With this in mind let us understand: "Watch the throne" is not a threat--it's been taken. The two have simply decided it's time for the rest of the game to watch itself be ruled.
Last week Kanye West and Jay-Z dropped the most anticipated album of the millennium. It didn't take much to set the music industry, blogosphere, and arts & culture sections ablaze. Simply the idea of the two Hip-Hop atlases teaming up for a project lit the match. But any Roc-A-Fella fan knows Watch the Throne is not the first time 'Ye and Jay have worked together. Long before "So Appalled" or "Monster", Kanye was a lowly (but highly talented) producer shaping the sound of key Jay-Z albums such as The Black Album and the Blueprints. It was back then in the early 2000s that the Chi-Town rapper started working his way up the ladder, the Roc-A-Fella chain in his eyes. 11 years later, the title of the duo's recent album announces his current position, but one song out of the many in between truly introduced his consigliere status. Half a decade ago, this song proved that Kanye West was not simply watching the throne but possessed an open invitation to sit by the King's right side.
Title: Diamonds From Sierra Leone (remix) ft. Jay-Z
Album: Late Registration
Producer(s): Kanye West, et al.
As soon as the beat drops in on the eerie James Bond sample it's clear that this is a serious song. Yeezy spends the first verse discussing the little-known controversy of blood diamonds, ending on the note that while conflict diamonds bring shame there is one diamond that will always shine. It's important to remember that at the time there were numerous rumors spreading about the health of Roc-A-Fella Records, from Jay's highly discussed split with long-time partner Damon Dash to issues within the A&R department. Kanye takes the time to carry his chain and label with this song, but it's during the second verse when Jay-Z makes an unexpected but solid entrance that we realize the Roc isn't going anywhere. It's simple and perhaps even a little cocky-- he interrupts Kanye's verse about the strength of the label to assert Roc-A-Fella's and his power ("Yep, I got it from here 'Ye, damn"). However, the changeover is so flawless and confident that it's not hard to believe him. Hip-Hop heads geek out over the exchange between the two MCs. Little 'Ye's introduction to Don Hov's smackdown on all haters and doubters is a large statement: this label is the label, and these two are its leaders. Sure enough, five years later the duo are sharing similarly flawless exchanges on the history-making album that turned the media and entertainment industry on its head.
With this in mind let us understand: "Watch the throne" is not a threat--it's been taken. The two have simply decided it's time for the rest of the game to watch itself be ruled.
Fav Line: Kanye: Over here it's a drug trade/we die from drugs/ Over there they dying from what we buy from drugs.
Jay-Z: I'm not a business man I'm a business, man/ Let me handle my business, damn.
Final thoughts: If you waiting for the end of the dynasty sign/it will seem like forever is a mighty long time. -Jay-Z
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