Eight years later, they have equal billing on an amazing album, one that deserves to hang in a museum. Jay's guest spot on Kanye's "Never Let Me Down," from Kanye's debut, was an affirmation, legitimizing Kanye's rap existence. The darkness of "No Church in the Wild." The pain in "Murder to Excellence." The playfulness of "That's My Bitch." I appreciate the message, the lyrics, the music, and especially the fact that none of this could have happened on one of their solo records. I love their full-spectrum depiction of a new America. It's not perfect by any stretch-Swizz Beatz on "Welcome to the Jungle," for example-but isn't that a hallmark of true artistry: the attempt and the subsequent study and deliberation? Watch the Throne moved the goal posts for rap and for popular music. And the two most powerful figures in hip-hop have taken their responsibility seriously and shifted the landscape. REACTION: With great power comes great responsibility. But in an era where today's musical generation feature some "acts" that have no right, reason, or purpose for holding a microphone, it's much needed at this point. Overhyped? of course that's all the Internets does these days. I'm not grading this album solely on its actual "music" ("That's My Bitch," "Murder To Excellence" and "The Joy" are instant vintage, however) than I am its "influence." With everybody from Sean Price to Ne-Yo rapping over the "Otis" instrumental a mere hours after the original dropped and the album gaining more notoriety for not leaking weeks before its scheduled drop date, it could be argued that Watch The Throne made more of an impression culturally than it did musically.Ĭlassic? Only time will tell (certain songs haven't grown on me yet). With rap culture currently perma-stuck in a "Toys R Us" state of mind, it's nice to hear an album that at the very least feels like there was some actual thought put into it, even though the album was ironically curated by two artists rap itself would have cast off as being "too old" a long time ago if they weren't Kanye West or Jay-Z. REACTION: Citizens of urban entertainment and popular culture: prepare to have Watch The Throne bombarded at you out of every speaker, weblog, radio station, podcast, DJ laptop, television screen, and everything in between from now until the end of the year (and perhaps longer). There are some great individual moments from the two mighty monarchs of music, but the kings' backs faced their court this time. The greatest lyricist of the '00s seems to fear offending Oprah or Obama, and his only protege that could possibly eclipse his artistry falls in line. In a debt crisis, dominant themes of wealth and power that once inspired, now just fall in disconnect, when not carefully interwoven with strong tangible commentary. Watch The Throne is as polished and catchy as any rap album this year, but coming off of the excellence of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the work lacks the cohesion of substance and sound. REACTION: Despite assisting roles in many of each others' greatest musical moments, Kanye West and Jay-Z combining for an album does not double the results as many had hoped.
See mini-reviews from each panel member below. THE CONSENSUS PANEL: Chris Coplan ( ), Jake Paine ( ), Confusion ( ), Meka ( 2DopeBoyz), Jay Smooth ( IllDoctrine), Dallas Penn ( ), ego trip ( ), John Gotty ( The Smoking Section), Andrew Barber ( ), Karen Civil ( ), Modi ( ), Combat Jack ( The Source), Paul "Gooch" Cantor (), Eric Rosenthal ( ), and Noah Callahan-Bever ( Complex). THE TOPIC: JAY-Z & KANYE WEST'S ALBUM WATCH THE THRONE
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