Last fall, when Kanye first tweeted that he and Jay-Z were going to do a collaboration album, rappers everywhere cringed. When Jay or 'Ye release a solo album, the game is shut down for weeks at a time. The fact that they planned on joining forces had to put fear in the hearts and careers of many. Aptly titled Watch The Throne, everything about it felt like standing in the crowd in a castle in 14th century France, watching the

king and his primary cohort pour bubbly in

an intimidating goblin, and toast their glasses so hard the liquor spilled down to the civilian level. The artwork for the promotional single, H.A.M., looked like a Basquiat. Then the duo, who Dom Kennedy comically referred to as Janye Zest, went mum. No singles, no tour, not

even a snippet or a video. Then, out of nowhere, a release date. Then a 2nd

single. Slowly but surely they began to ramp up. The artwork, then the confirmed tracklist, producer credits in tow, a documentary and the announcement of a nationwide tour. Listening parties that only people such as Sean Fennessey (CEO of GQ Mag) were invited to (define elitist?). And finally, 11:59 pm, August 7th, we prepared for what those that were allowed into the listening party described as an audio movie, the first classic of the decade, and some of Hov and Ye's best performances.

The album begins with the Frank Ocean-assisted "No Church In The Wild", which finds Jay-Z beginning the album referring to some of the world's largest misconceptions, cover-ups and enigmas, proclaiming, "Lies on the lips of a priest. Thanksgiving disguised as a feast". It's a dark verse from Hov, told over a dark set of instrumentals that Kanye & 88-Keys put their feet in. Before he makes his exit, he asks, 14 years after it all began, "I'm wondering if a thug's prayers reach", and allows Frank Ocean to add his moody and pensive vocals a few bars later, before allowing Yeezy to take over, which he did in gritty fashion. While some didn't agree with his auto-tune laden bridge, I thought it fit perfectly with the song and the mood. 'Ye promptly dives into one of the best verses he's ever written, piggybacking off Jay's comparisons to Jesus and the holy ghost, boldly stating, "We developed a new religion. No sins without permission". Kanye's life is torn by lustful women, questions of his faith and how deeply have his actions hurt the ones he loves, and you can hear it in every bar of this verse. Perfect intro.

"Lift-Off" is what I'd like to call a mistake. I'm sure Beyonce didn't force her way onto the album (though I'm sure she'd have that power if she really wanted to do so), but her presence on this track definitely sounds forced. I love where Kanye and Q-Tip were going with the chords, especially the way the beat switched up in the final minute, but two muffled verses from Hov and Kanye and a flat sounding Bey detracted from the flow of the album, after such a provocative, perfectly executed intro as No Church.

"N****s In Paris" was probably the most talked about track by the listening party

attendees because of its title, and Hit-Boy's production. Everyone kept saying he killed it, which I agree with. His knack for creating mutli-layered beats (See: CDC by Dom Kennedy, Uptown81 by Smoke DZA), made him a perfect candidate for this track. And if you thought you were broke before Hov's opening bars, you probably felt worse about it after. "What's 50 grand to a muthafucka like me please remind me. Ball so hard this shit crazy, y'all don't know that don't shit phase me. The Nets could go, 0-for-82 and I'd look at y'all like this shit gravy". Kanye's outright disrespectful (picture your mom saying that) requests of crawling to the bathroom stall and showing why you're worthy of marrying him make this track exactly what it was meant to be, and I loved it. A careless display of excessive wealth and brash arrogance. The interjection of the sampled conversation: "What does that even mean?" "No one knows what it means but its PROVOCATIVE", was brilliant.

The album carries on into a different phase after "Otis", which is what I call gun-in-briefcase rap, because the braggadocious I'm-rich-and-you're-not raps (which I happen to adore), hit the back-burner when the Neptunes came in and laid down the canvas for "Gotta Have It", the first song I put on repeat after the album's first run through. The sample and drumline are sick, but its Pharrell. I wouldn't call it launching an attack on them, but Hov & Ye made it clear that they're onto white America's scheme with both their verses. West begins the track, "Hello white America, assassinate my character, money matrimony yeah they tryna break the marriage up". Rather than bask in his own self-pity, with Hov's assistance, he shows what became of society's repeated attempts to thwart him. "The last party we had, we shut down Privet". Hov interjects, "Ain't that where the Heat play?", before comparing themselves to LeBron and Wade. The best part of the track is when Jay randomly states, "I'm planking on a million". I thought that held so much imagery and sublime meaning, but I'll let you marinate on it.

The most introspective state you'll find these two are on "New Day", where they

thoughtfully speak to/on their un-born sons, hoping they grow up to be nothing like them. Ironic. Kanye goes so far as in to say, "I might even make him be Republican, so everybody knows he loves white people", where Hov seems to have lost all hope, opening his verse with , "Sorry junior. I already ruined ya", which is slightly different from the tale he told on Beach Chair in '06. Interesting. But how they managed to sleep at night going from that to "That's My Bitch" is beyond me (insert "lol" here). All I have to say about that cut is a quote from Hov's verse. "Put some colored women in the MOMA. Half these broads ain't got nothin' on Wilona", referring to the Good Times beauty. No complaints.

At this point in the album, I had my doubts, and had already put down my hopes of it being a classic once I came to terms with the fact that "Lift-Off" was really track number 2. But I was thrilled with what I was hearing. Kanye and Hov going it at about everything from fear to money to faith, steering clear of corny punchlines and beats, and delving thoroughly into every subject matter. "Welcome To The Jungle" was no different, above-par production provided by Swizz Beatz. What I found as this track progressed was vintage Jay, reminiscent of Moment Of Clarity, reminding us that he's "a tortured soul", but, "I'll ball tomorrow". His energy and tenacity increased as the track went on, and when he was done, Kanye had nothing to say. Can't blame him. Jay didn't stop there, as the next track "Who Gon' Stop Me", showed Jay and Kanye going back and forth on a robotic, futuri

stic beat courtesy of Yeezy himself and Mike Dean, which turned into Ye and everybody else in the room watching Jay, egging him on. The beat flattens out towards the end, giving way to Hov's vocals, which bellowed "2 seats in the nine-eleven, no limit on the black card", before he took over for the final 90 seconds. Dope.

Final 3 tracks shows 'Ye & Jay re-entering the introspective phase for the final go round, beginning with "Murder To Excellence". One of my favorite beats on the album, thanks to Swizz Beatz and S1 (See: Best Thing I Never Had - Beyonce, Mr. International - Talib Kweli). This is one of Kanye's highest points on the album, where he pleads with his race to stop killing each other, wailing in the chorus, "The paper read murder. Black on black murder", and rapping, "The church ain't got enough room for all the tombs". Jay put it a little more simply, stating, "Real n****s just multiply". The transition from this track to "Made In America", the second and final Frank Ocean-assisted cut on the album is one of my favorite, almost laying out the blueprint to survival. Stop killing each other and you can make it in America. It's not that simple, but, it's a start. Kanye sums up the first few years of his career in his verse, with a chilling line, "My mom met No I.D. and gave him my number", part of another one of my favorite 'Ye moments on this album.

Watch The Throne's outro, like the intro, was executed well. For years, ever since Jay stepped down as CEO of Def Jam and disbanded the original Roc-A-Fella team, people have been wondering what he was thinking, and how he felt about all the shots that were fired at him in the aftermath. Well, "Why I Love You" answers those questions deftly. "I tried to teach n****s how to be kings, and all they ever wanted to do was be soldiers", and "Took care of n****s lawyer fees, and this is how they rewarded me?". Mr. Hudson's eerie stadium-sound chorus fit perfectly as "Janye Zest" make their exit. The question today, and for years to come will probably always be, "is this a classic?".

My answer today, and for years to come will be no. But what I will say is this. In an industry marked by trends, phases, silly dances and unnecessary conflict, not to mention dying sales and the failure of most record labels to reveal the true talent many of these artists posses

s, it is extremely refreshing to hear something like Watch The Throne. Two individuals who have creative control over their music, who can say what they want to who they want in however fashion, because their persistence gave them that privilege. The ability to say "Thanksgiving's disguised as a feast", because it's true, and not be crucified for it. I can only hope this provides inspiration to other artists looking to accomplish this same task. Big K.R.I.T. and Yelawolf, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, among others. As Drake said himself in his latest single, "The real is on the rise, f*ck them other guys, I even gave 'em a chance to decide, now its something they know".

-K. Van Gogh