Happy Watch The Throne day in which we immediately form opinions about the debut joint from Earth’s most artistically credible hip hop moguls, Jay-Z and Kanye West. We’ve only listened through once so without the benefit of retrospect, good headphones or Jigga’s premium vodka (you crazy for this one Hov) we’ll say it lacks the immediacy and consistency of Ye’s last outing or Jay’s inaugural (and greatest) Blueprint. Not a shocking statement by any means, but if you were expecting a triumphant hip hop classic you might be disappointed. Note: Jay-Z has been sleepwalking for at least six years now.

Despite the bromance and braggadocio such a union invites, the duo do well to temper the lavish character portraits and increasingly frequent couture references (“Lanvin thousand dollar tee with no logos”, “the Hermes of verses”, “What’s that jacket, Margiela?”) with equal parts woe is me naval-gazing, an actual Holocaust reference and enough pathos to reluctantly believe there is a remote portion of these guys’ lives that isn’t completely awesome. Vocal assists from Beyonce and Frank Ocean and beats from The Neptunes, RZA, Q-Tip and Swizz Beats. Stream it all below…

Watch The Throne drops Friday, August 12.

