I wanted to wait a few days to post this review so I could let the album soak in a bit. Straight up, it’s genius. I think the most important thing I could say about it is that it’s definitely not a Jay-Z album with Kanye West beats, it’s very different to what they both do solo. The album works like MBDTF in the sense that it has a linear story and arc, something that I’m always looking out for in KW’s work. He always works to achieve a movie-like experience when creating his albums/live performances (when working on Jay-Z’s ‘The Black Album’ he described it as the black movie with each song being a scene from it. His glow in the dark tour was also formed around a story about a computer called Jane, who starts the show by telling Kanye that the Earth had lost all its creativity, and he must save us from our banal existence.)
When Kanye made MBDTF I think he finally nailed the formula of creating an album that takes you through a linear experience and here he is applying it again. Jay and Kanye both rap about watching the throne, kings and queens etc and keep that theme constant throughout the entire album. The lyrics are also just as strong as the beats, here’s a few of my favorites:
“(KW) Hello, hello, hello, white America, assassinate my character / Money matrimony, yea they tryna break the marriage up / Who gon act phony, or who gone try to embarrass ya / Imma need a day off, I think I call Ferris up (JZ) Bueller had a Mueller, but I switched it for a Miele cause I’m richer / And prior to this sh*t was moving free base (KW) Had a conference with the DJs, Puerto Rico three days (JZ) Poli with the PD’s now they got our sh*t on replay (KW) Sorry I’m in pajamas but I just got off the P.J. / And last party we had, they shut down Prive (JZ) Ain’t that where the Heat play? Ni**as hate ballas these days (KW) Ain’t that like Lebron James? (JZ) Ain’t that just like D. Wade? Wait. “ – Gotta Have It
“(KW) 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” – Made in America
“(JZ) Showed love to you ni**as / You ripped out my heart and you stepped on it / I picked up the pieces / Before you swept on it / God damn this sh*t leaves a mess don’t it / Sh*t feelin’ like death don’t it / Charge it to the game / Whatever’s left on it / I spent about a minute / Maybe less on it / Fly pelican fly / Turn the jets on it / But first I shall digress on it / Wasn’t I a good king?” – Why I Love You
“(KW) It was all good just a week ago / Ni**as feel theyselves and then Watch The Throne drop / Ni**as kill theyselves / What ni**as gon do Hov? / This a new crack on a new stove / I’m in the two-door, true that / Ni**as tellin’ me “You back” / Like a ni**a ever left up out this b**ch, huh? / And if life a b**ch they suck my d**k huh? / And I bet she f** the whole clique, huh? / By the way ni**a, you should f***in’ quit, ni**a / Just forget it, you talk it, I live it” – H*A*M
These are just a few examples of how incredible they are, modern day poets. Please take your time and listen to the album in order, let it soak in, feel the fuckin magic.
Ye and Hov are the shit.
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