It’s hard to know how to frame a record like Watch the Throne. Set against the backdrop of Top 40 hip-hop, increasingly defined by the hegemonic dominance of a small group of rappers, and the long-outdated single-centric album campaign formula, it’s startingly adventurous and experimental. Taken as the latest chapter in either of Jay’s or Kanye’s formidable catalog, it feels pretty uneven and disjointed, though occasionally thrilling.

Putting aside context, it’s a jumble of ideas, some brilliant and others not quite as well fleshed-out. But to consider a project like Watch the Throne, as somehow independent from its creators, is to ignore exactly what makes it work. What it lacks in cohesion, it makes up for with sheer grandiosity and personality– the kind only these two are really capable of bringing to the table. If at times it feels unnecessarily gaudy or inarticulate, it’s at least unified by a ridiculous amount of starpower.

Download: Jay-Z & Kanye West – “No Church in the Wild”

Considering the luxurious, rarefied universe in which it takes place, its only fitting that Watch the Throne is an album steeped in excess. Rather than the razor sharp focus and perfectionism of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, or even the polished radio chic of The Blueprint 3, Throne is an exercise in organized chaos. Nearly every song is densely layered. Vocal samples jump in and out of the foreground mid-verse — James Brown grunts, Will Ferrell quotes, autotuned Nina Simone, and of course a chopped-up, electric Otis Redding, liberally borrowed from “Try a Little Tenderness”. Synths are stacked on soul samples, 808s give way to dubstep basslines, massive guest features materialize out of nowhere, and a small army of superstar producers and songwriters ensure that the vibe of the album is as eclectic and as scattered as Ye’s musical imagination.

On a few tracks, the scattershot approach is executed impressively. The Q-Tip produced “That’s My Bitch” is a good example — the classic “Apache” breakbeat, a wall of synths, a hook from LaRoux, and a show-stealing, soulful guest spot from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon — like much of Fantasy, you get the sense that with anyone other than Kanye holding the reins, the song might be a complete mess. With his direction though, it’s focused enough to provide one of the album’s most captivating moments.

Despite the grand experimentation though, the album is often most impressive when its heroes are at home in their comfort zone. Take the sinister funk pulse of album opener “No Church in the Wild”. The album opens with the splotlight on Frank Ocean, a single voice waxing poetic about power and influence: “What’s a mob to a king? What’s a king to a god? What’s a god to a non-believer?” It’s cinematic, stadium-ready fare. For Ye, this is business as usual. For Ocean, it’s a career-launching turning point, and for Hov, it’s the kind of late-career artistic triumph that’s kept his claim to the throne viable, more than a decade and a half in.

“Murder to Excellence”, too is the kind of highlight only these two can provide. The first half, bemoaning black-on-black murder, finds Ye in College Dropout form, a passionately invested, if slightly unfocused social critic. The other, a defiant celebration of “black excellence”, finds Hov at his most convincingly slick, and in top lyrical form: “black excellence, opulence, decadence, tuxes sitting next to the President”. It’s not all celebratory though, as Jay transitions into social commentary as well, juxtaposing the hyper-success of icons like Will Smith, Oprah, and of course himself against the insight that he can “only spot a few blacks, the higher I go”. The production on both songs, though neither is handled by West exclusively — tough-as-nails breakbeats, sampled vocal chants, and epic piano chords — is the kind of anthemic, event-level hip-hop these two have made a career of. Think “Power”. Think “P.S.A.”. Think “Jesus Walks”.

Still, as a social and political statement, parts of Watch the Throne feel a bit clumsy. Shit-talking marathons like “Niggas in Paris”, and other celebrations of wealth and luxury from a pair of black-card wielding megastars, tempered as they may be by socio-political insight, bear a certain amount of irony by default. “Made in America”, which finds Frank Ocean evoking Malcolm, Martin, Coretta and of course the sweet Baby Jesus, almost subconsciously locates Jay and Kanye in that continuum, making for a slightly awkward, though in other ways impressive meditation on blackness in America. While Jay’s self-referential, slightly subversive take on the American dream — “our apple pie was supplied by Arm & Hammer”– works as usual (see American Gangster or “Momma Loves Me”), Ye talking about his blog or his hurt feelings after being skewered on South Park seems questionable at best. Still, as is the case with most quality hip-hop, contradiction and complexity take precedent over consistency here. Kanye and Jay-Z are fascinating characters, precisely because they aren’t simple ones.

To say Throne is a pretty light affair for both West and Hov is probably accurate. Were it any other pair of names behind a project like this one though, that categorization might sound ridiculous, and it’s precisely that fact that vindicates an expectedly constant stream of shit-talking and grandstanding. 800 words into this review, I’ve made little or no mention of the RZA-produced “New Day”, an introspective affair that finds the duo plumbing their own emotional depths by drafting open letters to their unborn sons, the triumphant, Beyonce-headlined “Blast Off”, or the Curtis Mayfield-lifting, impossibly soulful gem “The Joy”, which for some strange reason, was relegated to iTunes bonus status. The question marks, the experiments and the occasional missteps are all there. But all in all, you’re not likely to find a hip-hop album as fun, as expansive or as off-the-wall bizarre this year.

Download: Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Murder to Excellence”

By now, I feel like most of us are coming to appreciate Watch The Throne for what it is. Two artists, arguably at the top of their industry, coming together to make music. Is it classic? I suppose only time will tell. Although when you’re walking down the street and you hear “H.A.M.” and “No Church” coming out of two different cars in the same three block radius, it’s hard deny the influence these two artists have. Last night the duo dropped visuals for “Otis”, much to the delight of bloggers and hip hop fans worldwide. Jovial in essence, it seems like Jay and Yeezy aren’t worried about too much these days. And that’s the way it should be.

If you were to tell me Hov and Ye were about to go in over a loop of Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness”, you wouldn’t have too much convincing left to do. With the highly anticipated Watch the Throne a few weeks away, the first real leak emerged last night, basically consisting of an extended exchange of bars between the two legends, set to a minimal backdrop that leans pretty heavily on the song’s even-more-legendary namesake. For all the hype — gaudy cover art, the over-the-top ridiculousness of H.A.M. — the chest-thumping is probably warranted. Even if the album was just an excuse for these two to talk shit, it’s hard to imagine two people more suited to the task.

Download: Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Otis”

The Jay and Yeezy is extra epic. The Ducktails is super settled. James Blake gave me the chills with “Wilhelm’s Scream”, and Wayne went in on “Roman’s Revenge”. And if you, like me and everybody else, think of “Spottieottiedopalicious” as something not to be fucked with, give Nacey’s remix a minute to grow on you. It’s actually pretty dope. By the next time we drop a Leftovers installment, it will have been a year since we dropped the first one, which gives me some perspective. Having a platform is cool. When you’re a music nerd, it’s even cooler to be able to share music with folks with open ears and minds. So thanks for listening.

Download: Kanye West & Jay-Z – “H.A.M.”

Download: Ducktails & Panda Bear – “Killing the Vibe”

Download: Lykke Li – “I Follow Rivers”

Download: OutKast – “Spottieottiedopalicious” (Nacey Remix)

Download: Kurt Vile – “Jesus Fever”

Download: Nicki Minaj feat. Lil’ Wayne – “Roman’s Revenge 2.0″

Download: James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”

Download: Gorillaz – “Detroit”

Download: José James – “Vicadin”

Video: Crystal Castles feat. Robert Smith – “Not In Love”

Video: Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – “That Good”

Video: Little Dragon – “My Step”

Getting inspired is the shit. Every once in a while you get lucky enough to have a week or so where things are just rolling creatively, and whatever it is you’re into at that point in time just speaks to you. At the moment, the music is doing that for me, so what better time to drop some new shit than right now. Jams on deck from Nipsey, Gorillaz, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and J. Cole, among others. Aside from that, I don’t have much to say except thanks as always for reading, engaging and showing love. It’s more than appreciated.

Download: Nipsey Hussle – “Keys to the City”

Download: Seapony – “Late Summer”

Download: Aloe Blacc & the Grand Scheme – “The Dark End of the Street”

Download: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – “Janglin’” (iTunes Session)

Download: Kanye West & Jay-Z feat. La Roux – “That’s My Bitch”

Download: Caribou – “Sun” (Star Guitar Remix)

Download: Marvel the Gr8 – “Game Locked Tight”

Download: J. Cole – “Before I’m Gone”

Download: Gorillaz – “Crystalised” (The xx Cover)

Download: Matthew Dear – “You Put a Smell On Me” (Breakbot Remix)

Download: Cee-Lo Green – “No One’s Gonna Love You” (Band of Horses Cover)

Download: Wiz Khalifa – “Black & Yellow” (Cookin’ Soul Remix)

Video: Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”

Personally, there’s not a lot of people on the planet who have impacted my thinking more than Shawn Carter and Cornel West. Yeah, I’m a hip-hop head and a philosophy major, go figure. At this point, we’ve all heard the legend of Jay-Z rehashed a million times. Raised in the pro-jects roaches and rats, and Hov sold crack, so hopefully you won’t have to go through that. But as American mythology goes, I think his story is an important one, and when Mr. Carter sits down with Brother West, one of the premier contemporary philosophers out there, I’m inclined to believe we should be listening. Close. In discussing Decoded, Jay’s recently released memoir and lyrical anthology, West, Hov and Paul Holdengraber of the New York Public Library touch on a lot. This isn’t just hip-hop. We’re talking hustler as freedom fighter. Poetry, philosophy, storytelling. Okay, I’m inspired.

Download: Jay Electronica feat. Jay-Z & The Dream – “Shiny Suit Theory”

Download: Kanye West feat. Pete Rock, Jay-Z & Kid Cudi – “The Joy”

Hov on Decoded:

When I first started working on this book, I told my editor that I wanted it to do three important things. The first was to make the case that hip-hop lyrics—not just my lyrics, but those of every great MC—are poetry if you look at them closely enough. The second was I wanted the book to tell a little bit of the story of my generation, to show the context for the choices we made at a violent and chaotic crossroads in recent history. And the third piece was that I wanted the book to show how hip-hop created a way to take a very specific and powerful experience and turn it into a story that everyone in the world could feel and relate to.

Download: Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver & Charlie Wilson – “Monster”