The Throne has been watched. I have lived with this Jay-Z/Kanye West project for more than 24 hours. I haven't listened to anything else. I can't. It's just the way I am when I'm getting into new music. Simply stated, WTT is amazing. It exceeded all of my expectations. I love the way Jay and Ye shined on this cd. I am clearly in love with "N***as In Paris," "Who Gon Stop Me," "New Day," and "Why I Love You." I also think that collabo cds bring out the best in those involved. Ye is coming off a huge album. His MBDTF is epic. It's like a movie. Did the two of them need to do this? No. Neither career was hurting. They did this for the love of music, for the fans, for the fun. And, I thank them. I have not been this excited about a Hip-Hop cd in a minute.
The rollout for WTT is just about the illest thing I've ever seen. there has been little to no promotion to this project. Even more amazing is the fact that it did not leak. I cannot think of a cd that hasn't leaked within the last four or five years. Kanye first mentioned this project as a 5 song EP that him and Jay were gonna do back in late November. I was uber excited because I am such a fan of both men. There was a buzz single released in January. It was "H.A.M." The single was met with mixed reviews. Then there were the multitude of fake release dates. Finally, on the 4th of July the artwork was released as well as a link to pre-order. Which, I of course, did asap. And, then the world finally received a true single. "Otis" is a soul sample of Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" and Jay and Ye spend three minutes being their most flashy, braggadocious selves. The song is a loop of the Otis sample with no hook, no bridge, no chorus. It's just three minutes of Jay and Ye trading 8 bars. Just a really fun song with a great sample.
The excitement was building. IT was a topic of discussion on Twitter leading up to its release. My pre-order via Jay's Life and Times blog was full of surprises. The day that "Otis" was released, I received an email with a download link for the song. It also informed me that I would receive another email with the download for the digital album on 8/8 and my physical copy on 8/12. So, Sunday night while on Twitter LowKeyUHTN tweeted that he had received his digital copy of WTT via iTunes. I couldn't check my email fast enough. At exactly, 11:01pm, my email arrived. I downloaded and started to listen to WTT with the biggest smile! I also watched the Twitterverse explode with reviews of the cd. It was quite amazing to watch so many people react to the same product.
I may be very biased on this but I LOVE it. WTT musically and sonically does not sound like anything else. Lyrically, no one can touch Jay or Ye in my book. I never once doubted that. I was just anticipating what they would sound like on a full project. These men are two of the only rappers that I have all of their cd's. I have never bootlegged either of them. I became even more of a fan of Kanye's after seeing him in concert at Essence Music Fest this year. There is also a WTT tour starting this fall. I cannot wait to attend. I've been a fan of both since the beginning of their respective careers. These two men showed up and showed out of this wonderful 16 song (deluxe edition) cd. "Watch The Throne" just makes me happy. I've read a lot of reviews of this cd. Some I agree with because they hear what I hear. Others I don't, because I have no idea what they heard.
I do not think I can give a song by song review. I like them all too much. Today I have been playing "Why I Love You" a lot. It's my favorite today. Yesterday, it was "N***as In Paris." All in all, this cd was well worth the wait and all the excitement to me. Kanye and Jay gave me more than I wanted in this project. I'm looking forward to hearing this new material performed live in concert this December. If you are a fan, or even if you're not, I suggest you check it out. Get Into "Watch The Throne"
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