When two giants collaborate, it can either work well and be something amazing, or they can stomp all over each other and at the end of the process, they kill each other and make a mess in the process; think Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. In the case of Watch the Throne, they decided to go with the former; yes, two of the biggest egos in hip-hop have actually managed to make a great album together.
The album starts out on a climax with “No Church in the Wild.” They almost Tarantino the album, starting of with a peak of excitement and telling the story from the beginning. It begins with one of the best tracks and immediately goes to one of the worst tracks, “Lift off;” which seems like a reject from a Beyonce album.Fortunately Jay-Z & Kanye redeem themselves right after with “Niggas in Paris,” a cleverly put together track, incorporating sound clips from Will Farrell in Blades of Glory, “No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative…” That is the point that you really start to get the sense that these guys are truly clever rappers. I found myself constantly with a smile throughout the album because the lyrics are so well thought out.
“Dr’s say Im the illest cuz i’m suffering from realness”
Watch the Throne isn’t a typical rap album, they aren’t rapping about all the cars they can buy or all the women they can pull…well, for the most part. They have genuine REAL topics, including faith and belief, children, life on the streets, betrayal and jealousy, and how we need to go from “Murder to Excellence,” a track that encourages us to stop killing each other and rise to our full potential.
A variety of beats on the album keep everything fresh, but they don’t always flow well together as a cohesive album. There is a weird “Westside Story” big band-ish sample that occurs throughout the album that makes you feel that you have already listened to the track several times. There is also a MGMT feel to a couple of tracks that are quite enjoyable. One gripe is Made in America, which doesn’t fit into the album at all, and instead of being in the middle, should have been a bonus track or not on the album at all, its a good track really…it just doesn’t fit on the album.
As a whole, Watch the Throne is a brilliant album, and passes the week-long longevity test, having listened to it 10+ times in a week. I thought I was going to hate it because of their giant egos, but it is quite good. Embrace the cockiness of Kanye and Jay-Z and feel empowered while you listen to The Throne. Who gon stop you HAAAH?
Other great stuff from Enter the Shell:
———————-
Album Review: Kanye West
Another Kanye Review
Artist of the Week: Joe Jackson
The Shimmies live on ETS
As a self proclaimed Kanye whore, you know I had to check out what you’d say! I actually disagree and think Beyonce MAKES “Lift Off,” but I, like you, laughed at several points of this album as well! I thought I would HATE this album because I’m not a big fan of Jay-Z but I was also pleasantly surprised and think they pulled it off very well! It’s so obnoxious but somehow … it works!