When the clock struck midnight to usher in August 8, I downloaded Kanye West and Jay-Z's "Watch the Throne." Two of my favorite artists, two of the most talented musicians of this era, collaborating together for an entire CD. Sign me up. But after watching the 2010-11 NBA season, I should have known that the recipe --- two world-class stars joining forces on the same team --- called for disappointment.
On paper, Kanye and Jay-Z equal the best rapper duo ever. You can easily argue that Jay Z is rap's G.O.A.T., and even maturing in the same era as Jay-Z, Kanye is the most talented hip-hop artist of this generation, though I doubt anyone would call him the generation's best rapper. Put them together, and you form a duo capable of blowing up tall buildings with a dozen bars, causing fire hazards in dance clubs with a single beat, or producing music that cures diseases and gives angels wings. But the world-class rappers are also two of the most egotistical beings in the world, and those egos lit a torch to what could have been one of the best albums ever.
Operating at their best, Kanye and Jay-Z are introspective, bright, and offer the world-view of wise mentors. Think Jay-Z's "Song Cry" (I can understand why you want a divorce now/ Though I can't let you know it, pride won't let me show it/Pretend to be heroic, that's just one to grow with/ But deep inside a nigga so sick) or Kanye's "Family Business" (All my niggas from the Chi, that's my family dog/ And my niggas ain't my guys, they my family dog/ I feel like one day you'll understand me dog/ You can still love your man and be manly dog). Their best songs mean something, tell tales we can relate to, discuss problems we have experienced to a certain extent, or describe an aspect of life that's real, if not always tangible or easy to articulate. Sadly, too few songs on "Watch the Throne" evoke situations we can relate to. Jay-Z and Kanye instead spent most of the album trying to tell us they're better than we are, and, while doing so, doomed the album's incredible potential.
"Watch the Throne" might as well have been an hour of Lebron James telling us, "At the end of the day, all of the people that were rooting for me to fail, tomorrow they'll have to wake up and have the same life that [they had] before they woke up today. They got the same personal problems they had today and I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do." There were brief interlude's to the album's ego-driven message, of course -- "A New Day," in particular, travels to the inner sanctums of the duo's mind, sharing the lessons they'll teach their sons, and "Murder to Excellence" begins as an intelligent discussion of inner-city violence before the duo digresses into a discussion of how Kanye and Jay-Z have escaped the threats of the inner-city and now spend all day driving Maybachs and buying Gucci apparel and, what goes unspoken, fornicating with beautiful women.
Mostly, Kanye and Jay-Z just want to tell us they live on a different planet than we do, that they have more expensive clothes than we do and drive nicer cars, that they can afford beautiful vacations and have met the President of the United States of America. Meanwhile, Kanye and Jay-Z forget that what made them better than we are in the first place was an ability to make music that relates to the average man, rather than the man driving Maybachs and waving $100 bills at the valet driver, the ability to make music that sounds great to the ear but also means something substantial. I expect Gucci Mane to rhyme (or not rhyme, depending on his mood) about cars and clothes and materialistic possessions. I expect Kanye West and Jay-Z to provide something more meaningful.
Maybe the album's title should have alerted us to the ego-driven bars we would soon listen to. Watch the throne. View me from your perch below me. I am the king, you are the commoners, and you should watch me and feel lucky you get the opportunity to do so. Gag. Puke. Dry heave. I WANT MORE FAMILY BUSINESS AND SONG CRY!!!
The title was Ye and Jay's version of the Miami Heat's pre-championship championship celebration, their proclamation, "Not one. Not two. Not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven. And when I say that, I really believe it." The difference, of course, is that Lebron and Dwyane Wade play a team sport in which a title is presumably a player's ultimate goal, and they were predicting championships they had not yet (and still have not) won. Jay-Z and Kanye make music, where titles are individual awards and, well, titles are also money and Maybachs and meetings with the President --- in their minds (and maybe they're right), they have already won all those titles.
"Watch the Throne" was more like a victory lap than an honest attempt at making great music. It was Jay-Z and Kanye telling us, "We don't even have to try. We can just look into our garages and rap about whatever we see, and our album will still go platinum." At least, I hope it wasn't an honest attempt at making great music. Because if it was, two of rap's best ever have pushed themselves off the throne and now lay with the commoners, in a place they never should have fallen to.
Lebron and Dwyane Wade failed in different ways than their musical counterparts, but both duos fell far short of their potential, at least in their initial collaboration. Kanye and Jay-Z displayed more teamwork -- both portrayed a similar vision for the album, both seemed okay with rhyming mostly about money and cars and fame and social standing, real music be damned. They were entwined in failure, almost seemed resigned to it, whereas Miami's duo took turns trying to lead the Heat to a title. Lebron faded in the Finals, but we should not forget that he carried the team there. Dwyane Wade tried to carry Lebron and the Heat on his back against Dallas, but we should not forget that he could not, nor should we forget the back seat Lebron pushed Wade into in the previous rounds. Or maybe we should forget all of that, and just remember that the Heat lost, they lost without any glory, they found out how my Dirk tastes, and they presumably (and finally) realized the need to earn the titles they predicted last summer, the titles Wade and Lebron thought would arrive at their doorstep without any hint of a fight, as if dropped by a stork.
Kanye and Jay-Z believe they already won many (mythical) titles, and they seem content parading their spoils around town, telling everyone who will listen about their gorgeous whips, beautiful clothes and extended trips to Paris. Lebron and Wade can keep doing that --- writing their own version of "Watch the Throne," hosting pre-championship championship celebrations, and being content with what they've accomplished during their careers --- or they can start making real music.
It's time for the NBA's Terrific Two to make a choice --- Watch the Throne, or Family Business?
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