"[41] Robert Christgau notes "regal grandiosity" and "glory" as primary themes on the album. [117], Watch the Throne debuted at No. [86][87] "Why I Love You" served as a European-centric single while "Niggas in Paris" was promoted as a domestic single. [107] Chris Richards of The Washington Post ranked it number two on his list and stated, "Instead of blushing over their embarrassment of riches, pop's most intriguing partnership delivered a self-congratulatory opus that was adventurous enough to remind us that they're rap visionaries first, 1 percent bazillionaires second. [8] Following this, Kanye West announced on Twitter his intention to drop a five-track EP with Jay-Z, titled Watch the Throne. Five years on, one of the most interesting things about Watch The Throne is the career intersection it now represents for Kanye and Hov. "[33] Nitsuh Abebe of New York views that the album is "about the relationship of black American men to wealth, power, and success. Following West's announcement via his Twitter account, "H•A•M" was officially released as a digital download in January 2011 as the lead single. 03/09/2021 01:38 PM EST. "[43] Rob Harvilla of Spin views that their lyrics express elitism, narcissism, "relentless capitalism," and "smug yet undeniable greatness."[37]. Talks Def Jam, Kanye West, & How He Affected "Watch The Throne" (Page 3)", "Jay-Z, Kanye Get To Work In Watch The Throne Studio Pics", "Ryan Leslie Explains Work On Jay-Z & Kanye West's "Watch The Throne, "88-Keys Talks the Making of 'Watch the Throne' Track, 'No Church in the Wild' – The Juice", "The Clipse Hint At Kanye West Collabo: Mixtape Monday", "Merging Empires – Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne, "Kanye & Jay-Z Confirm 'Watch The Throne' Release Date", "Beyonce Shares Her Love For Frank Ocean, Kanye West", "Frank Ocean talks Odd Future, Jay-Z & Watch the Throne Tour", "Album review: Watch the Throne by Jay-Z & Kanye West", "Beyoncé, Bruno Mars record collaboration", "Jay-Z, Kanye West reveal 'Watch The Throne' deluxe tracklisting", "Jay-Z Says Kanye West Wanted "Holy Grail" & "Oceans" On "Watch The Throne, "Kanye West and Jay-Z share the spotlight on 'Watch the Throne, "Brag Like That – The Barnes & Noble Review", "Jay-Z & Kanye West: Watch the Throne – review", "Jay-Z and Kanye West, 'Watch the Throne' (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/Roc Nation)", "Listen Up: Jay-Z and Kanye West raise the bar with 'Throne, "Watch the Throne: Uneasy Heads Wear Gaudy Crowns -- Vulture", "The Throne (Jay-Z & Kanye West), Watch the Throne", "Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch the Throne (staff review)", "Watch the Throne review; Jay-Z and Kanye West album reviewed", "50 Best Albums of 2011: Jay-Z and Kanye West, 'Watch the Throne, "Album review: Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne, "Watch the Throne Review: A Gold-Plated Luxury Vehicle, with a Message", "Kanye West and Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne': A Track-by-Track Breakdown", "Album: Watch The Throne, Watch the Throne (Mercury) – Reviews, Music", https://www.whosampled.com/album/Jay-Z/Watch-The-Throne/, "Kanye West and Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne': Read the EW review", "New Music: Jay-Z x Kanye West f/ Beyoncé – 'Lift Off, "Gotta Have It by Kanye and Jay-Z Review", "18. ", "T.I. [14] He noted difficulties in the recording process, including arguments with West regarding their direction. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 42 reviews. [50] "Murder to Excellence" addresses black-on-black crime and limited social mobility for African Americans. ‘Watch The Throne 2’ is on the Way, According to One Half of the Throne Kanye West tweeted that a sequel to his collaborative album with Jay-Z is on the way. "[45] Jon Caramanica writes similarly, "breaking [...] old barriers is a means to acceptance and stability" for Jay-Z, while "West sounds lonely" with his fame, adding that "For Mr. West every flash of Dionysian extreme is tempered by the realization of its hollowness. "[47] Writer Kitty Empire interprets it to be about "black power [...] conceived as a swaggering taunt of achievement, in line with both men's previous works, which routinely double as shopping guides. Bows at No. "[48] Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times deemed it "a cocksure, fiery, smart, if problematic, collaboration that showcases the pair's distinct lyrical skills. But you guys are important to push this forward. I would come in with a beat and he'd be like, 'Take this out, slow it down.' You just watch how popular music shift, and how hip-hop basically replaced rock & roll as the youth music. Jay-Z and West embarked on the Watch the Throne Tour for promotion that spanned from October 2011 to June 2012 and became the highest-grossing hip hop concert tour in history. Advertisement. "[43], Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole was less impressed, believing West had contributed a "powerhouse production" but that the album "requires you to tolerate the artists' self-mythologizing and put up with their sometimes awkward attempts at experimentation. The album also expresses other topics, such as Jay's thoughts on fatherhood, West's reflection on being deemed a social villain, and their success as performers. [3] West's early production work on Jay-Z's music helped raise his profile in the music industry. [56] The song utilizes an often experimental, bass-driven and dub-step influenced style of composition, with West forcefully rapping lines like "this is something like the Holocaust". [46], "Otis" samples Otis Redding's 1966 song "Try a Little Tenderness", manipulating it into a rhythm track with Reddington's vocals and grunts. [92], The sixth single was "Gotta Have It", which impacted Urban radio on December 6, 2011,[93] and Rhythmic radio on January 31, 2012. "[36], The album features themes of opulence, fame,[37] materialism,[38] power, and the burdens of success. The second time I went it was Barry Weiss, Jay, Beyoncé, Kanye, couple other people, it was a pretty heavy room. "[20] Pitchfork's Tom Breihan perceives "pure orchestral excess" on some of its songs and describes the album's musical scope as "a tribute to [West's] distinctive taste and sense of style. [3][6][7], During the promotional stages of West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a remix of the song "Power" surfaced featuring Jay-Z. Daily Themed Crossword features the best themes with a wide range of topics and new content everyday. [13] In an interview for Billboard, Jay-Z said that they often recorded in hotel rooms and that the album went through three iterations, as he and West had scaled back from their original musical direction. Jay-Z and West worked with several guest recording artists, including Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, and Mr Hudson. They originally sought to record a five-song EP together, but the project eventually evolved into a full-length album. [36] The song contains haunting backing vocals and an accompanying tambourine with the two rappers trading verses with the vocal riff playing over them. [84] The track peaked on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles at position 6. "Primetime" Producers: No I.D. Inspired designs on t-shirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. Recording Industry Association of America, I worked with Jay on his solo album before I did the, "Is This the Track List for Kanye's New Album? [94] Seventh and final single "No Church in the Wild" impacted Urban radio on March 20, 2012. [25] Ocean mused about the project: "I rarely do collabs, so that's just one of the ones you absolutely do. Tracklist: Kanye West & Jay-Z Watch The Throne (Deluxe Edition) 1. [14] Jay-Z announced that it was unlikely that the track would ultimately make the album. Size: 149.17 MB Uploaded: 13-07-2019 09:50 Last download: 05-04-2021 13:07. "Run This Town" from Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3, and both "Monster" and “So Appalled” from West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In addition, Watch the Throne peaked at number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart and the Swiss Albums Chart. In an August 2011 radio interview with WEDR Jay-Z shared the meaning behind the album's title; "It's just protecting the music and the culture. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. [35] The sample is used in a way that is reminiscent to past Kanye productions, like the tracks found on his album The College Dropout. [116] "Otis" was nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, winning the former. [129] This also became the second highest debut week of 2011, while its first week digital sales of 321,000 downloads served as the second highest one-week sales tally at the time. "The Joy" contains samples of "The Makings of You (Live)", written and performed by, Mike Dean – additional production, cello arrangement, engineer, keyboards, mastering, mixing, musician, producer, Noah Goldstein – engineer, mixing, producer, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua – executive producer, Anthony Kilhoffer – additional production, engineer, mixing, producer, programming, This page was last edited on 25 March 2021, at 17:05. It would make it sound 100 times better. [141][142] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart. [130] In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling an additional 177,000 copies. "[49] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph praised West's "attention to detail" and found their "wit and absurdity [...] entirely suited to the epic scale of productions. Returned for replacement and the replacement had the same issue. "[100] Kitty Empire of The Observer stated, "Some find this sort of branded gloating distasteful, but at their best both rappers can still make you laugh. [1] Production began in November 2010 in England and continued during available times in Jay-Z's and West's schedules at locations in Australia, Paris, Abu Dhabi,[12] New York City, and Los Angeles. It's an album of the moment—a point underlined by the presence of Frank Ocean on two tracks—yet it has the substance to endure. [20] Watch the Throne was mastered by producer and engineer Mike Dean at the Mercer Hotel.[11]. [147][148][149] It also debuted within the top ten on the Belgian Albums Chart, the Dutch Albums Chart, the French Albums Chart, the Irish Albums Chart, the Russian Albums Chart and the New Zealand Albums Chart. [50] Both Justin Vernon and La Roux appear on "That's My Bitch", spitting off hooks over a quick, melodic beat, with West at his most abrasive lyrically. "[44] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone felt that "on a record this ambitious, this sonically bold, it's a shame two of music's greatest storytellers don't extend their gaze beyond their own luxe lives. [18] Producer and recording artist The-Dream sings a verse on the track using AutoTune. Losing hope that there’s a quality version of it out there. It reached the top ten in 11 other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom. [50] The track features an unusual sampling of dialogue from the 2007 film Blades of Glory, notably the "we're gonna skate to one song and one song only" line. "[104], Watch the Throne was one of the top-ranked albums in year-end lists by music critics and publications. In Canada, the album debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week. [90] By February 2012, it had reached digital sales of two million in the United States. M”, “Primetime”, & “The Joy” are all bonus tracks from the album. My harsh criticism of "Watch The Throne" is entirely focused on Otis, the album's second single produced by Kanye West.Any other WtT achievements are meaningless in light of this outrageous, despicable, necrophiliac "seance"—particularly appalling the way Kanye credited it: featuring Otis Redding. In 2011, Jay … [38][47] The song has been described as an understated soft-pop track with influence from Michael Jackson and his 1985 charity single "We Are the World". [63] The sales strategy received criticism from other retailers, who accused the labels of giving preferential treatment to iTunes and Best Buy. [13], The album's earlier sessions produced a little material that has made the final cut. Talks About 'Swagger Like Us,' Leaked Single Featuring Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye West", "Kanye West Reveals Which Good Friday Tracks Are On Fantasy", "Kanye West & Jay-Z Said To Release Five-Song EP, "Watch The Throne, "Kanye West and Jay-Z Planning Joint Album", "Jay-Z Talks 'Watch the Throne' & Calls Beyonce 'The Second Coming, "How Jay-Z and Kanye West finally made 'Watch the Throne, "Jay-Z Previews 'Watch the Throne' in New York", "Interview: No I.D. "[15] While his advice was acknowledged to a degree, he ultimately had very little part in the finished project. With help from Anita Kumar, Erin Banco, Darius Tahir and Renuka Rayasam. Available in a range of colours and styles for men, women, and everyone. [35] West and Jay-Z's lyrics frame their rags to riches story on the song. [77] In July 2011, "Otis" became the second single when it was premiered on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and subsequently leaked to the Internet. Over a year in the making and a truly global affair, the duo recorded in London and Bath in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Paris, and New York City. [116] It lost the former to West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. From the cinematic 'No Church in the Wild' to the Stax-soul update 'Otis,' Throne testifies to Kanye West's talent for beats both iconoclastic and pop-savvy.