The time and place had been set in stone for months now. The anticipation was growing. I simply could not wait. Finally, it was Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 @ approximately 9:19pm. The house lights go dark and I see Jay taking his spot on the stage in front of us. The show starts with the drop of the beat of "H.A.M." and the opening line of "It was all good just a week ago." The crowd went crazy as the lights shined on Jay and Ye on two different stages. Their stages started to rise as they performed the first song. Everyone was on their feet. I already knew that I would be up all night. Anyone who knows me knows how much of a fan of Jay Z's I am. I am also a Kanye fan. This was a long time coming to see the two of them on the same stage in person. The arena was rocking from the opening moment.
There was no opening act, no intermissions, just Jay and Ye for almost 3 hours. That alone made the price of admission worth it. This is my third time seeing both men in concert. Each time just gets better. I could clearly be biased but I can't help it. I love the way they performed songs from "Watch The Throne" cd as well as solo songs. I loved seeing Jay being Ye's hype man and vice versa. They were engaging as well as personable on stage. They smiled and had a great time entertaining us. The crowd was loud all night. I know for a fact that I rapped every word to every song. I only sat down during one song (Kanye's "Stronger" which I've never liked). Jay performed some of my favorite tracks by him. He did "Where I'm From," "Hard Knock Life," "Big Pimpin" (also rapping the late great Pimp C's verse), and "99 Problems" (my personal theme song for many years). Ye did all of his hits "Gold Digger," "Al of The Lights," "Runaway," and "Power." The track set for this concert was awesome. They gave you old songs for those day one fans like myself as well as newer hits. Both men gave a great show.
The best part of the show for me was the ending. They ended with "Ni**as In Paris." The arena went wild as soon as the beat dropped. The whole arena was bouncing. I knew that it was gonna end as well as it started. I love Kanye rapping "I got my ni**as in NEW ORLEANS and they going guerilla, haaaaa!" After finishing it, they performed it for a second time. I was loving it. They told us good night and walked off stage. I knew it wasn't over though. The house lights were still off. The crowd started clapping and yelling and screaming "Encore!" Jay Z started talking from backstage. He said "Oh what that mean? Sounds like y'all don't wanna go home. Good cause I don't wanna go home either." Ye and Jay came back out to talk to us to thunderous applause. They were laughing and talking to the crowd. Ye told the dj to drop it again. "Ni**as In Paris" was performed 7 times before it was all over. The crowd bounced and rapped to it every single time. It was a great feeling in the arena that night. After the final performance of NIP, Ye threw his mic.
The show was over. The Throne had been watched. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I was disappointed that they did not do my songs "Why I Love You" and "Gotta Have It." Other than that, I have nothing but great things to say about it. I left the concert with a smile on my face and a strained voice but I was happy. I got to see Jay and Ye again. I got to experience it with my favorite aunt who's never seen Jay Z perform live. She enjoyed it as much as I did. If you are a fan of either or both, I suggest you make your way to this concert. It was just that great. I could not have asked for a better night. I have been to more concerts than I can count. This is up there on my list of greats. Greatest night ever. I think this is the second time I've written about my night at a Jay Z concert. What can I say, I'm a true fan. I can sum it up in about eight words: great artists, great music, great performances, wonderful night
It took me a few days to decide which song to chose for LLL. Jay-Z and Kanye's "Watch The Throne" has been on repeat since Sunday night. "Made In America" is the song that I am feeling the most today. So here's some lyrics for you guys.
(Frank Ocean) Sweet King Martin / Sweet Queen Coretta / Sweet Brother Malcolm / Sweet Queen Betty / Sweet Mother Mary / Sweet Father Joseph / Sweet Jesus / We made it in America / Sweet Baby Jesus / Oh sweet baby Jesus / We made it in America / Sweet baby Jesus / Oh sweet baby Jesus / We made it in America
(Kanye West) I told my mama I was on the come up / She said you going to school I’ll give you a summer / Then she met NO ID and gave me his number / Ten years later she driving a Hummer / Ni**as hustle every day for a beat from Ye / What I do? Turn around gave them beats to Jay / And I’m rappin’ on the beat they was supposed to buy / I guess I’m getting high off my own supply / Downtown mixing fabrics tryina find the magic / Started a little blog just to get some traffic / Old folks’ll tell you not to play in traffic / A million hits and the web crashes ...Damn / South Park had ‘em all laughing / Now all my ni**as designing and we all swaggin’ / Ignore the critics just to say we did it / This ain’t no fashion show, motherf***er we live it
(Chorus)
(Jay-Z) I pledge allegiance to my Grandma / For that banana pudding, our piece of Americana / Our apple pie was supplied through Arm & Hammer / Straight out the kitchen, shh don’t wake Nana / Built a republic, that still stands / I’m tryna lead a nation, leave to my little mans / Or my daughter, so I’m boilin’ this water / The scales was lopsided, I’m just restorin’ order / Hold up, here comes grandma, what’s up YaYa? / What’s that smell? Oh I’m just boiling some aqua / No papa, bad Santa / The streets raised me, pardon my bad manners / I got my liberty choppin’ grams up / Street justice, I pray God understand us / I pledge allegiance to all the scramblers / This is the Star Spangled Banner (Chorus)
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"
