S. Samuel
Roc-A-Fella Records engineer Young Guru has offered his take on the new Watch the Throne album, admitting that Jay-Z and Kanye West have elevated hip-hop to another level.
Narrowing in on The Throne‘s “New Day” record, Guru feels Jay and Ye’s message hits unmarked territory for artists.
“[It’s like] a new day,” Guru said referring to the album as a whole. “Incredible. You’ve never heard two rappers talk about unborn children, and the persective that they come with it [on the song ‘New Day’] is so personal to them that it makes a great record. Kanye is basically coming and saying, ‘I’m going to make sure that my son doesn’t make the same mistakes that I do,’ so that’s the references to, ‘I’m trying to find love in the strip club’…Jay is coming from the perspective of, ‘Well, I didn’t have my father [around growing up], so I’m going to make sure that my son [does], I’m going be there for him.’ I say this to Jay all the time, that, how did the [album sales] work out so easy for him? It seems like it’s magic, but in [his] mind, it’s like, ‘Okay, my first album came out when I was 26, so then, that’s…when I became a man.’ That’s my job to cut that [check] in half for him so that at 13, I [can] eat a black bar mitzvah.” (The Hip Hop Chronicle)
Earlier this week, producer Swizz Beatz opened up about the album as a whole.
Take a peek at the album’s production notes and you’ll see Swizz Beatz’s name more than twice. Swizz was the mastermind behind “Watch the Throne” banger, “Welcome to the Jungle.” Swizz also co-produced “Murder to Excellence” and added additional vocals to two tracks (“Who Gon Stop Me”, “Welcome to the Jungle”). “I’m a part of four different songs in different ways,” Swizz tells The Juice. “That’s like being in the studio with Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson at the same time. Of course we don’t feel that now, the masses don’t feel like that now, but ten years down the road, 15 years, that will be compared to something like that in hip-hop history. Just to be in the Mercer… I’m just happy to be here.” (The Juice)
Watch the Throne producer Verse Simmonds recently spoke to SOHH about his contribution to Jay and Ye’s new LP.
“We wanted a tune that would really be fire. Me and my partner Shama locked in the studio for like a week and just focused onmusic. It was like, “Yo, what is it that [Jay and Kanye] really need? What’s a tune that ‘s gonna really have them excited?” This [particular] track “Who Gon Stop Me” has a new sound that hasn’t really been incorporated in hip-hop. Dubstep has been around has been around for a minute, but its never had a hip-hop feel to it, especially not in America. So that was kinda the idea and concept we decided to go with. The [creation process] for “Who Gon Stop Me” was a fast process. Once we managed the beat, I came up with the hook and it was a perfect marriage. We laid it down … and people were saying I sound so much like Kanye on that record that they kept me on there.” (SOHH Singled Out)
With the album projected to remain atop the sales chart next week, Jay recently discussed the likelihood of artists getting inspired from Watch the Throne.
“Anything that has success is gonna be emulated,” Jay added. “That’s the reason why we went down this road. We we down this road to make a great album but also to make a statement for this culture.” (99 Jamz)
Watch the Throne topped the sales chart this week with over 436,000 copies sold.
Check out Young Guru’s interview down below:
