Kanye West is my favorite music artist, that may contradict something I've said before and to be clear, The Game is my favorite rapper, Kanye West is my favorite musician, Kanye isn't just a rapper, he's one of the best Hip-Hop producers ever, an amazing song writer, a surprisingly talented singer, the man can do it all, he even has a very dry, very funny since of humor, he doesn't take himself too seriously contrary to popular belief. Perhaps my favorite thing about Kanye West is the honesty in his music, for starters, Kanye West isn't a stage name, its his given name, his music is a reflection of him, its not the same, tired Hip-Hop cliches, Kanye doesn't pretend to be something he's not, he's never claimed to be gang affiliated or known for drug dealing, and as a result, his music has a personal touch not often found in Hip-Hop. There is no greater example of this to me than his masterpiece "808's and Heartbreaks" personally my favorite of his albums, a lot of people will argue that "College Dropout" was his best, and as far as I'm concerned, they could be right, that album along with "Late Registration" "Graduation" and "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" are all brilliant and amazing pieces of work, and while some people were enraged by his comments that he was "The Voice of a Generation" I think you could make a very good argument for Kanye in fact being this generation's voice, his influence isn't just limited to music, he has permeated not just pop culture, but our culture in general, and is a household name, recognized by everyone, ages 8 to 80, blind, crippled or crazy, they all know Kanye.
And then there is Jay-Z, for a long time I was just indifferent towards Sean Carter, I didn't think his music was great, I didn't think it was terrible. My biggest complaint about Jay-Z has always been that he is what's wrong with Post-Bigge, Post-Juicy Era of Hip-Hop, far too many rappers have used the rags to riches template Biggie used on his great song "Juicy" and no one used it as much or as often as Jay-Z. I could always excuse that though, because the dude has a nice flow, his rhymes are nice, and his production is always incredible, he hires the best producers, The Neptunes, Pharell, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, just to name a few, and oh yeah, Kanye West. As everyone knows, Kanye got his start as a producer for Jay-Z, on Jay's "Blueprint" album. The two would form a relationship which first started as a producer/talent relationship, and eventually would become an actual friendship. The two have talked for years about doing a collaboration album, and after years of talk, the album as finally come out. At least to iTunes its come out, the hard copy arrives in stores this Friday. So after years of talk, was it worth the wait?
My one time indifference with Jay-Z has turned into something like hatred lately, while I loved his record "American Gangster" I thought save for a few singles his "Blueprint 3" wasn't that great, and highly overrated, and that was about the time that Jay-Z started to adopt the Frank Sinatra of Rap persona. As somebody that loves Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack, one thing Jay-Z isn't and will never be is Sinatra, there is only one Frank Sinatra. That makes this album something really interesting, its a collaboration between my favorite artist, and a rapper that I really don't care for, even I was curious what this album would present me with.
I'm going to do a track be track review again, but first thing a few notes about the album in general. I was curious who's album this would really be, or basically looking at this album like a movie, who would get more screen time, and to my surprise, both have an equal amount, I would say the album maybe leans toward being heavier on Jay-Z, but it's really close. Another thing is the album peaks in the middle, it starts off ok, and ends ok, but from "Otis" to "Murder to Excellence" is classic.
1. "No Church in the Wild" featuring Frank Ocean (produced by Kanye West and 88-Keys)
A really good song, I like the hook, Jay-Z's verse is pretty good, Kanye's verse was excellent and the production is sick. It didn't quite set the tone of the album, but overall it was a good way to open the record. Rating 4/5
2. "Lift Off" featuring Beyonce (produced by Kanye West, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker)
For a moment I thought the twist was "Watch the Throne" would actually be a collaboration record with Kanye, Jay, and Beyonce. This song is definitely too Beyonce heavy, and sounds like a Beyonce song that features Kanye and Jay. The production is nice and Kanye's really good rapping and singing, Jay adds nothing. Rating 2/5
3. "Ni***s in Paris" (produced by Kanye West and Hit-Boy)
Not a bad song, not a great song, pretty average, sounds almost like something rejected from "Blueprint 3", Kanye's verse is dope, I like the Will Ferrell drops throughout the song. I love the breakdown at the end, for me that lifts the song. Rating 3/5
4. "Otis" featuring Otis Redding (produced by Kanye West)
This is classic Kanye West production, think "Blueprint" Era production, soul sample and all. The song is awesome just as a result of the crazy beat. Kanye kills his part on the song, Jay-Z isn't bad, one thing I didn't like was Jay's opening lyric "I invented Swag", if he invented Swag then I'm personally responsible for making Nerdy Sexy. In spite of that one line, Kanye's production and his lyrics are unbelievable, this is a great song. Rating 5/5
5. "Gotta Have It" (produced by The Neptunes and Kanye West)
This is another somewhat average song, its not bad, I just expect a little more given these two rappers and who produced the track. Rating 3/5
6. "New Day" (produced by The RZA, Kanye West and Mike Dean)
This song has a crazy beat from RZA, but I thought the lyrical content was amazing, especially the opening verse from Kanye. Its a really cool song, and maybe for the first time on the album shows the definitive difference in rap styles between the two. Rating 5/5
7. "That's My Bitch" (produced by Q-Tip and Kanye West)
I can't decide if this is my favorite song on the album or another one later on the album, but this song is really dope, it leaked about November last year, and its still really dope after all this time. The beat is unlike anything else, both Jay and Kanye are really strong, and there is a lot of heavy stuff on this record, this song is just a lot of fun. Rating 5/5
8. "Welcome to the Jungle" (produced by Swizz Beatz and Mike Dean)
A really cool song, which finds Jay-Z in almost Kanye like mode, the back in forth between the two is really good on this track, and Swizz's production is on point. Rating 4/5
9. "Who Gon Stop Me Now" (produced by Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph and Kanye West)
Great Song, Kanye and Jay both really good, and maybe at their most energetic on this track. The production is crazy on this track, seriously I haven't heard a beat like this before, its off-tempo, it almost shouldn't work it's so crazy, but it does. Rating 5/5
10. "Murder to Excellence" (Murder produced by Swizz Beatz/Excellence produced by S1)
This is the other song that could very well be my favorite (and its so very different than "That's My Bitch") this song is Epic, basically two songs in one, and tells the story of the African-American struggle to present time, its a surprisingly touching and inspirational song. Its the best produced song on the album for sure, Swizz produced the "Murder" part of the song, using an Indigo sample, S1 produced the "Excellence" part and produced it like a modern track, its a really nice contrast from the beginning. Rating is No Question 5/5
11. "Made in America" (produced by Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph and Mike Dean)
This song is almost the counterpoint to "Murder to Excellence" both are conscience tracks, but this track is too sweet and mushy, I get what they were going for, but it comes off more as boring. Rating 2/5
12. "Why I Love You" featuring Mr. Hudson (produced by Mike Dean and Kanye West)
Not a bad song, kind of average, especially for an album closer. I like Mr. Hudson's chorus and Kanye's verse, also Jay and Kanye's back and forth was again strong. Rating 3/5
That's it for the album, unless you buy the Deluxe Edition, make sure you buy the Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition has four more tracks, most notably the lead single off of the album "H.A.M."
13. "Illest MotherFu***r Alive" (produced by Southside, Kanye West, and Mike Dean)
A really good song, great verse from Kanye which finds him at his most witty. Nicely produced, especially at the chorus. Rating 4/5
14. "H.A.M." (produced by Lex Luger and Kanye West)
At this point everyone has heard this song, and this nothing new to say. Its a an Awesome song, and made the acronym HAM part of the public lexicon. Rating 5/5
15. "Primetime" (produced by No I.D.)
This is classic No I.D. production, another great song. Both Jay-Z and Kanye are on point on this track. Rating 4/5
16. "The Joy" (produced by Pete Rock, Kanye West, and Mike Dean)
I think this song was release as part of Kanye's G.O.O.D. Friday's sometime last year, it was a Kanye track featuring Jay, which is pretty noticeable. Kanye is really strong on this song, I thought this was Jay-Z's best verse on the entire album. I wasn't real crazy about the beat however. Rating 4/5
Overall, this is a really strong album, its not as great as some of Kanye's masterwork of the past, but it's better than most of Jay-Z's work for me. I was curious how my favorite artist and one of my least favorite rappers would work together, and they worked great, they had a strong chemistry, and in my mind, Kanye elevated the level of Jay-Z on this record. One thing for certain, I've never heard some of the production like I heard on this record, and it has a couple of the Best Songs of the Year, and "Murder to Excellence" may be one of the best songs I've Ever Heard.
Final Rating 4/5
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