Jay-Z, Kanye rule on 'Watch the Throne'
Album / CD art cover titled " Watch the Throne " Jay-Z Credit: Handout
When two superstars as big as Jay-Z and Kanye West decide to join forces on something substantial, nine times out of 10 it ends up being a stunt rather than a thrilling new collaboration.
"Watch the Throne" (Roc Nation/Def Jam) -- the debut album from The Throne, which is the name of Jay and 'Ye's new group -- is no stunt. This is the real deal.
The album, which will be released on iTunes Monday and to retailers Aug. 12 in a herculean attempt to keep it from leaking to the Internet ahead of time, is a landmark effort that tries to balance well-crafted, good-time hip-hop with weightier concerns. It mixes old-school beats with new-school construction. It's socially conscious and often inspirational, but it also has moments of fun (including Beyoncé's countdown in "Lift Off" and a snippet from Will Ferrell's "Blades of Glory" movie, "No one knows what it means, but it's provocative!").
And -- oh, yeah -- it's gonna be huge.
Not only does "Watch the Throne" benefit from having both stars watching over its creation, but their bouncing ideas off each other and a talented production crew, which includes Swizz Beatz, The Neptunes and RZA, has made them both better.
Both Jay-Z and West have the good-time stuff down pat. Though he is known for his gritty takes on Brooklyn life, Jay's ability to crank out a "Big Pimpin' " or a "Show Me What You Got" is what has given him 11 No. 1 albums -- the most of any solo artist ever, bypassing Elvis Presley with 2009's "The Blueprint 3."
For "Watch the Throne," the duo decided to take even the upbeat stuff to the next level. "Lift Off" is buoyant thanks to the soulful chorus from Beyoncé, who reprises the late-'70s, Crusaders-style jazz approach from some of the successful songs from her "4" album, as she promises interplanetary travel.
The first single, the West-produced "Otis," built around Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness," is ostensibly a soulful twist on rhymes about living the good life. "Photo-shoot fresh, looking like wealth, I'm about to call the paparazzi on myself," boasts Jay, after 'Ye rhymes about hiding out in his "other-other Benz."
Nevertheless, they're still trying to build something new, making Redding's vocals an important part of the song and then intricately dancing around them with their rhymes. The space between Jay's declaration that he has "five passports, I'm never going to jail" and 'Ye's promise that "I made 'Jesus Walks' so I'm never going to hell" is only a breath, like a flawless running-relay handoff made even more impressive by the thematic move from the practical to the spiritual.
That transition is really what "Watch the Throne" is about. At the album-listening party last week at the Hayden Planetarium, Jay-Z talked about how they scaled the album back because it became so big that it became less enjoyable. Presumably, it's that concern that got "H.A.M.," the track that initially drove the project, moved off the main album and onto bonus-track status on the deluxe edition. The song wasn't the problem, but the rage that it tapped into doesn't really fit in with the more uplifting songs.
On "New Day," the duo offers advice to their unborn sons, with each reflecting on his struggles and praying that the next generation won't have to suffer a similar fate. Both Jay and 'Ye deliver personal rhymes over RZA's throwback synths, but West can't resist lightening the mood with his wishes ("I want him to have an easy life and not have a Yeezy life") and promises ("I'll even have him be Republican so they know he loves white people").
After the aggressive boasting of "Who's Gon Stop Me," delivered over a dubstep beat that is more James Blake than James Brown, The Throne shows off what it wants to do with all that power. It delivers the hip-hop equivalent of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On."
On "Murder to Excellence," the duo transitions from talk of black-on-black crime and how more Americans are murdered in Chicago than in Iraq to an elaborate party celebrating black culture. Then, in "Made in America," featuring the soulful vocals of Odd Future's Frank Ocean, they pay homage to Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, before offering thanks for what they have accomplished, "Sweet Baby Jesus, we made it in America."
"Made in America" may be the most inspirational and socially conscious song in either of their catalogs and it's the clearest example of what makes "Watch the Throne" so special. Jay-Z and Kanye West, rappers at the top of their games, dreamed even bigger for their collaboration and they achieved it.
Jay-Z and company
Jay-Z has done plenty of collaborations in his career, with everyone from Coldplay to Eminem, from Mariah Carey to Mary J. Blige, and, of course, with his wife, Beyoncé. But his newest project with Kanye West on "Watch the Throne" is only his fourth album-length joint venture. (It's the fifth if you count Danger Mouse's "Grey Album," which combined a cappella Jay-Z rhymes from "The Black Album" with music from The Beatles' "White Album.")
Here's a look at how he has fared previously:
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS(2002)
WHO Jay-Z and R. Kelly
WHY After successfully teaming up for the hit "Fiesta," they decided to do an entire album together. However, during the recording process, a sex scandal involving Kelly and an underage girl erupted, dragging promotion and sales down with it. Maybe that explains some of the distracted-sounding tracks.
PEAK No. 2
HIT SINGLES "Get This Money," "Take You Home With Me"
UNFINISHED BUSINESS (2004)
WHO Jay-Z and R. Kelly
WHY Released in connection with a joint tour that was delayed because of Kelly's 2002 scandal, this was an album of unreleased tracks from the "Best of Both Worlds" sessions. It's generally seen as Jay-Z's weakest album.
PEAK No. 1
HIT SINGLES "Big Chips," "Don't Let Me Die"
COLLISION COURSE (2004)
WHO Jay-Z and Linkin Park
WHY An album that put Jay-Z's rhymes over Linkin Park's rap-metal rock, it was a way to take the rebellious idea of mash-ups and make it commercially viable, as well as bringing rap and hip-hop closer together.
PEAK No. 1
HIT SINGLES "Numb/Encore"
