Watch the Throne

Five months ago on August 8th, musical artists Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) and Kanye West released their collaboration Album titled Watch the Throne (Album Cover Right). I have decided to analyze this album due to the influence  that Jay-Z and Kanye West have on not only the music industry, but as well as clothing, clubs, drinks, and just about anything you can think of.

Background
Combined they have 33 Grammy awards. They are two of the most decorated rappers of the 21st century. Jay-Z and Kanye West are two of the most influential people in the music industry today. according to Wikipedia They began collaborating Watch the Throne November 2010. You may be wondering what makes these two guys so influence and why was this album so anticipated.
Many people know Jay-Z and Kanye West as musical artist but they also have other business ventures that they are a part of. Jay-Z not only is a musical artist but he is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets as well as the 40/40 Club. He also the creator of the Roca wear clothing, and one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, this all according to biography.com. Kanye West is not as much of an entrepreneur as Jay Z but is influential none the less. He has often caused controversy over things that he has said and or done. One incident that is very well known is shown below. Here is another Link to some controversial Kanye. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8gCZ7zpsQ

As we can see Jay-Z and Kanye have an influence that reaches out beyond just the music industry. Although they do have influence outside of music it still continues to be their number one way of letting their voice be heard. Jay-Z has produced many hits in his career with albums like Kingdom Come, The Black Album, The Blue Print Albums, as well as Watch the Throne.(Check out Jay-Z's net worth http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rappers/jay-z-net-worth/ ) Kanye has been busy as well releasing albums such as, Late Registration, College Dropout, Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, as well as Watch the Throne. As I analyze this album keep in mind the influence that these two rappers have on not only the music industry but on society as well.

Analysis

After listening to this album for awhile I notice that it is a different sound than I am used to hearing when I think of Jay-Z. Although it is different for the Jay-Z stuff I have heard it is more comparable to Kanye West songs of the past with some electronic sounds. I feel like Kanye has started a transition to this new sound that includes electronic or Dub Step feel to it which is what a lot of people are listening to these days. I first noticed this different sound in Kanye's recent album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Kanye's influence in the Watch the Throne album is more apparent I feel than Jay-Z's from a musical stand point. Jay-Z still has the hard hitting beats and deep bass to compliment Kanye's sound. I think that a lot of artist are starting to transition from just staying in the genre. Kanye and Jay-Z I feel have branched out into a new genre that takes bits and pieces from R&B, Hip hop, and electronic, as well as others to create a new and unique kind of sound. Below are three music videos, One of Kanye West, one of Jay-Z, and one of their collaboration tracks.

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'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' track list: 'Dark Fantasy'
'Gorgeous' (featuring Kid Cudi and Raekwon)'POWER''(above)All of the Lights'
'Monster' (featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver)
'So Appalled' (featuring Jay-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz and the RZA)
'Devil in a New Dress'
'Runaway' (featuring Pusha T)
'Hell of a Life'
'Blame Game' (featuring John Legend and Pusha T)
'Lost in the World''See Me Now"'
'Runaway Movie' (on the deluxe version only)

  1. "What We Talkin' About" 
2. "Thank You"
3. "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"
4. "Run This Town" (featuring Kanye West and Rihanna)
5. "Empire State of Mind" (featuring Alicia Keys)
6. "Real As it Gets" (featuring Young Jeezy)
7. "On to the Next One"(featuring Swizz Beatz)LEFT
8. "Off That" (featuring Drake)
9. "A Star is Born" (featuring J. Cole)
10. "Venus vs. Mars"
11. "Already Home" (featuring Kid Cudi)
12. "Hate" (featuring Kanye West)
13. "Reminder"
14. "So Ambitious" (featuring Pharrell)
15. "Young Forever" (featuring Mr Hudson)

Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne Tracklist

1. No Church in The Wild (Feat. Frank Ocean)
2. Lift Off (Feat. Beyoncé)
3. Niggas in Paris
4. Otis (Feat. Otis Redding)5. Gotta Have It
6. New Day
7. Prime Time
8. Who Gon Stop Me
9. Murder to Excellence
10. Welcome to The Jungle
11. Sweet Baby Jesus (Feat. Frank Ocean)
12. Love You So (Feat. Mr Hudson)

Bonus
13. Illest Motherfucker Alive
14. H*A*M
15. That’s My Bitch
16. The Joy (Feat. Curtis Mayfield)

Interpretation

I think that this album is influential because of the influence that Jay-Z and Kanye West have on our society. People follow what these guys do because they are rich and famous and live these lavish lifestyles. People what to be a part of that and feel connected with something. These guys can start fades or fashion trends just by wearing something different. An example of this comes from Kanye and the glasses he wore for his song "Stronger" from the album Graduation. When they were first seen wore by Kanye they became a fashion hit. Jay-Z also has a lot of influence with his signature diamond shape that he forms with his hands to symbolize his Roc nation. The target audience for this album is most likely teenagers all the way up through people in the late 20's. I think this is so because they are a group of people that can be influenced very easily and they are the hip crowd, always staying up on new trends. This album did have some offensive material in it with the use of racial slurs as well as curse words. Although there is offensive material it does not over power the other material on the album.

Evaluation

After listening to this album for awhile I have come to the conclusion that this is a very good CD. I don't know if it is Kanye or Jay-Z's best album but it is definitely a good one. It has so aspects of both the rappers styles which is cool and it makes you see where the Hip Hop industry may be headed. I think one of the biggest strengths of this album is the star power that is behind it. The album was one of the most anticipated in 2011 and as of February 2012 it has sold over 1,316,000 copies in the U.S. alone. Strength is that is just good music with some hard hitting beats. Claire Suddath from Time had this to say in her review of Watch the Throne."Dig deep into Throne, past the bacchanal celebration of the finer things in life, and you'll find the album's heart: two men grappling with what it means to be successful and black in a nation that still thinks of them as second class." Although Claire thought that Watch the Throne delivered a good message I thought that it was one of its weaknesses. I felt like they rapped about the same thing in every song; talking about how rich and famous they are. Greg Knot of the Chicago had this to say about Watch the Throne in his review. "Both West and Jay-Z were vocal backers of Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign, but now that America is struggling to regain its economic bearings, they rhyme about their private jets, expensive watches and supermodel escapades." Although Watch the Throne had it strengths and weaknesses it is still very popular and continues to be popular over five months after its release date.

(Consumer review of Watch the Throne)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLMuUZhHZqE

Overall

I enjoyed working on this project because it gave me the chance to research two the artists I listen to quite frequently. I have found that a lot of people I know like this album and it continues to be blasted in our house on the weekend. I had already bought the album before I began this project but I thought it would be a good subject because of the influence that Jay-Z and Kanye have on our society. The biggest thing I learned from doing this project is how many things musical artists can have their hands in, and many of them like Jay-Z and Kanye are becoming Entrepreneurs.

Advertising "The Lightest Shoe Ever."

The lightest shoe ever?
ADIDAS Adi-zero (9.8) commercial

By: Maurice Cashman

Description
9.8 ounces! Not too many things are weighed in ounces these days but the new Adidas Adi-zero basketball shoes are the exception. I have recently seen the some of the commercials for the new Adidas Adi-zero basketball shoes. In the commercial Derrick Rose, who is the reigning NBA MVP from the Chicago Bulls, asks the viewer to remember the number 9.8.  He goes onto say, 9.8 is not the time on the shot clock or the number of seconds left in the game. While all of this is being said we see Derrick Rose walking through the streets of Chicago where he sees the number 9.8 all around him. The ad then cuts to highlights of him wearing the shoe during the season. Rose continues talking in the background about how 9.8 is not the number of times he will light you up. As we go back and forth between images of Derrick walking through Chicago to his highlight reel, the song "I do it" by music recording artist Big Sean is playing in the background. At the end of the Commercial we see a large 9.8 on a basketball shot clock with "oz" symbol next to it indicating ounces. Derrick then says, 9.8 isn't any of these its ounces, and that makes this the lightest ever. As he says this we see him standing in front of the camera with the shoe floating above his hand like it was defying gravity.
I saw this ad on ESPN and it is only about 30 seconds long. This is just one of the ads that Adidas has put out to advertise the new Adi-zero basketball shoe. The other commercials also use Derrick Rose as well as music from Big Sean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukW66uXM_8Q


Derrick Rose (left)
Big Sean (Right)

Analysis
This commercial uses a couple different persuasive techniques. The first is the famous person testimonial. Derrick Rose endorses this product and Adidas has built an advertising campaign around him using this shoe. Derrick Rose is one of the best players in the NBA and he is an idol for many youth across the U.S. and world. Having a famous athlete to endorse your product is a good way to get people to identify with it. The commercial uses the association principle when we see Derrick wearing the shoe while he does all these incredible things on a basketball court. People who play basketball identify with this immediately and think that if they had that shoe they could do those things. The music is another persuasive technique; those who know the song are instantly drawn because they have a connection with the commercial. At the end of the commercial we see a myth which is shown by the shoe floating above Derrick’s hand. Adidas is showing us that this new shoe is so light that it defies gravity. This commercial does get its point across in showing that they have created a product that has never been made in such a way before. It uses a variety of different persuasive techniques to hit different emotional connections with their viewers.


ADIDAS website (the lighest ever.)
http://www.adidas.com/basketball/com/newsarticle/crazy-quick-crazy-fast-and-crazy-light/#grid

Interpretation
I feel like this ad is very comparable to any other athletic shoe ad Most of them do include a famous person and popular music at the time. There just isn't a whole lot more they could change to make it stand out more. I think the commercial is good and helps Adidas be more competitive in a market that is primarily dominated by Nike. The target audience I think they are looking to get at here is definitely youth basketball players. They see this ad and think they should get Adi-zero basketball shoes because their favorite player wears them. I personally think that if Adidas advertises to young kids it will help them in the long run because they will gain a strong client base as those young kids get older. I didn't think this ad had any stereotypes and there was nothing that really upset me about the ad, but as I said earlier it was to me just another shoe commercial.

Another shoe commercial (similar)

Nike Shoe commercial

Evaluation

There are some strengths that this commercial has going for it. The first would be having Derrick Rose in it. Having a famous athlete to endorse your product is a huge advantage when it comes to advertising, because the person is often very recognizable. This ad also has a soundtrack that is recognizable which can also draw people in because they can identify with the product. The ad also uses some images to make us think about what 9.8 really means. After they tell you what it isn't. They tell you what it is. After watching this ad whenever you see 9.8 you will think back to this commercial. This ad does a good job of taking something simple such as the number 9.8 and makes it mean something. In this case it’s the weight of their new shoe. This ad will stay with you for a while which I guess makes it memorable. The music, images, and dialogue are what make it memorable. For me I can identify with the music because it is a song I like by an artist that I like. I can also identify with some of the images because I am a Derrick Rose fan. I think this ad works because it is short a sweet. It is entraining for about 30 seconds and then it is over. It gets the information needed out quickly and in an easy to comprehend fashion. As humans we are information hungry and this ad gives us the info we need in short amount of time while also entertaining us. I would definitely buy this product if I had the cash or I needed a new pair of hoop shoes.

Here is a youtube video of a consumer review of the Adi-zero

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMbJ3ExU5VM

Overall
Overall I thought this ad was good. It was short and entertaining and that is what most people want when they see ads. No one likes to watch commercials when they are watching TV, but when we get to see ads like this I personally enjoy it. I wouldn't say that I look forward to commercials but I do think they can be entertaining.

Conclusion
After doing this assignment I learned that even when we don't realize it advertisement try to strike an emotional note or make a connection with their viewers. When I first saw this ad I didn't think too much of it but I did like the song that was playing and I liked that fact that Derrick Rose was in it. As soon as I made that connection the ad had accomplished what it was suppose to do which is make the product identifiable with the consumer. That is the biggest thing I learned which is ads are trying to make a connection in some way with the viewer. I found it surprising though how many different ways a person could connect with a commercial. In this commercial there was music, basketball, dialogue, text, and many other things that a person could identify with. This is what makes an effective ad when it can stimulate one of your five senses if not more. I have enjoyed looking deeper into what goes on behind an ad and what it means and how it is portrayed. There are a lot of ads out there today and they all want to make a connection with you.

A look at some other Adidas commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYCb2ZcGnIA

Here is link to a review from a retailer (Eastbay). Eastbay gave the Adi-zero a Grade of A in its rating.

 http://blog.eastbay.com/features/performance-review-adidas-adizero-crazy-light/

Here is a consumer review for the Adi-zero

http://www.hoopsmanifesto.com/articles/basketball/shoe-review-adidas-adizero-crazy-light.html