Watch The Throne

[Jeff]

Jay-Z and Kanye co-produced album dropped today - anyone heard it yet?  thoughts?

[StartOrien]

I liked it a lot actually, though it took some time to grown on me.

I touched upon it on my tumblr.

Yesterday marked the much anticipated release of ‘Watch the Throne.’

Even after not really falling in love with ‘Otis’ (which actually isn’t on the album) and the previously released ‘H.A.M’ I couldn’t help but get excited about the release of a Kanye West & Jay Z album. It’s kinda like when your mother used to try to temper your expectations for Christmas: You’d tell her you get it, and that you’re 14 now and already have everything you’d need anyways, but deep down inside you’re thinking about how many dents you’re going to punch into your wall if you don’t get either a pair of Jnco’s or ‘Syphon Filter’ for the PS1.

My initial reaction to the album was as if mom bought me a kite and a twenty dollar gift certificate to Aeropostale.

Yesterday I had a quick link inferring that Jay Z & Kanye West’s “Watch The Throne” ‘kinda sucked.’ Truthfully, it was a bit of sensationalism: I certainly embellished upon my thoughts in order to make “a funny.” My true, first opinion of the album was that it was disappointingly mediocre.

But upon further listens; ‘Watch the Throne’ is actually a very good album. But it probably does require a few listens. Mostly because it takes a little time to adjust.

This isn’t your typical Kanye West album: It doesn’t have 36 layers over 18 other layers, mixed with a string orchestra. There aren’t necessarily any standout songs, certainly nothing you’d hear regularly on Top40 radio. And when you’re listening to it, you don’t necessarily get that feeling that you’re listening to some grandiose, epic album.

What it is, is a top to bottom, quality CD that’s really enjoyable.

It’s actually kind of similar to ‘808’s and Heartbreaks,’ not musically but conceptually. It’s the kind of album you’re going to throw on and listen to. It’s meant to be listened to top to bottom, probably by yourself, in your car or with headphones on.

You won’t skip around, you won’t throw it on at a party, but you’ll probably enjoy the album a lot
——
Side Note: The one great thing about this album is the return of a more comedic Kanye West. The songs are a still a little ‘darker’, but he does have some great lines in there such as:

Prince William aint do it right, if ya ask me / Cause if I was him I woulda (slowed down Rick Ross style) Married Kate & Ashley.

Edit: Sorry to be the blog guy, guys.

[bdm860]

Did Jeff really just start a hip hop thread? 

[indeedproceed]

Best livin or dead hands down huh?

[BASS_THUMPER]

might give a listen if the same kinda beats he did for Common and Slum Village..

i really wont give a listen if he still auto tuning

[StartOrien]

might give a listen if the same kinda beats he did for Common and Slum Village..

i really wont give a listen if he still auto tuning

Besides a brief point in the first track I think there's no autotune.

It's kinda like a more subdued 'blueprint 3'

[Jeff]

Did Jeff really just start a hip hop thread? 

I'm full of surprises

[shookones99]

might give a listen if the same kinda beats he did for Common and Slum Village..

i really wont give a listen if he still auto tuning

Besides a brief point in the first track I think there's no autotune.

It's kinda like a more subdued 'blueprint 3'

Good call. 

I actually had the same reaction as you.  After my first listen I was dissapointed after only hearing a song or two that I liked (neither of which were anything too special). 

The more I listen, however, The more I realize that while there are a few songs that I will likely never want to listen to again (thats my b****, lift off -- kinda like Reminder, or Venus vs mars off BP3) this album definitely has the potential to grow on me.  I already like Primetime and New Day, and the more I listen to Why I live you and No Church in the Wild (which is a tough beat to say the least) the more I love em. 

I actually had a very similiar reaction to Kanyes last album over the course of the first week after it dropped.

[boom]

While a decent album, I'm disappointed. I think it's me though. Same thing happened with Royce Da 5'9" and Em's album "Hell: The Sequel". I got hyped for it only to let me down. Or the Jay/Nas songs over the past couple years. So much potential for classics, yet I left disappointed.

Now give me a J.Cole album and a Jay Electronica album sometime this decade and I'll be happy.

I think.

[Evantime34]

Best livin or dead hands down huh?

That album was in my top five rap albums ever. I think he is the best alive currently, not even close to the best ever.

This album is good. I thought his last album was great but made for critics and people who are really into music. In my opinion this album was made for people that love hip hop specifically. I think it's great.

Someone mentioned J-Cole earlier, one of my friends thinks he's the best alive? Can someone direct me towards an album or some tracks that would support this?

[boom]

Best livin or dead hands down huh?

That album was in my top five rap albums ever. I think he is the best alive currently, not even close to the best ever.

This album is good. I thought his last album was great but made for critics and people who are really into music. In my opinion this album was made for people that love hip hop specifically. I think it's great.

Someone mentioned J-Cole earlier, one of my friends thinks he's the best alive? Can someone direct me towards an album or some tracks that would support this?

Download his mixtapes The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights. Also check out "Just Begun" with Mos Def, Kweli, and Jay Elecontronica. Dude murders it. Or the song..what's it called...with Pusha..."Looking for Trouble"!! His verse is last, but I think it's the best out of 'em all.

Honestly, and I know it's premature, I think by the time it's all said and done he's going to arguably be one of the best in the game...of all time. Not even kidding. His lyrics, flow, delivery, subject matter, etc is just top notch. There's hardly a song that I wont listen to off ANYTHING he's ever put out to date.


On another note - Big Sean's (hope the allegations aren't true..which I dont think they are) album is phenomenal as well.

Now we need a Lupe album that is like Food and Liquor or The Cool. Wasn't feeling this last one.

[stylo617617]

liked the 1st three songs quite a bit especially "In Paris" (those who know the real name know's i cant say it on this board) but after that it was just another hip hop album i love jay & love kanye but for me when it comes to rap there's only so many ways you can say

"im better than everyone else"

"im rich a million times over"

"i can get every girl in the world"

[Marcus13]

idk.  It's really hit-or-miss for me.

Definitely a unique sound, sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn't.  Songs like "Lift Off" are just absolutely terrible. 

Overall, there are enough good songs on the album to make me happy tho

Finally Famous>>>>

[MattG12]

Never saw that anybody started this topic on here... but I have already done a review elsewhere. The important thing to keep in mind is that hip-hop has grown so much recently that it has multiple approaches: Radio hip-hop, conscious hip-hop, Waka Flocka type hip-hop that is just supposed to make you wild, and this luxurious sounding hip-hop that is shared by Kanye, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and others. There are other forms of hip-hop but that's not really what I'm getting at. The thing is you can't listen to this album and expect to hear amazing lyricism because Kanye and Jay-Z are not in that stage right now... and who knows if they'll ever return. Right now, Kanye is producing some of the most complicated and grandiose beats that rap has ever heard and providing forgettable lyrics that basically just allow him to get his shallow feelings out. If you're a big Kanye fan, don't get mad at me for saying that... Kanye is actually currently my favorite rapper.

Anyway, here is my review that I wrote a couple days after purchasing the album... As somebody who prefers conscious rap I left by bias at the door and went in with no expectations other than to be entertained.

(This review was done with a lot of research and a few listen-throughs ahead of time just to get a feel for what I'm talking about... but the description of each song is my actual thoughts while listening and intending to review... just to explain the poor grammar, misspelled words if there are any, and just overall Bill Simmons style of writing.)

Album Review
WATCH THE THRONE
Kanye West & Jay-Z (The Throne)
Overall: 64/80 --- 128/160 --- 80/100
Grade: B
1.   No Church in the Wild (Ft. Frank Ocean & The Dream)
****1/2
Excellent hook by Frank Ocean, Kanye’s Beat is quite good, Kanye and Jay come on strong with good verses, Awesome synergy between beat progression and verse progression.

2.   Lift Off (Ft. Beyonce)
*
Triumphant/strong beat by Kanye, Beyonce’s hook is trash, Kanye’s verse is bad, I don’t see why the majority of twitter thinks this is the best song on the album, Jay’s verse is bad too… not a good song.

3.   ____ in Paris
*****
Amazing beat by Hit-boy, Strong verses by Kanye and Jay, Hook is good, Blades of Glory reference is quite funny… just a very good song, really should have been longer though because it’s so good.

4.   Otis (Ft. Otis Redding)
****1/2
Love this song, great beat by Kanye, Otis Redding sample is good although it can be overbearing and may distract you from the lyrics, Excellent verses by Jay and Kanye, They rap cohesively on this song better than any other probably.

5.   Gotta Have It
****1/2
Sounds too similar to “Otis” to follow it, James Brown sample is nice, The Neptunes beat is very good, If this was longer this could easily be my favorite song on the album. Kanye and Jay rap together again… the album is at its strongest when they rap like this.

6.   New Day
****1/2
One of like 4 songs on the album that are actually meaningful or thought provoking, Amazing RZA beat with a Nina Simone sample reminiscent of his “While the heart gently weeps” beat, Kanye and Jay rap about their hypothetical sons and how they would raise them to have better, simpler, easier lives than them. Still only 4 and half stars… just realized there may not be any 5 star songs on this album.

7.   That’s My ____ (Ft. La Roux)
***
This beat is a cluster of bad sounds… I’m shocked that Q-Tip is responsible for it. The percussion is nice… reminiscent of ATCQ, but then the screaming sample, horrible synths, and La Roux hook is added… it’s just way too much. Lose the synths and keep the percussion and this would be a little better. Kanye’s verse is pretty good. Male choral part sounds like Robert from Day 26… so that’s pretty good (This may actually be Justin Vernon, which makes it more impressive). Jay’s verse is mediocre… then the song just ends… kind of weird.

8.   Welcome to the Jungle
***1/2
Fairly average song, Good beat by Swizz Beats, I hate Swizzy’s voice though so I wish he didn’t provide any vocals on here. Good verses by Jay, Kanye is mediocre on this one.

9.   Who Gon’ Stop Me
****
Sham Joseph’s dubstep beat is pretty cool, Jay’s part of the hook is cool… Kanye’s part of the hook is eh, Verses are dope by Kanye and Jay. Jay takes over at the end and absolutely destroys the song… it’s extremely impressive. Kanye doesn’t have any moments like this on the album; Jay has a few… all towards the end, as if he wants everybody to know that he is still the king.

10.   Murder to Excellence
*****
Acoustic guitar, gun sounds, and children singing “Lalala’s” make the beat for ‘Murder’ by Swizz Beats… this is awesome. Excellent verses by Kanye and Jay… Meaningful song number 2… Beat changes eventually to ‘Excellence’ by S1… Extremely cool concept by everybody involved. Kid Cudi sneaks some vocals in here… probably wouldn’t be the best song on the album if a few songs were longer, but it seems as if it is.

11.   Made in America (Ft. Frank Ocean)
****1/2
This is a beat reminiscent of The Blueprint III made by Sham Joseph… sounds like something out of ‘A Clockwork Orange’. This is meaningful song number 3. Frank Ocean is much better on this song than he is on ‘No Church in the Wild’. Jay and Kanye both with amazing verses.

12.   Why I Love You (Ft. Mr. Hudson)
****
Meaningful song number 4… Mr. Hudson is awesome on the hook. Mike Dean’s beat is pretty [dang] good. Jay is ridiculous… another one of those takeover moments by Jay (No pun intended). Kanye pledges his loyalty to Jay. Kanye just doesn’t rap on this song… kind of takes away from the feeling.

13.   Illest ______ Alive
*****
Southside beat is awesome… no nod in the credits to the ‘Chariots of Fire’ sample… but it clearly is a ‘Chariots of Fire’ sample, longest song on the album… Kanye provides probably his best verse on the album on this song… and this song didn’t even really make the album… only the deluxe version. This whole album just makes Jay look better than Kanye… kind of strange. Jay provides a great verse on this song too. Some Kid Cudi vocals sneak in again… nice! Is it a coincidence that Kid Cudi is involved in two of the three 5 star songs on the album?

14.   H.A.M
****1/2
Lex Lugor and Kanye West’s beat is still amazing after all this time, verses are still awesome, I’m still not very fond of the yelling… so this still doesn’t get 5 stars.

15.   Primetime
**1/2
No ID’s beat is probably the worst on the album sadly. Very lazy song… hard to even focus on the lyrics which seem to be fairly mediocre anyway.

16.   The Joy (Ft. Curtis Mayfield)
****
This song dropped so long ago during G.O.O.D Friday’s. Pete Rock’s beat is pretty good as is the Mayfield hook. Kanye sounds like the Kanye of ‘College Dropout’ – ‘Graduation’. Jay sounds like early Blueprint Jay… it’s kind of a lazy song though, not a very good way to end the album. Some more Kid Cudi on here though… good stuff.

[chambers]

I've been listening to this album on the way to work for the past week and I really only give it a 3 out of 5.
It's built up on marketing and hype and I feel like this was very special for Kanye, but Jay Z hasn't put in the effort I'm used to.

Kanye is getting very annoying with the 'white america hates me' gig that he repeats over and over like he's in a war with the people who are buying his CD's and making him so rich.
I simply don't get it.
I laughed at how Jay Z raps ( I think the song is 'that's my Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.') about how they don't use black women in commercials or as spokespeople yet in the video for 'Otis' they don't have one black girl in the Mercedes with them. So much hypocritical garbage as usual from a lot of these guys.

I give it a 3 outta 5 and it will sell off it's name and not off its content.
Easy money for these guys after they've had so many good albums- not on par with any of their solo albums one bit.