Watch The Throne

Music games of hip-hop kings

It must be impossible to find at the contemporary hip-hop forum personalities with more influence, legacy and originality than Jay-Z, and Kanye West. Although they are so unlike in terms of music style, stage attitude and personal traits, these two are, in fact, two poles of one world. And any other rapper, whether he wants it or not, tends to look like one of them. It comes as a big surprise that only now, after so many years on the stage, Kanye West and Jay-Z are finally here to release a full-scale record. Sure, they got to work together in the past, but they have come with an idea to make a long player just recently. And, of course, this project was realized with the same involvement with which kings used to arrange their feasts. And there is something else to be said about kings here. The album got the title Watch The Throne. The throne still belongs to these two, and the entire record is a demonstration of power to be reckoned with. It is a wisest decision for the two rulers, who, instead of fighting for the throne, got down to making music.

A dedication to their favorite selves

Watch The Throne blinds with luxurious design whose dominant color, naturally, is gold; and it deafens with flawless sound, topnotch job by the best producers you can spot in hip-hop today. Some could find Watch The Throne something close to humiliation pulled off by the rappers who lost their minds in fame and wealth. As often as not, there comes a feeling that both arranged the whole affair just to enjoy their glory, but not in front of a mirror, but in front of a huge audience. Tracks like Otis, Gotta Have It, or Niggas In Paris are odes to their toughness, superiority and independence. Sure, as long as you pay no mind to the lyrics, this sounds captivating, but it happened so that these songs came out just when everyone in America again speaks about the menace of the terrible economy disaster. The two starts could not but make a couple of songs to their families too. In the end, what kind rapper would not ask his mama to forgive him for wasting his youth? But, apart from tracks Welcome To The Jungle, and Made In America, where both, actually, pay their tributes to their relatives, there also is a song called New Day. It is a message sent by Jay-Z, and Kanye West to their descendants for whom popularity and hips of money are stored.

The album has everything it must have

Watch The Throne also provides us with rare moments when the rappers forget about their favorite selves and get focused on serious topics, again, rather because it is a must than because they want to. Seemingly metaphorical, the opening song of the album, No Church In The Wild, drops a whole bunch of images on the listener, but it seems that a track with such a dramatic story about ‘kingdom in peril’ inside should be placed anywhere else but at the start. It would look much nicer should it close the record as a thoughtful epic. We also have Murder To Excellence, a recollection of another assassination of a black man, allegedly on grounds of racial enmity. The cast of the guests includes such stars as Frank Ocean, and Beyonce, whose melodious R&B-flavored choruses come in handy just where they have to be. Then it looks like the CD has everything a good hip-hop record should possess. Moreover, the top quality is an undisputable matter as soon as you see Jay-Z, and Kanye West on the cover. However, there are albums made out of overkill of heartache, out of inability to keep it silent anymore; and Watch The Throne is a whim album made to produce powerful impressions. As long as you listen to it, it is nothing but a pleasure, but it has no chance to remain deep in your heart or memories.