Stunning cut from 'Watch The Throne'
McLovin
Three Juggernauts: King Jay-Z, the Greatest Rapper Alive ©; heir to the throne Mr. West; and RnB Queen Beyoncé. Start the countdown, we have Lift Off!
A brass fanfare begins, thrilling and triumphant. The voice of a man says 'All engine running', muffled like an Apollo launch mission control. The fanfare continues, trumpets now aligned with thumping piano chords, our anticipation increased as fluttering strings announce the arrival of Beyoncé. 'We gonna take it to the moon, take it to the stars/how many people you know can take it this far?' The bass-driven beat enters at the same time as Beyoncé's vocals, big and bombastic but never overwhelming her towering performance. 'I'm supercharged/about to take this whole thing to Mars'. This line reminds me of a metaphor used frequently by Lil Wayne; that these performers are other-worldly, they don't belong on earth like us mere mortals. She repeats the chorus with a subtle lyric change: 'You don't know what we've been through to make it this far/so many scars'. The way her voice quivers and elongates the word 'scars' sets us up superbly for the introduction of Kanye West, who consistently presents the most complex mix of egotism and self-doubt of any current artist.
'Life off! Taking my coat off!' The beat disappears, leaving us with just Kanye and the fanfare, a superhero's entrance. He says 'coat', but my head sees a cape, billowing in slow-motion as he's flying over KanyeWest Metropolis. His opening lines are gruffly barked and to the point - 'Showing my tatoos, I'm such a show off' - but are quickly subsumed into his auto-tune-fragile-robot-speak-singing he used so effectively in 2008's '808s and Heartbreak'. The beat returns, as he finishes his verse with the line 'You know me by now, know me, know me by now'.
Beyoncé comes back with the chorus, this time aided by multiple versions of herself providing gorgeous harmonies in the background. Just at the point where you think Jay-Z is due to appear, who should return but Mr. West, once more imploring that, really, we ought to know him by now. It's a surprisingly but revealing use of repetition. His superhero arrival demonstrates his supreme confidence, but in insisting that we should know him, Kanye shows the other side of his personality, narcissism and wild insecurity once more all rolled into one.
Before we are given any further insights into West's psyche, in comes Jay to steady the rocket's flight. At less than twenty seconds, his contribution initially appears insubstantial. But it becomes clear that his verse has stabilised proceedings and acts as a necessary segue - or, in his words, 'fuel' - for the impending launch countdown. The mission controller is back, counting down from twelve. The rumbling synths and military beat increases the tension before there is a brief, illusory pause. The trumpets return on-beat, with Beyoncé's chorus now fragmented and crackly, akin to the mission controller, repeating phrases like 'Jump!' (watch out for a couple of awesome Michael Jackson-style 'whoo's' as well!). Just when you think there is nowhere else the song can go, the most relaxed sounding tribal beat is introduced. The rocket is now safely in orbit, running on auto-pilot and carrying these three extraordinary performers to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, taking their rightful place alongside the stars.
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