Upon my first listen, the word that kept coming to mind was "originality." I tend to listen to an album or mixtape as I write the review for it so I can be totally enveloped in it and nothing else but the crazy thing is that this album draws you in subconsciously. When I first looked at the tracks I thought, ooh wee these are some long songs, how will I make it? But each and every track provides enough variety in the subject matter, production, and featured artistry to keep those with even the shortest attention spans and most critical attitudes enthralled.
Before listening to 'Watch The Throne,' I had absolutely no expectations whatsoever, not good nor bad. I felt it wasn't fair to limit the creativity of artists such as Jay and Ye by placing expectations on them because there is no way to foretell what they may have up their sleeves. One reason I respect these two artists is the fact that they can be defined as "mainstream" by their album sales and fan base, however, the sense of timelessness in their music says otherwise and they remain true to that, which is what has brought them so far.
The duo features contributions from Swizz Beatz, Kid Cudi, Beyonce', Q-Tip, Curtis Mayfield, No I.D., Frank Ocean, LMFAO, Charlie Wilson, Lex Luger, Otis Redding, Mr. Hudson, The Neptunes and more. Some featured vets include Elly Jackson of the English pop duo La Roux and Justin Vernon of American indie folk group Bon Iver who both provided vocals on 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.'
Fun Fact: The creative mind behind the album cover art, as well as the H•A•M single cover, is Ricardo Tisci; Italian fashion designer and creative director of the Haute Couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories lines of Givenchy.
My favorite tracks are "N***** in Paris," "Gotta Have It," and "Illest MF Alive" for various reasons which I won't get into since I decided to spare you all and keep this review as concise as possible.
