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Kanye and Jay-Z album goesgold (plated)

Just yesterday we were teased that Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne would be dropped earlier today. Sadly, there’s no sign of an album but fans can now pre-order the deluxe and standard editions (CD + MP3) via the official watchthethrone.com.

In a comment to Interview Magazine, Kanye describes the record as “very dark and sexy – like couture hip-hop.” The album art is just as posh, having been designed by Riccardo Tisci of exclusive French brand Givenchy.

Speculation has hinted at guest vocals from Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. Production is said to feature Lex Luger, Swizz Beats and No ID as well as beats from Kanye and Jay-Z.

In an interview with MTV, CyHi the Prynce let slip that the album was done and that “it’s going to be ready for you guys soon.” No official date has been announced.

Watch The Throne tracklist:

1. No Church in The Wild (Feat. Frank Ocean)
2. Lift Off (Feat. Beyoncé)
3. Niggas in Paris
4. Otis (Feat. Otis Redding)
5. Gotta Have It
6. New Day
7. Prime Time
8. Who Gon Stop Me
9. Murder to Excellence
10. Welcome to The Jungle
11. Sweet Baby Jesus (Feat. Frank Ocean)
12. Why I Love You (Feat. Mr Hudson)

Bonus
13. Illest Motherfucker Alive
14. H*A*M
15. That’s My Bitch
16. The Joy (Feat. Curtis Mayfield)

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sarcasm_mister

sarcasm_mister said on the 10th Aug, 2011

No Church in the Wild - i've only heard a handful of Frank Oceans work but i'm sure kanye is wondering where the hell he has been all this time. his vocal style suits kanye's production style perfectly. the rapping sounds ok here but Frank Ocean truly is the stand out.

Lift Off - See Me Now was probably my least favourite Kanye release of 2010. just like Frank Ocean suits Kanye perfectly, Beyonce is poison to his arrangements. and Lift Off is further proof of that. this is obviously the token radio single from the album but unlike its counterparts across the years ie. all of the lights, touch the sky, this falls short on all accounts.

Niggas in Paris - this is exactly what i wanted to hear from this album. over zealous , ego driven, bling flaunting self- indulgence. jay-z "spitting" out his rhymes and kanye HA!-ing his way through. i love it that their lives are better than mine.

Otis - naturally being the first single from the album this stood out but the fact that it continues to do so after several listens is proof that it is a brilliant track. i don't quite like it how the vocal sample sits above the rapping rather than simply accompanying it. i found myself remembering the sample and little else each time i listened.

New Day - loving the arrangement on this track it was a great move to let it ride towards the end of the song instead of cutting it short once the rapping ended. kanye's wit compensates well for his lack of rapping ability. whereas Jay-Z's breathless rhymes are an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Thats My Bitch - once again another brilliant arrangement. the synths, the beat, the sample and whatever i'm missing out on without good headphones just work in tandem so wonderfully to create a type of energy that would be any DJs wet dream. don't have much to say about the rapping but with so much going on it takes a back seat.

Welcome to the Jungle - this reminded me of some of the formulaic mid-album tracks on Graduation and some of the rapping on Blueprint 3. that fucking morse code synth does my head in *skips*

Who Gon Stop Me - probably the best exchange of rhymes between the two on the album. Jay-z shines brilliantly here. i sometimes felt that kanye's love for epic production doesn't work for jay whose rapping needs little accompaniment. but thankfully he is given some space here and rarely drowned in 43 layers of music.

Murder to Excellence - great piece of social commentary here. i'm not one to read lyrics but the two of them seem to convey their message to the black community about crime very clearly without seeming like they just want to grab some headlines. the switch halfway through makes sense but it felt as though the song took a step down as a result rather than the other way around which would've been more effective.

Made In America - i need to look into the history between No ID and Kanye but he seems to name drop him a fair bit to the point where its a bit annoying. love the South Park mention as well haha. but once again Frank Ocean warms my heart and makes me feel like putting my hand to my chest and having a triple cheeseburger. should've been the closing track

Why I Love You - what a fucking chorus!! the rest of the song (and most of the album) pales in comparison. Jay's second verse sounded very familiar. i swear he did that exact same verse at Rock Am Ring in 2010......anyways i still think this belong nearer to the beginning of the record just for the energy it exerts.

agree? disagree? couldn't be bothered reading?

grattan

grattan said on the 15th Aug, 2011

(Fake) Ghostface reviews the album:

2. Lift Off (ft. Beyonce) – I almost aint wanna even comment on this shit son…. I dont even kno what to say bout it yo. This shit sounds like the anthem the fairies in Ferngully would use to go to war against evil humans to or some shit b. This shit is like Shia LeBeouf in song form yo. Lissenin to this shit is like havin ya ears penetrated by a million microscopic dicks namsayin. Shit sounds like niggas doin aerobics on a magical cloud of daisies. How many meadows did Kanye cartwheel across before he decided to make this beat? Seriously yo…. Jus how many lily pads did the nigga skip across the pond on before he got inspired to make some shit like this? Definitely one a the worst songs Jay ever been involved in…thats includin those lame joints off Vol 3 wit Amil n Mariah or the worst songs off Kingdom Come….EVEN the Timbo joints off Blueprint 3. Like this joint is SOFT son. Guess thats why Jay only spit like 5 n a half bars on it. Its like the song Yung Berg would play before he goes n commits his latest string of L’s. Shit is jus terrible son…especially since it took like 6 niggas to produce this muthafucka.

11. Made In America (ft. Frank Ocean) – First of all son….Lionel Richie called from 1986 n said he wants his song back yo. Word. Sade jus holla’d on twitter to say this shit is soft as fuck namsayin. I think Elton John wants to conceive babies to this joint b. Drake said he gon soak in his lotion pool to this shit rite here for like a week son. I think Wiz Khagina is scissorin wit Amber Rose to this shit rite now as we speak yo. I heard this shit gon be used for the next Gwyneth Paltrow movie too. I dont kno how the same nigga that did Who Gon Stop Me had anything to do wit this shit but apparently he did nahmean. This shit sounds like two niggas hang glidin over the ocean together at sunset holdin hands son. I think this is bout to be on Yung Berg’s yoga playlist. I cant fuck wit this shit at all b. This shit is like audio lesbian comin out my speakers son.

grattan

grattan said on the 29th Aug, 2011

Marc Lynch, professor at George Washington University and the director of the Institute of Middle East Studies, on Watch the Throne and 'Jay-Z's Hegemony in the Age of Kanye'.

"Watch the Throne represents a fascinating gambit in the consolidation and extension of Jay-Z's hegemony over the hip hop world, and in Kanye's rehabilitation of his image following a catastrophic collapse in his global standing. How they did it offers important lessons for how the United States can handle its own changing position within a turbulent world.

Watch the Throne then can be seen as a shrewd move to institutionalize Jay-Z's hegemony before feeling the effects of likely decline in a rapidly shifting and potentially hostile environment, through more robust partnerships and a fully-realized new alliance system... Watch the Throne therefore should not be judged as an album, but rather as a move in this savvy strategy of institutionalizing hegemony in the face of potential decline. "

And here's an old [URL="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106857447"]NPR radio interview he did comparing rap wars to real wars that's also worth a listen

There's a history of this in the rap world: 50 Cent rose to power by destroying the career of Ja Rule. Jay-Z did that to a number of people while he was a rising power.

"If you go back to, like, 19th century bounce-power politics, this is how rising powers would make it," Lynch says, citing conflicts between Japan and Russian as well as among rising powers in Europe. "If they wanted to get somewhere, they had to take someone out."

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