Editor’s note: The Complex mag crew asked me to give a sentence or two about my impressions to the Watch The Throne event. It looks like I OD’d on the hype and TWote too much. Here’s what I said…
I’m calling this album Gattaca Rap. In the new iteration of the classic future dystopian flick we will see Jay-Z reprising the role of Ethan Hawke and BeYonce cast as Uma Thurman. KanYe West of course plays Jude Law since his DNA is all over this record.
‘No Church In The Wild’ featuring Frank Ocean
Jay-Z is as awkward in this genetically modified world as Ethan Hawke was, but just like Hawke escaped from Earth so did Jay-Z escape from the Marcy Houses to another world outside of Brooklyn. But maybe it was the planet of Brooklyn where Jay-Z has always belonged? Maybe Jay-Z doesn’t need to be circling around Saturn since his vehicle of choice is a Maybach anyhoo? I wanted to hear him craft verses that explained what the rare air of outerspace smelled like, but Jay-Z is still too preoccupied with a mortal imagination. Albeit a wealthy one, still hardly one belonging to a god who can hold a supernova star in his hand.
‘New Day’
KanYe West isn’t limited by his imagination, although he is burdened by his tragic Midwest upbringing for attempting to put a gilded hood ornament on a rocket ship. It’s called doing too much. There are times when his flourishes are truly fantastic (MBDTF) and there are moments in Watch The Throne where I have no idea what he is musically doing to my ears. I’ll blame myself for not having the right DNA hexcode to truly understand KanYe. Maybe, just maybe, this album has such a cosmic sound that I got lost in the translation.
‘Welcome To The Jungle’
Watch The Throne means everything to some people and nothing to others. I’m finding myself exactly in the middle, loving some of the tracks for Jay-Z’s honesty and Kanye’s musicality and skipping over half of the songs that I just don’t get. I wanted this album to be an instant classic for me, but after taking the piss test at Gattaca Aerospace Corporation my genome must have been deemed invalid? It’s like I got to the launch site too late to ride on the spaceship, but I still watched the liftoff. Whoever made it onto the spaceship is having a good time I suppose while I’m stuck here on Earth with the other invalids. My only consolation is that the hype machine powering this spaceship will run out of gas before it reaches Mars.
‘Life Off’ featuring BeYonce
No Church In The Wild stays on the loop tho’.
I’ma put 2.5/5 Blackstronaut Tangs on this spaceship.
KanYe West isn’t limited by his imagination, although he is burdened by his tragic Midwest upbringing for attempting to put a gilded hood ornament on a rocket ship.
^^^^^^^^
This a great line, just so you know you pen game ain’t unappreciated, DP.
Artistically, I have no use for either of these douchebags, nor the Kanye-modified beats. Fuck ’em all– and I’ll let Combat Jack hold Jay’s nutsack.
One very interesting point about Jay as the INFERIOR artist I consider him to be is that he’s really NOT drawn on his Brooklyn biography much at all. All we’ve ever gotten is vague detail and vaguer lies.
Jay does have keen sense of psychology– his greatest gift– and certainly did strive but for all that, does anyone sense even a fragment of Biggie’s BROOKLYN there?
Of Stetasonic’s, “Liquid Swords” GZA or ODB’s even, let alone Sean Price.
Re: Kanye, “College Dropout” is still a masterpiece, with “808s” and “Late Reg” close behind but the rest? I’m opting the fuck out.
I concur Dallas. The album wasn’t a complete waste of time but it didn’t hold my attention for the most part. The Otis video is dope though.
Only song I really don’t like is Lift Off. Don’t know wtf they were thinkin with that one. But other than that, I really like the album. The production is on some other shit.
I give it 4/5. Real talk, I think it’ll change the game. People gonna be copyin this shit for a minute.
Brahsef, I strongly disagree but I’m curious to hear your argument. By which I mean copy what? Their fashion? Their lies? Their “s**g”? Even Jay fans can make a l-o-n-g ass list of styles he’s copied so I’m not sure what you’re getting at? Is a bought & paid for “media event” or three copy-able by anyone without their money?
I figured with these two “superpowers” coming together, that I would have a 2011 “Illmatic”, but not quite. That being said, out of the 12 standard tracks, I do like 5 of them:
-Gotta have it
-Niggas in Paris
-Otis
-That’s My Bitch
-Who Gon Stop Me
A lot of experimental stuff, but a decent effort…
@Lamar
I was more thinking of the production. Just like how after the Blueprint, everyone wanted Kanye and Just Blaze soul beats, I feel like more rappers are gonna try to emulate the futuresque sound this album and MBDF has. Lyrically the album isn’t anything out or of the ordinary, and while Jay’s flow is better than what is was on the BP3 (awful) I wish he’d go back to his older flows.
I really dig the album, but I’m a Ye and Jay stan. I think Ye’s the greatest thing for pop music since Nirvana, and I think Jay’s the GOAT in hip-hop. So I’m prolly a lil biased here.
dp how did you like the track that rza did.
@brashef ye gotta do things for the rap game not the pop game. the pop game is not going no where and the rap game is heading for the shitter. i heard the album can’t say i’m disappointed. i didn’t expect much for this album and it delivered that. the only place they took chances at is the sound. jay stayed the same and kanye attacked them tracks. that was the best part of the album
@lamar you are right jay is robbing big for my rhymes but at this point. most people not even going care about that. most of them won’t even know that jay is doing that.
People are stuck on that Otis joint I think because it got pushed down their throat [ll].
The four(4) tracks I have posted here are the only joints I am fuxing with for real. Made In America might could get a spin as well as Why I Love You but these four(4) up top is the official on this album
I fux wit new day, welcome 2 da jungle, who gon stop me, murda 2 xcellence, why i love u, and the joy…the joints where the beats are decent and there is a minimal amount of kanye… i personally can always fux wit jay cuz he’ll put easter eggs all thru his verses, even his worst shit got somethin hidden in there…that tends to hold my interest more than kanye’s so called swag… his punchlines bore me to tears pretty quickly… the old, socially conscious kanye is the one i like… ‘swagu’ kanye, not so much
Great album that will be held more fondly in years to come like a burried treasure