18 August 2011 GAZETTE 15
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TOGETHER TO PRODUCE OFFICIAL COLLABORATION ALBUM
out regal new release
at times, overinflated record. Meanwhile, Kanye comes into this project on the back of one of the best records of the last decade, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, that saw his imagination as an artist and his production skills rise above any negative criticism thrown at him over recent years (“Even if it goes through Taylor Swift, tell her this”) Watch The Throne, therefore, is an act of alchemy, the melting of minds and styles and skills to create something more, but the same things said about the previous recordings by the pair ring true once again, still present
in the mix. It is an epically wellproduced record, taking some inspired samples (Otis Redding, Nina Simone, and the inevitable James Brown) and beats to create another widescreen collage. It’s a record so knowing as to allow Kanye to drop in a Will Ferrell quote (“It doesn’t actually mean anything, it’s provocative”) to lighten the tone with a selfdeprecating moment, something Mr West would not previously be noted for. But under the surface is the feeling that Kanye is the one pushing the envelope, while Jay only sporadically provides the quality of
rhymes and verses that his long-time fans know he is capable of. But when the fates conspire and the light hits the throne right, there are some magnificent moments here, and you remember why every release by the two kings remain an occasion deserving of a public holiday. There are more ideas than only one record can contain, and that’s maybe why it feels as though there are better things to come. And the ongoing sense that when Jay-Z and Kanye We s t wo r k t o g e t h er, something really inspired and historic will appear. Long may they reign.
The opulent cover of Watch the Throne, by Italian designer Riccardo Tisci
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