Oct
12

The Westward Movement of No I.D.

Evan Nabavian was invited to occupy Wall St with the Throne, but passed due to a prior engagement. Having a protege who’s one of the biggest artists in the world is good for your career, even if it means having to produce a Big Sean record. It’s no secret that No I.D. has crept into… Continue reading »

Aug
12

Album Review: Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Watch the Throne”

Renato Pagnani writes his curses in Times New Roman. Watch the Throne is the product of two artists that have nothing left to do but buy more 16th-century Persian rugs and continue trying to acquire the very goblet that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Both Jay-Z and Kanye West are now part of… Continue reading »

Aug
09

“Look At Me”: An Oral History of Watch the Throne

Abe Beame hacked the email of a culture writer from GQ to bring you this from September’s issue. Sean “Jay-Z” Carter: I remember it was like four o’clock in the morning. I was in Hawaii like a year ago and I get this wild text from Kanye, I still have it in my phone, hold… Continue reading »

Jul
21

The Adventures of Millionaires and Otis: Jay-Z and Kanye Love Themselves Tender

You have to like this. I mean, it has the corpse of Otis Redding propped up like Bernie and it has JAY-Z!!! and KANYE WEST!!! and you can’t even write any of these men’s names without three exclamation points and ALL CAPS. This is a contractual thing and I don’t want to risk getting sued… Continue reading »

Jul
12

Why Is Big Sean Famous?: An Inquisition

Follow Abe Beame down the rabbit hole……..(II)……. In the late 90s, prior to Napster and the slightly more meritocratic system of Internet rap, there was a type of album that would drop roughly once a quarter. A rapper you’d never heard of before would suddenly make his presence known in the Source and radio with… Continue reading »

Jul
11

An Illuminati Insider’s Guide to Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “Watch the Throne

Stolen by The What (Jeff Weiss, Sach O, Doc Zeus, Zilla Rocca, Douglas Martin,  Matt Shea, Jonah Bromwich) Track 1: THE SUN KINGS (Versailles, Fly or Die) (Co-Produced by No I.D., Hurby “Luv Bug,” Azor, Bushwick Bill, Lou Adler, & Kanye West) On “Monster,” Kanye tantalized and teased us with his bold images of stuffing… Continue reading »

Apr
07

The Gospel of Matthews: “Don’t Stop” and The State of the Supergroup

Aaron Matthews was the original percussionist in Toto. With the rapturous reception of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West has finally accrued a cult of personality to match that of Big Brother Jay. With that cult comes the ability to start trends. After all, MBDFT was one of 13 platinum albums in 2010, everyone… Continue reading »

Jan
12

The Curse of H.A.M: Whose Swine Will Survive Until Easter Sunday?

Scene 9- Annie Hall from logan lemberger on Vimeo. Because Kanye West and Jay-Z love Pill, but hate Hebrews, they have graced us with their latest single, “H.A.M.” We are ordered to hail to the throne, but some of us follow the scriptures of Supreme Clientele: “y’all know how we dine, but we don’t eat… Continue reading »

Jan
11

Sach O: Jay-Z & Kanye West – H.A.M

Sach O never ate ham, never gave a damn. I always warm up to Kanye West singles after a while but as of yet, this one leaves me pretty cold. Lex Lugor’s beat deviates slightly from his standard fare – same old southern hi-hats now with sampled orchestral stuff instead of synthesized orchestral stuff –… Continue reading »

Nov
24

Can We Get Much Higher? — A Round Table on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (Floodwatch)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBrNkPyr8I8 Kanye West’s pretzels are making Floodwatch thirsty. As anyone with a pulse and an Internet connection will tell you, we are in the midst of the Yeezyocalypse. Today is the dawn of Armageddon and already My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has received more critical fellating than any record since Kid A dropped a decade… Continue reading »

Older posts «