I wanted to become a bit more in tune with culture. No, I did not turn to the incomparable CNN newstation to get a taste of the latest riot clean up in London or the economic degradation the United States is showing an ample refusal of pulling ourselves out of. I add myself to the general population of citizens who know nothing about the economy clean up but everything about the effects until.
There is no good reason to turn on something that is present-day when trying to discover the better half of world history, the more profound and literate pieces of our being. Besides the inevitable lure of condescending music and scantily clad young women in front of a low budget camera, there are not many avenues to explore in today’s artistic expression. Unless the recent arrival of JayZ and Kanye West’s collaborative “Watch The Throne” effort is accounted for. The long anticipated album was predicted to give listeners a taste of royalty that the jesters of hip hop have made fans long for. The demonstrative script of fine wines, beautiful women and other worldly possessions that the common man has yet to dawn upon was released and set records with nearly 290,000 ITunes downloads through Sunday night. Who would have thought?
Sean Carter and Kanye West.
These two men have fallen upon a point in their careers where they can take the suicidal risks of a flop without truly losing any of their fanbase or their landmark credibility. Watch The Throne is not hip hop of the future or the past. It is simply something slick to listen to as you are cruising down the highway or just getting your day started, if you like to wake up to the blood curdling but somehow philosophically soothing screams of Otis Redding. Not only did the duo take a huge chance of backlash with the record ‘Otis’, but there are not many men in the business that could dish out the cash necessary to use a loop of such a historically trended voice. There is no doubt the overtly confident Mr. West and the business mogul that is JayZ have their fair share of a king’s diction and a mesmerizing definition of success, but why do their past reputations merit such a sound response for a somewhat bare project?
Where they came from is much more motivating than where they arrived and it should be that way. The journey of a millionaire should be mind-quaking enough to strike hope and change. When JayZ’s first album was released, Reasonable Doubt, on June 25, 1996 a legend was brought before us. At the age of 7, no one told me what real music was supposed to be. I just used my prior knowledge of my mother’s spinning Aretha, Anita and Marvin records to form my own juvenile conclusions. This marked the honesty and the true depiction of what Sean Carter was experiencing in everyday life. This was before it became more popular to rap about where you wanted to be as if it was where you stood in class as you spoke. The single “Ain’t no N*gga” featuring a then 17 year old Foxy Brown with racy lyrics, had a beat that you could dance around to and lyrics that most teenagers and younger adults could have a strong feel for. This album marks the beginning of a long journey for Mr. Carter. Not that he needed much sculpting, but as he traveled to the heights of his career, the capacity of hustler tales waned as they are morally expected to. The timeline for his albums is extensive however each album does not put a staple in the turning point of his attitude towards the game, his life and his lyrics. That would be left up to the next hip hop hall of fame worthy display by the Jigga Man.
But, we all know JayZ’s legacy. We all have made reference to it whether we were bringing up the good old days where a quarter bag of chips was still a quarter or when the only cigarettes small children had in their mouths were the ones made of gum that just so happened to blow powder. It made you feel just a little older while enjoying the adolescence of the empty summer days and the occasional ice cream truck. Kanye West, on the other hand, came into his own through controversy, teddy bears and a College Dropout CD with an air of guideline deformity and golden pillars that have yet to be touched again by the sometimes troubled rapper. Yes, we saw the coming and going of the ‘Graduation’ and ‘Heartbreak & 808s’, but there has never been a greater shaped compilation than his debut album.
There was also nothing much stronger a statement than when he was on live television after the Hurricane Katrina massive disaster and said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Of course you could add his comments of the up and coming Taylor Swift for shock factor, but that spoke volumes of embarrassment, not social change and the African American position in America. What he said about George Bush meant something as did his lyrics in songs like “Spaceship” and when he rapped about his life-changing car accident through clenched jaws in “Through the Wire.” Mr. West is still ever so creative, but it was so much easier to relate to someone rapping about things that took place in modern society than to listen to someone brag about their riches, jumping lines at the hottest clubs, swimsuit models of all races and money stacked to epic proportions. Those lyrics give a tad bit of inspiration, but there seems to be less of a grind now that both of these men are sitting at the top.
Is there anything obscene about being comfortable? No. We work every day and all day just to be able to be placed in a spot of comfort for a few seconds, let alone to be able to rest for the rest of our lives. JayZ and Kanye West have worked hard enough to achieve and amply take advantage of that opportunity. Still, while I was listening to ‘Watch The Throne’ I could not help but think that they were at the peak of their talents. This is it. There is nothing after this album that could come as a shocker and the ‘Otis’ single is not a precursor for greater things to come. There may be many notes played with a Jay or Ye hook and/or verse attached to them. The production may be mind-boggling, but the reason you may not thoroughly enjoy another ‘pre-ranked’ album from either of these men is that it will not reach the height the pre-described gesture of grandeur supported. The lyrics will be merciless. But aren’t they always?
Kanye West and Sean Carter have done tremendous things with their talents that have generously been separated from the characteristics of the average man. But, we as fans will have to settle for a repeat effort.
Watching the throne has become so redundant that the dethroned and commoners walking around the gated kingdom wish to watch Mars or Saturn instead. Is there anyone that can survive at those heights?
