Rap Battle Royale

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Hip-hop’s preminent brothers from other mothers have taken turns appearing on each other’s albums since Jay-Z launched Kanye West’s career as a producer on The Blueprint. On Watch the Throne, the dynamic duo address topics of fame, fatherhood, religion and racism while simultaneously spitting over-the-top luxury lines. The production value oozes Kanye, everything from gritty hip-hop ruckus to glammed-out synth-pop. The stable of samples includes dubstep group Flux Pavilion, Will Ferrell’s Chazz Michaels in Blades of Glory and the soulful Curtis Mayfield. Other producers also shine. Wu-Tang clan leader The RZA contributes “New Day,” a heavenly, uplifting ballad over which the two rap moguls voice tender fears for their future sons. The Frank Ocean-penned opener, “No Church in the Wild,” has the freshly signed Def Jam artist crooning about the dissonance of religious faith and the excesses of fame all over moody synthesizers. The best rapping on the album comes at the end on “Why I Love You.” Jay-Z and Kanye launch into a vicious call and response verse over staccato strings to bring the album to a close. From the solid gold cover to the 24-karat production within, Watch the Throne establishes itself and a new genre: luxury rap.

After leaving jail in Nov. 2010, Lil Wayne needed to re-establish himself atop the rap scrap heap with Tha Carter IV. Preluding singles such as “6 foot, 7 foot” showed Weezy was up to his old tricks. As he says throughout, this album is Wayne welcoming himself home to the top of the Billboard charts. The album packs beats and raps that hit like bullets.  Lil Tunechi raps about alien invasion and John Lennon with Rick Ross on the bumper “Jon,” and keeps it simple and vicious on “Megaman.” The highlights of the album, however, occur when Weazy steps outside his comfort zone. The best song on Tha Carter IV might be “How to Love.” Lil Wayne has tried to make guitar-oriented music before with Rebirth to largely negative reviews. On this track, however, he goes for more of a singer-songwriter vibe, and tells a touching story that provides a beautiful counterpoint to the rest of the album. Another strength of Tha Carter IV are the collaborations. “Intro,” “Interlude” and “Outro,” occur throughout the album and all have the same beat. When listened to consecutively, it sounds like one song feature rappers as different as Tech N9ne, NAS and Bun B. Despite giving other rappers their due, there is no mistaking what Tha Carter IV is: Lil Wayne re-establishing himself atop the hip hop world.

Tha Carter IV features some great rapping, but Lil Wayne is sometimes outdone by rappers in his own corner. Kanye West and Jay-Z on the other hand are all alone on Watch the Throne, but their call-and-response verses set the album apart. The production contest is a little closer, but Kanye edges Weezy’s crew with his uniqueness.  Great production and chemistry leave Tha Carter IV with no option but to Watch the Throne.