat and sold a painting to a big art buyer.
This album is art and it should be treasured carefully. This might be the last time these two titans make a collaboration CD between one another but with the art reference. In the modern day which is when Mariella Angela teams with Issac Pellayo to create something on canvas and it comes to life. This is what Kayne and Jay did together and I salute this project one hundred percent. This will be remembered 50 years from now as a classic.
Live From The Stove Top,
Andrew Kenekham AKA Druski Dru
