Last night, in NYC at the Mercer Hotel, Jay-Z held a listening event for the most anticipated album of the summer, Watch The Throne. Since you probably didn’t get the invite, we took the time to compile all the Watch The Throne reviews that have hit the Internet today.
Our very own Editor-In-Chief, Noah Callahan-Bever—who was there as a portion of the album was created—took to Twitter and tweeted a ton of inside info on the project. [@N_C_B]
GQ Editor Sean Fennessey has a comprehensive writeup of the event—less than 20 people were there, Jay-Z was extremely charismatic, and one journalist got kicked out for attempting to live-Tweet the whole thing. [GQ]
The most in-depth review of the event came from Rolling Stone. They give a play-by-play of each track that has us unreasonably excited to hear the final product, which is coming "soon," according to Jay-Z. [Rolling Stone]
Entertainment Weekly weighed in after the event, declaring Watch The Throne a "masterpiece." They also add some song titles to the tracklist and offer some background on the creation of the album. [Entertainment Weekly]
MTV reports that the event took place in a hotel suite that had been converted to a recording studio, Beyonce and Frank Ocean have the only guest spots, and the album went through three incarnations. [MTV]
AllHipHop wrote a song-by-song rundown of the album and mentioned how a couple teenagers—the first people to pre-order the album—were allowed to attend. From the sound of things, AHH’s favorite track samples Flux Pavilion’s “I Can’t Stop.” [AllHipHop]
Although she didn’t attend the listening session, Hot 97’s Angie Martinez heard the album and gave a brief review, calling Frank Ocean’s guest appearances on the album “quite impressive.” [Rap Radar]
Billboard says that what Jay played last night is definitely not a final tracklist, but that Watch The Throne will not be as heavy and operatic as “H.A.M.,” which might not make the final cut. [Billboard]
KC July 8th, 2011 at 02:32 PM
I pray that H.A.M stays just a street single. That song was atrocious and unlistenable. If hip-hop wasn't dead before that track, it certainly is now.
Naplam August 8th, 2011 at 04:31 AM
I'll keep it short and sweet...growing up in hip-hop culture I can appreciate its growth and artist pushing the boundaries. However, unlike My Twisted Dark Fantasy where this is done with thought provoking rhymes and interesting beats this album supplies neither. Much of the production comes off as uninspired if not just plain wack. As for much of the subject matter, lets just say with all that going on in the world you'd think these two world renown artist, in their 30's/40's, could come up with something ear catching to rap about...unfortunately that's not the case. Now as fan of both's guys former works I'll give them credit for trying to display some growth and introducing a more international sound in their music, however its unfortunate that doesn't make up for the fact that the music here just isn't that good and will be easily forgotten. In short, this album is an example of what happens when 2 very talented artist get complacent and just dial it in hoping their names will carry a product. Judging by the current state of hip-hop they may just be right, but let it be known that this fan here is sadly disappointed. Watch the Throne, not for long if this is what you guys plan on feeding your subjects. :-(