Gentle Coolness: août 2011

dimanche 7 août 2011

Album review : Watch the throne

Let's take it back to november 2010. Kanye West was releasing "My beautiful dark twisted fantasy", an ambitious album filled with epic instrumentals and great lyrics. A few weeks later, after receiving the title of best album of the year in almost every magazine, he got everybody going crazy while announcing that he was collaborating on a 5 tracks LP with his further mentor, the legendary Jay-z.
9 months later, the LP became a full-lenght project that finally hit the crowd ears after a lot of hype, several rumored tracklists, one single...and no leak. It's safe to say the anticipation for this album was huge, as huge as the expectations were high.
"Watch the throne" picks up where "My beautiful dark twisted fantasy" left, right in the middle of epicness. The album begins with the extraordinary "No church in the wild", a song that immediatly sets the mood : super energic and heavy drums, guitar rifs, and the rap duo (with the assistance of Odd future's singer Frank Ocean) dealing with religion, monarchy and fast life with an ease that only the best lyricists can show. After this great intro, Ye and Jay never let the pressure fall down, keeping both lyrics and production super consistant. From the playful "Lift off" to the superb and emotional "New day", they apply the greatness treatment to every subject they talk about. Switching from showing off (the electronic and powerful "Niggas in Paris") to denouncing intraracial violence ("Murder to excellence"), both rappers impress at every attempt, and show the chemistry between them, whether they are having full verses or exchanging rhymes just like if there was their fifth duo album. People who were afraid that "Watch the throne" turns into a Kanye-West-feat-Jay-Z-album don't have to worry, as Mr. West is often delegating the production side to prestigious guests (think The Neptunes, Rza, Swizz Beatz...), who all managed to give their best, making "Watch the throne" an album without any sonic dissapointment, even after the abrupt end of "Why I love you" (bonus tracks are as good as the regular album tracks).
The duo's project ends up being an extraordinary rollercoaster launched at full speed, with an engine so powerful that there was a risk that it crashes more than once. But Kanye West and Jay-Z managed to ride this machine with ease, talent and, let's say it, grace. Once the shock of the first listen is gone, it slowly but surely appears that "Watch the throne" will probably be the epic classic that everybody was expecting.