I know I'm like a week late, but hot DAMN it's been 10 years??? I remember police officering this s*** on day one like it was yesterday...

Iconic album, and in the long run, aged much better than it's YMCMB rival, C4 or even Take Care...

That Frank Ocean mainstream debut... Pharrell's ad libs on Gotta Have It, classic production on most of the songs (it had some forgettable ass songs ngl, but it has some classics)

New Day
Murder To Excellence
The Joy
HAM
NCITW
Gotta Have It

Album really needs a sequel tbh. Legendary era in rap history, really wish I could've gone to a concert smh...

Anyone have pics of stuff from this era? I got a uncensored MBDTF physical as well

I remember people thought this album was a myth up until it came out. It never leaked, which was incredibly rare for that time. I was so hype for it and looking so hard for leaks, that it landed me on the OG KTT where the music gurus assured me it wasn't going to leak like most other rap albums do.
It was due to the way Ye and Jay were doing it. I guess everything that was recorded on the album was all done in person and on a need to know basis or something like that. There was strictly NO file sharing over the internet. They flew everyone out to do their features and beats and they basically didn't let anyone but Jay, Ye, n the relevant/essential part of their crews touch a pre release copy.

This is from an era where I basically assumed a album was coming out a week earlier than they say because of leaks...

I wonder why they didn't keep this secrecy up?

Anyway, anyone wanna correct me or add to the lore... I'm sure there's a lot I missed.

Hov washed Ye but that s*** still classic

F***ing classic

F***ing classic both went crazy

No Church in the Wild must be one of the best songs of the last decade

Went and saw them live, they played NIP 5 times, best concert of my life

Very true, but we're talking about Hov here...

There's very few people with as much mainstream appeal that can match him lyrically. Kanye was just there for the creative direction and the classic lines

One of the most overrated albums ever

Probs one of the weakest “classic” hip hop albums

That's the thing that would've annoyed me low-key.

I played the f*** out of NIP, and ig it's good, but it doesn't stand out to me as much as the tracks I listed imo. But it was the main single and the only song Hypebeasts knew

lucky af

i’ve been yeezus and tlop but really wish i could have went the Glow in the Dark and the throne tour

Lmao what? Definitely the other way around easily

👀

Na ye definitely had the upper hand, he sounded way shaper than hov murder for excellent, who gon stop me , otis , gotta have it, etc both had their moments

I'ma listen thru RIGHT NOW cuz I do forget Kanye's classic lines can be classic verses...

Not talked about enough, it feels like a bonus victory lap after MBDTF, pure opulence

Couldn't imagine somebody releasing Otis as a single today, such a different time but a timeless track, probably Ye's most energetic solo beat

Never got why it was called Watch The Throne

u always contrarian. I respect your consistency

he also made hov look like a old man every time they performed together lol

From Jay:

'It's just protecting the music and the culture. It's people that's in the forefront of music, it's like Watch the Throne, protect it. You just watch how popular music shifts and how hip-hop has basically replaced rock and roll as the youth music. The same thing could happen to hip-hop, it could be replaced by other forms of music. So it's just making sure that we put that effort into making the best product so we can contend with all this other music, with all the dance music that's dominating the charts right now and indie music that's dominating the festivals and still hold off rock 'n' roll. Just to hold our place and make sure that the hip-hop culture is still the most dominant form of music around the world.'

let's be real!

iirc Hov said that it was an album that was supposed to "protect" hip-hop (the new dominant, king genre) from being relegated into obscurity by other genres that were on the come-up, just like what happened to rock music, by putting out the best album they could make. hence, "Watch the Throne".

I love Hov and he's obviously the best rapper between the two but if we're talking strictly about WTT then Ye > Jay