Watch the Throne is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording locations and began in November 2010. It was produced by West, 88 Keys, RZA, Swizz Beatz, Jeff Bhasker, and Mike Dean, among others. Prior to the album, Jay-Z and West had collaborated on their respective singles and with West as a producer on Jay-Z's work.

Expanding on the dense production style of West's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne incorporates orchestral and progressive rock influences, unconventional samples, and dramatic melodies in its sound. Jay-Z and West's braggadocio lyrics on the album exhibit themes of opulence, fame, materialism, power, and the burdens of success, as well as political and socioeconomic context. Music writers interpreted the album's subject matter to concern the rappers' plight as African Americans struggling with financial success in America.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 436,000 copies its first week. It produced seven singles, including the international hits "Otis" and "Niggas in Paris" and Billboard hit "H•A•M". Upon its release, Watch the Throne received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended its production and the rappers' performances, although some criticized its subject matter and cohesiveness. It was one of the top-ranked albums in year-end lists by critics and publications. Jay-Z and West promoted the album with a concert tour that spanned October to December 2011. The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and, as of March 2012, has sold 1,421,000 copies in the United States.

Background[link]

Jay-Z and Kanye West had first worked together on the former's 2000 song "This Can't Be Life", which was produced by West,^[1] and on Jay-Z's 2001 album The Blueprint, which showcased West's style of hip hop production at the time.^[2] West's early production work on Jay-Z's music helped raise his profile in the music industry.^[1] Subsequent collaborative work by the two included further production work by West for Jay-Z and collaborations on singles such as "Swagga Like Us", "Run This Town", and "Monster".^[2][3][4] Originally intended to be a five-track EP by Jay-Z and West, Watch the Throne was revealed by West to be a full-length album in an October 2010 interview for MTV.^[5] He said in the interview that they planned to record in the south of France.^[5]

Recording[link]

Recording sessions for the album took place at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, Barford Estate in Sydney, Australia, Electric Lady Studios, The Mercer Hotel, MSR Studios, and Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York, New York, Le Meurice in Paris, France, and Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England.^[6] Production began in November 2010 in England and continued during available times in Jay-Z's and West's respective schedules at locations in Australia, Paris, Abu Dhabi,^[7] New York City, and Los Angeles.^[8] In an interview for Billboard, Jay-Z said that they often recorded in hotel rooms and that the album went through three iterations, as he and West had scaled back from their original musical direction.^[9] He also noted difficulties in the recording process, including arguments with West regarding their direction.^[9] The album's earlier sessions produced little material that made the final cut.^[7]

Jay-Z and West recorded at various locations, including Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England.

In January 2011, they regrouped and rented a block of rooms at the Mercer Hotel in New York City and invited a select group of producers and recording artists.^[7] Chauncey "Hit-Boy" Hollis, who produced the track "Niggas in Paris", said of recording at the hotel, "There was music going on in every room. I had a room where I was cranking out beats, and then I’d go into the main room with Jay and [Kanye] and play beats for them. Kanye is really hands-on. I would come in with a beat and he’d be like, ‘Take this out, slow it down.’ It would make it sound 100 times better. Jay would then mumble different flows to the beat."^[7] Parts of the album were also recorded in New York City's Tribeca Grand Hotel.^[10] In an interview for Rolling Stone, Jay-Z discussed their insistence on recording in person and attributed it to the delay in releasing the album, stating "If we were gonna do it, we were gonna do it together. No mailing it in."^[8] The album was mastered by producer and engineer Mike Dean at the Mercer Hotel.^[6]

Jay-Z and West worked with several guest recording artists, including Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, and Mr Hudson.^[11] "No Church in the Wild", the last song recorded for the album, was conceived by Jay-Z, West, and the song's producer 88-Keys throughout most of June.^[12] Producer and recording artist The-Dream sings a verse on the track using AutoTune.^[6] Additional vocalists Elly Jackson, Connie Mitchell, and Justin Vernon provide the hook on "That's My Bitch".^[6] Swizz Beatz, who produced "Welcome to the Jungle", also provided background vocals to the track, and Kid Cudi contributed additional vocals to "The Joy" and "Illest Motherfucker Alive", bonus tracks on the album's deluxe edition.^[6]

Composition[link]

Music and style[link]

Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe writes that the album's music is as "massive, dour, and relentlessly unconventional" as that of West's previous 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^[13] Music writer Robert Christgau describes West's production as "a funkier and less ornate variant of the prog-rap of 2010's acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy".^[14] Music journalist Jody Rosen characterizes the music as "vast, dark and booming," commenting that West "continues in the sonic vein he introduced in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, lacing the songs with rock dynamics, layering his beats with eerie vocal chorales, piling on proggy flourishes."^[15] Conversely, Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine finds West's "knack for dramatic, melodically sophisticated tracks [...] channeled away from the Olympian scale" of his previous album "and toward the more commercial vein of Jay-Z's recent work," which he attributes to West splitting production work with several other producers.^[16] On the songs' structure, Cole states, "every track eschews the standard verse-hook-repeat format in favor of more dynamic material."^[16]

Music journalist Alexis Petridis comments that the album incorporates "unlikely samples."^[17] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times writes that the album's production "can be roughly segmented into three categories," noting "Southern-inflected tracks" such as "Niggas in Paris" and "H•A•M", "moody and harsh numbers" like "Who Gon Stop Me" and "Why I Love You", and "the nostalgia that creeps over much of this album, giving it a sonic through-line and mission statement."^[18] Pitchfork Media's Tom Breihan perceives "pure orchestral excess" on some of its songs and describes the album's musical scope as "a tribute to [West's] distinctive taste and sense of style."^[19]

Lyrical themes[link]

The album features themes of opulence, fame,^[20] materialism,^[21] power, and the burdens of success.^[22] Jay-Z's and West's lyrics include boasts of obscene wealth, grandiosity,^[23] and social commentary.^[16][19] Sputnikmusic's Tyler Fisher describes Watch the Throne as "an album centered around larger-than-life egos."^[24] Robert Christgau notes "regal grandiosity" and "glory" as primary themes on the album.^[25] Andy Kellman of Allmusic characterizes much of the album's lyrical content as "ruthless flaunting of material wealth and carte blanche industry resources."^[26] Ross Green of Tiny Mix Tapes describes it as "luxury rap", noting Jay-Z's and West's "whimsy and braggadocio."^[27] Rob Harvilla of Spin views that their lyrics express elitism, narcissism, "relentless capitalism," and "smug yet undeniable greatness."^[20]

Music critic Greg Kot views that the album is about "mutual admiration" and writes of the rappers' respective personas, "Jay-Z is about imperious flow, bridging his gritty past life on the streets with his current status as a cultural tastemaker and business mogul. [...] West is more desperate, transparent, awkward, vulnerable."^[28] Music critic Nathan Rabin states that Jay-Z and West "are a study in contrasts: the businessman and the bohemian, the faithful husband and the drugged-up playboy, the walking press release and the loose cannon. Jay-Z is tidy. Kanye is nothing but rough edges."^[29] Jon Caramanica writes similarly, "breaking [...] old barriers is a means to acceptance and stability" for Jay-Z, while "West sounds lonely" with his fame, adding that "For Mr. West every flash of Dionysian extreme is tempered by the realization of its hollowness."^[18] In his article "Brag Like That" for Barnes & Noble, Robert Christgau comments that "Jay-Z is a grown man and Kanye West is not" on the album and elaborates on their lyrics, stating:

Both co-kings flaunt their arrogance even by the standards of a genre where braggadocio is the main event, and neither is shy about pretending that the line of succession from Otis Redding and Martin Luther King is paved with their gold. [...] One could venture that maybe Watch the Throne divvies up the way it does for rhetorical purposes—that one king plays the hero and the other the hedonist, two equally royal hip-hop archetypes.^[14]

—Robert Christgau

Their lyrics also exhibit political and socioeconomic context,^[23][30] which Jody Rosen denotes as "serious, sober, weighty."^[15] Nitsuh Abebe of New York views that the album is "about the relationship of black American men to wealth, power, and success. [...] a portrait of two black men thinking through the idea of success in America."^[22] He compares it to Yinka Shonibare's 1998 piece Diary of a Victorian Dandy, "in which the artist luxuriates in all the genteel pleasures of the time."^[22] Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times notes "musings on the spoils of riches and the chaos that accompanies it," adding that "[the] tension between worshiping the spirit and celebrating the bounty drives Watch the Throne [...] The record questions faith while clinging to heritage and family, places this moment in an historical context, wonders on the mystery, power and confusion of the gilded life — while rolling around in amulets."^[31] Writer Kitty Empire interprets it to be about "black power [...] conceived as a swaggering taunt of achievement, in line with both men's previous works, which routinely double as shopping guides. [...] [T]hey need to humanise all the conspicuous consumption."^[32] Claire Suddath of Time views the rappers' "bacchanal celebration of the finer things in life" as secondary to the theme of "two men grappling with what it means to be successful and black in a nation that still thinks of them as second class."^[33]

Content[link]

The opening track "No Church in the Wild" features a cinematic production style.^[30] "Lift Off" has baroque strings and a chorus sung by Beyoncé.^[34] "Niggas in Paris" incorporates staccato orchestration, fizzing industrial noise, a sampling of dialogue from the 2007 film Blades of Glory.^[17] West and Jay-Z's lyrics frame their rags to riches story on the song.^[30] "Otis" samples Otis Redding's 1966 song "Try a Little Tenderness", manipulating it into a rhythm track with Redding's vocals and grunts.^[17][19] "Gotta Have It", produced by The Neptunes, incorporates chopped-up James Brown vocal samples and Eastern flute melodies.^[19]

On "New Day", they address future sons about fame.^[29] It references the line "me and the RZA connect" from Raekwon's 1995 song "Incarcerated Scarfaces", which was also produced by RZA.^[18] The track incorporates a sample of Nina Simone's 1965 song "Feeling Good" through an Auto-Tune voice processor.^[19] On "Welcome to the Jungle", Jay-Z laments personal losses and overcoming struggles.^[21] "Who Gon Stop Me" features bombastic production and samples Flux Pavilion's 2011 song "I Can't Stop".^[35] "Murder to Excellence" addresses black-on-black crime and limited social mobility for African Americans.^[19] "Made in America" has themes of family life and the American Dream,^[31] with Jay-Z and West discussing their respective rises to fame, while acknowledging those who helped and inspired them.^[21] "Why I Love You" has Jay-Z lamenting betrayal and how his past protégés failed to maintain without him.^[18][19]

Release and promotion[link]

The album was released by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings,^[36] Jay-Z's and West's respective record labels.^[37] On July 4, it was made available to pre-order on Life + Times, Jay-Z's lifestyle webzine, which redirected to Island Def Jam's website that featured the deluxe version available for $16.99, standard CD for $13.99, a deluxe digital version for $14.99, and standard digital album for $11.99.^[9] On July 22, its pre-order was made available on the iTunes Store.^[38] The album was released digitally on August 8 exclusively through iTunes, while its physical release was made available on August 12.^[39] Its deluxe CD edition was sold exclusively by Best Buy through August 23, when it became available at other retailers.^[39] The sales strategy for the album received criticism from other retailers, who accused the labels of giving preferential treatment to iTunes and Best Buy.^[39] One of the most anticipated albums in 2011, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak.^[40][41]

West (left) and Jay-Z (right) on the Watch the Throne Tour, 2011.

On July 7, Jay-Z hosted a private listening session at the Mercer Hotel in New York City, previewing the album's songs from his MacBook Pro for a select group of reporters and music journalists.^[8][42] It was also exclusive to two teenage fans who had won access to the session for being the first two people to pre-order the album through Jay-Z's Life + Times website.^[9] The album's cover and artwork, both designed by Italian designer Riccardo Tisci,^[10] were also premiered at the session.^[43] Benjamin Meadows-Ingrim of Billboard, who attended the session, said of the previewed material, "The songs were dramatic and boastful, with Jay-Z often taking the lead lyrically, and the collection showcased the differences between the two artists - Jay-Z, the technical marksman, and Kanye, the emotive chest beater."^[9] On August 1, Jay-Z and West held a listening session for the album at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City's American Museum of Natural History.^[44] The session premiered the album in its entirety and featured attendance from journalists, models, industry types, and recording artists such as Busta Rhymes, 88-Keys, and Beyoncé Knowles.^[44]

Jay-Z and West promoted Watch the Throne with a 34-date, North American concert tour produced by Live Nation,^[45] which began on October 29 and concluded on December 18.^[46] By the end of the year, the tour had grossed $48.3 million making it the highest grossing hip-hop tour and the eighth highest grossing tour of 2011.^[47]

IFC films is producing an independent film, "Watch the Throne: The Indie Movie", based on the lyrics from the album. Written and directed by Patrick Willems, the film stars Chloe Holgate, Lily Holgate, and Katie Dana.^[48]

Singles[link]

Following West's announcement via his Twitter account,^[49] "H•A•M" was officially released as a digital download on January 11.^[50] It charted at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[51] On July 20, "Otis" was premiered on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and subsequently leaked to the Internet.^[52] It was sent to rhythmic contemporary and urban contemporary radio on August 9.^[53][54] Its cover art was created by Riccardo Tisci.^[55] "Otis" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[56] A music video for the song was filmed by director Spike Jonze in Los Angeles.^[57] "Lift Off" was sent to US urban radio on August 23.^[58] On September 13, "Why I Love You" was sent to US rhythmic radio,^[59] and "Niggas in Paris" was sent to both rhythmic and urban radio and has since peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.^[60][61][62] "Niggas in Paris" was sent to Top 40/Mainstream radio on November 8.^[63] By February 2012, it had reached digital sales of two million in the US.^[64] The following single in the US, "Gotta Have It", impacted Urban radio on December 6, 2011,^[65] and Rhythmic radio on January 31, 2012.^[66] "No Church in the Wild" impacted Urban radio on March 20, 2012.^[67]

Reception[link]

Critical response[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[26]
Robert Christgau	A−[25]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[34]
The Guardian	[17]
The New York Times	favorable[18]
Pitchfork Media	8.5/10[19]
Q	[68]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Slant Magazine	[16]
Spin	6/10[20]

Watch the Throne received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 42 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[69] Steve Jones of USA Today praised the rappers' "chemistry" and wrote that it "allows each to carve out his own stylistic space, with Jay-Z coolly delivering his incisive lyrical darts, while the more emotional West thrives on adrenaline-fueled punchlines."^[21] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club commented that "exhilarating messiness and go-for-broke spontaneity infect Jay-Z and push him outside his comfort zone and into a realm of intense emotional reflection."^[29] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian stated, "If [it]'s musical direction seems like West's work, it's worth noting that Jay-Z has the better lyrics."^[17] Pitchfork Media's Tom Breihan commented that the album "works best when Jay and Kanye are just talking about how great they are," adding that "Kanye is this album's obvious guiding force. [...] He displays levels of unequaled audacity."^[19] Claire Suddath of Time complimented the lyrics' social commentary and "opulence," calling it "a beautifully decadent album by two of hip-hop's finest artists — men with a lot of things to say and a lot of money to spend."^[33] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph praised West's "attention to detail" and found their "wit and absurdity [...] entirely suited to the epic scale of productions."^[70] Kitty Empire of The Observer stated, "Some find this sort of branded gloating distasteful, but at their best both rappers can still make you laugh."^[32]

Despite noting "a relative lack of structural variety within the songs," Los Angeles Times writer Randall Roberts found its production "captivating" and called the album "a cocksure, fiery, smart, if problematic, collaboration that showcases the pair's distinct lyrical skills."^[31] Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe stated, "They still sound like two solo rappers. But there’s an undeniable synergy that they embraced for this project."^[13] Jayson Rodriguez of XXL called the album "incredibly ambitious, yet dexterous" and commended its producers for "skillfully lay down a musical foundation that makes it easy to dance to and not be worn down by the, at times, didactic messages."^[23] Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole praised West's "powerhouse production" and called it an album "that requires you to tolerate the artists' self-mythologizing and put up with their sometimes awkward attempts at experimentation."^[16] Despite noting a "lack of thematic consistency," David Amidon of PopMatters commended "the entire conceit of the album’s framework" and added that it "succeeds [...] in giving us both sides of both artists—the braggadocio and the social consciousness—in nearly equal measure."^[35] Sputnikmusic's Tyler Fisher noted "a lack of focus," but called it "a mess of an album that sounds too good to hate."^[24] Allmusic editor Andy Kellman called it "an audacious spectacle of vacuous pomposity as well as one of tremendous lyrical depth."^[26]

However, Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot noted a "sometimes difficult partnership" and criticized Jay-Z's and West's "self-regard" in their lyrics, stating "they urge listeners to 'watch the throne,' and gaze in awe on their good fortune."^[28] Andy Gill of The Independent found their rapping "pretty mediocre" and stated, "Too often here their complacent, back-slapping laxity leaves tracks floundering."^[71] Entertainment Weekly's Kyle Anderson viewed that they lack chemistry together and commented that much of the album "sounds cluttered and disjointed."^[34] Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen complimented West's production and Jay-Z's "emotional depth," but stated, "on a record this ambitious, this sonically bold, it's a shame two of music's greatest storytellers don't extend their gaze beyond their own luxe lives."^[15] Rob Harvilla of Spin commented that "fame and wealth and pissed greatness [...] permeate[s] everything" and called the album "garish and glorious, exquisite and exasperating."^[20] BBC Music's Marcus J. Moore perceived "a conflicted tug-of-war between the two" and called the album "a very noble attempt at cohesion, but its inconsistency ultimately stalls the project, resulting in an uneven recording that buckles under the weight of its own pressure."^[72] Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker stated, "Weed the album down to a healthy ten, and [it] doesn’t become either classic or coherent, but it does work as an entertaining document of two wildly creative, not particularly wound-up friends."^[73] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times commented that "as a whole it’s not totally legible; there are too many ideas," calling it "an album with several phenomenal moments, even if it doesn’t quite add up to a phenomenal album."^[18]

Commercial performance[link]

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 436,000 copies in the United States.^[74] It serves as Jay-Z's 12th number-one album and West's fifth number-one album in the US.^[74] Its debut week serves as the second highest debut week of 2011, while its first week digital sales of 321,000 downloads serve as the second highest one-week sales tally in digital history. The album had the biggest one-week digital tally ever for a rap album and broke the United States iTunes Store's one-week sales record when it sold nearly 290,000 downloads in the first week via the retailer.^[74] It also reached number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts.^[75] The album remained at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 177,000 copies in its second week.^[76] It sold 94,000 copies in its third week.^[77] In its fourth week, the album sold 80,000 copies.^[78] On September 15, 2011, Watch the Throne was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of one million copies in the US.^[79] As of March 2012, the album had sold 1,421,000 copies in the United States.^[80]

In Canada, the album debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week.^[81] In its second week, it remained at number one on the chart and sold 15,900 copies.^[82] In Australia, it peaked at number two on the ARIA Top 50 Albums. By September 2011, the album had shipped 35,000 copies in Australia.^[83]

Accolades[link]

Watch the Throne was one of the top-ranked albums in year-end lists by music critics and publications.^[84] Q ranked the album number six in its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2011.^[85] Rolling Stone named it the second-best album in its year-end list, commenting that "What could have been a crash-and-burn anticlimax turned out to be as fun as any record in a dog's age. From the cinematic 'No Church in the Wild' to the Stax-soul update 'Otis,' Throne testifies to Kanye West's genius for beats both iconoclastic and pop-savvy."^[30] Claire Suddath of Time ranked the album number three on her top-10 albums list and called it "a beautifully decadent album".^[86] Chris Richards of The Washington Post ranked it number two on his list and stated, "Instead of blushing over their embarrassment of riches, pop's most intriguing partnership delivered a self-congratulatory opus that was adventurous enough to remind us that they’re rap visionaries first, 1 percent bazillionaires second.^[87] The A.V. Club ranked the album number nine on its year-end list, commenting that "Watch The Throne thrives on the bristling tension between Kanye's live-wire energy and rule-breaking abandon, and Jay-Z's innate cautiousness. It’s an album of the moment—a point underlined by the presence of Frank Ocean on two tracks—yet it has the substance to endure."^[88] Stereogum placed the album at number 10 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011"^[89] while Pitchfork placed the album at number 21 on its list.^[90]

The album was nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and Best Recording Package, presented at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012.^[91] The song "Otis" was nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, winning the former.^[91]

Track listing[link]

(co.) denotes co-producer.
(add.) denotes additional production.

Sample credits:^[6]

• "No Church in the Wild" contains samples from "K-Scope" as performed by Phil Manzanera, "Sunshine Help Me" as performed by Spooky Tooth and "Don't Tell a Lie About Me and I Won't Tell the Truth About You" as performed by James Brown.
• "Niggas in Paris" contains samples from the Rev. W.A. Donaldson recording "Baptizing Scene" and dialogue between Will Ferrell and Jon Heder from the film Blades of Glory.
• "Otis" contains samples from "Try a Little Tenderness" as performed by Otis Redding, "Don't Tell a Lie About Me and I Won't Tell the Truth About You" by James Brown, and "Top Billin'" as performed by Audio Two.
• "Gotta Have It" contains samples from "Don't Tell a Lie About Me and I Won't Tell the Truth About You", "People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul" and "My Thang" as performed by James Brown.
• "New Day" contains samples from "Feeling Good" as performed by Nina Simone.
• "That's My Bitch" contains samples from "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" as performed by James Brown and "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band.
• "Who Gon Stop Me" contains samples from "I Can't Stop" as performed by Flux Pavilion.
• "Murder to Excellence" contains samples from "La La La" as performed by Indiggo Twins and "Celie Shaves Mr./Scarification" as performed by Quincy Jones.
• "Why I Love You" contains samples from "I Love You So" as performed by Cassius.
• "Primetime" contains samples from "Action" as performed by Orange Krush.
• "The Joy" contains samples from "The Makings of You (Live)" as performed by Curtis Mayfield and "Different Strokes" as performed by Syl Johnson.

Charts and certifications[link]

Release history[link]

Notes[link]