Kanye Shines Over Jay-Z on "Watch The Throne"

I wasn't completely sold on a Jay-Z/Kanye West collab album when I first heard about it, especially with all of the hype behind it and them keeping it SO much under wraps.

I'm a fan of both rappers but have always like Kanye a little bit more (even though he ALWAYS pushes the envelope). Jay-Z is smart and one of the greatest rappers alive but I feel like he is the one who doesn't know when to leave the party (or does he?).

I gave Watch The Throne a listen today and have to say that while it is not a CLASSIC, it does blend the two well and is a good album overall. While there were way TOO many samples for my taste, I think that it sounds exactly how I would expect an album to sound from these two together.

You get the wordplay and content that both have become famous for (and sometimes infamous) as well as some of Kanye's new sound from both 808's and Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (both of which are on my iPod). I do think that Kanye does better in his parts but Jay-Z holds his own as well.

~Elle Shanice~ grade for Watch The Throne: B+

I was a little put off by some of the song titles but I gave the album an honest listen all the way through in order to give it a fair review. The 1st track, "No Church in the Wild" was one of those songs that I was hesitant to listen to because of its title but I did like the song. The 2nd song is one of my favorites, "Lift Off" and of course features Jay-Z's wife, Beyonce'. Another song that I was wary of because of the title was "N*iggas in Paris" but it is also one of my favorites.

The first single from the album, "Otis" features an Otis Redding sample and was one of the most HYPED songs I've ever heard. You couldn't find it ANYWHERE to even listen to it! Other songs that I liked include "Gotta Have It", "New Day", and "Why I Love You", but my favorite song on the whole album (despite it's title) was "That's My B*tch". Kanye KILLED this song, which is the one that I was convinced that he had surpassed Jay-Z, at least on this album.

In many aspects, I think that this album is Jay-Z's way of rising from his "throne" and passing the reigns to Kanye. I feel like he made the album to show that he still can but to me, Kanye is slowly surpassing him as an artist (if he can just keep his mouth shut).

Watch the video for "Otis" below: