Description
This is an in-depth-yet-entertaining dive into the lyrics and narrative artistry of Kanye West's music. We go track by track through Ye's discography, revealing the narrative and poetic techniques he uses, tracking his growth as a storyteller, and illuminating the narratives behind each of his albums.
Episodes
- 2022 / 11 / 22My StorYe: Ricky StarksAEW wrestler Ricky Starks joins Chris today to talk about his love of Ye's music. If you'd like to support the show (and hear this episode ad-free), then join our Patreon community. Learn more about your ad...
- 2022 / 11 / 15Power by Ye | Part 2Part 2 of this episode concludes our line-by-line analysis of Power by Ye. If you'd like to support the show (and hear this episode ad-free), then join our Patreon community. Learn more about your ad choices....
- 2022 / 11 / 8Power by Ye | Part 1If you know Chris and Travis, then you know there's no way they're getting through a masterpiece like Power in just one episode. If you'd like to support the show (and hear this episode ad-free), then join...
- 2022 / 11 / 1Gorgeous by YeAin't no question if we want it—the world needs this lyrical breakdown of Gorgeous. And being a song the entire Ye community adores, Chris and Travis have decided to bring their A game. Together they unpack...
- 2022 / 10 / 25Dark Fantasy by YeIt's time to get higher—much, much higher. High into the clouds where we dissect the music of Ye. And in this particular cloud, we pick apart every single line, sample, and interpolation on the epic opening...
- 2022 / 10 / 21Adam Pally Goes DEFCONAdam Pally has been a fan of Ye since the beginning. But...well. Ye's recent behavior has changed everything. In this episode, he sits down with Chris and Travis to work through some feelings (and let out...
- 2022 / 10 / 18Season 8: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by YeIn a moment where Ye is in the middle of about 15 different controversies...we just wanna focus on the music. So that's what we're going to do with Season 8 of Watching the Throne, which will be entirely...
- 2022 / 10 / 11We Should Talk About Ye...Next week we begin our new season on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. But before we start, we need to have a discussion about Kanye's recent behavior. If you'd like to support the show (and hear this...
- 2022 / 6 / 1Reactions to True Love and DaylightAnnnnnnd WE'RE BACK!!! And we're ready to discuss two new songs—one belongs to Kanye, and the other features Kanye. The first is True Love, which features XXXTentacion and is/was slated to be part of Donda 2....
- 2022 / 4 / 1Every Movie Reference Made By Kanye WestShout out to YellowKing for putting together this huge list of every movie reference Ye has ever made in his music. There are a lot of them. And we read every single one because there's nothing else happening...
- 2022 / 3 / 29Hip Hop vs The Grammys | Could Kanye's canceled performance lead to revolution?The Grammys cancelled a performance by Kanye West at the 2022 award show. And it's not sitting well with everyone. J Prince wrote a long Twitter thread about it. Dame Dash expressed his frustrations. It's...
- 2022 / 3 / 18The 10 Most Over-Hated Kanye West SongsWhy do you hate this Kanye song, again? In this video, Travis goes through a list of ten over-hated Kanye songs and repeatedly asks that question until he's blue in the face. You can also watch this podcast...
- 2022 / 3 / 14Pete Davidson texts Kanye West: A BreakdownPete Davidson had Dave Sirus post to instagram a text message conversation between Pete and Kanye. And it is outrageous. Pete goes from standing up for himself to lecturing Kanye to offering mental health...
- 2022 / 3 / 10The EAZY video explained | Kanye West, The GamePeople may not know that Chris is primarily a film critic. So here he flexes some of his film critic muscles in an analysis of the EAZY music video and a discussion of everything with Ye and Pete Davidson. If...
- 2022 / 3 / 7City of Gods by Fivio, Kanye West, Alicia KeysBetter late than never! Today we discuss the incredible, deeply layered collaboration between Fivio, Kanye West, and Alicia Keys: City of Gods. We cover Fivio and Kanye's verses and how they balance each...
- 2022 / 3 / 3Jeen-Yuhs Part 3: First ReactionsPart 1 of Jeen-Yuhs was securing the record deal. Part 2 was actually getting the record done. And Part 3 was...well. Everything else. And we mean EVERYTHING! Part 3 of Coodie and Chike's documentary about...
- 2022 / 3 / 1An interview with Consequence | The making of Slow Jamz | Working with Kanye | A Tribe Called QuestA hitmaker across four decades, as a solo artist, featured artist, writer, and advisor, Consequence has had a legendary career. On this episode of Watching the Throne, he details his journey from A Tribe...
- 2022 / 2 / 25DONDA 2 | 2/25 UPDATE: FIRST REACTIONSOK. So we all heard/saw the Donda 2 show in Miami. But now...we've got finished tracks!!! Sixteen tracks, in fact, were uploaded to the Stem Player website. So what do we think? In this episode, we run...
- 2022 / 2 / 24Jeen-Yuhs Part 2: First ReactionsPart 1 of Jeen-Yuhs detailed Kanye West's drive to get his own record deal. Turns out: that was just half the battle. In Part 2, Ye goes through the hell of actually recording the album. In this episode, we...
- 2022 / 2 / 23DONDA 2 IN MIAMI LIVE SHOW REACTION | KANYE WESTWe just heard Donda 2!!!! Sort of? Kind of? So...now what? It's a waiting game with Kanye. But until then, we're going to talk about our reactions to the Miami show by taking your questions. If you'd like to...
- 2022 / 2 / 22DONDA 2 AMA!!! Will we interview Kanye?I don't know if you heard, but...Kanye invited us to Miami (kind of). And we showed up. So now what? We're not sure. But we're going to live it up and see the Donda 2 show while we're here. Oh, and we're...
- 2022 / 2 / 17Jeen-Yuhs Part 1: First ReactionsWhat a glorious day! The first part of the epic 4.5-hour documentary about Kanye West is finally here. And yes, it's just as incredible as we expected. In this episode, we talk about our favorite moments of...
- 2022 / 2 / 15The Time I Met Kanye WestDid you hear the news? One half of the Watching the Throne team has now met Kanye!!! So what exactly happened? How did this fortuitous, wonderful event bless Chris Lambert? Travis learns all about it in this...
- 2022 / 2 / 11An interview with Coodie & Chike, directors of Jeen-YuhsIn one week, the long-awaited documentary about Kanye West hits Netflix. And guess what?! The two directors of Jeen-Yuhs, Coodie & Chike, sat down with Chris for a short conversation about the filming...
- 2022 / 2 / 8The 2022 Best Kanye West Song Tournament Death Match ExtremeIt's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas...the Best Kanye West Song Tournament Death Match Extreme!!! In this 2022 version of the tournament, Chris and Travis sit down with their favorite...
- 2022 / 2 / 1Everything we know about Donda 2Just when you thought it was over... That's right. After a long, grueling journey of missed release dates, song changes, and Drake beef, Kanye West finally gave us Donda in 2021. And just a few months...
- 2022 / 1 / 25Review: JEEN-YUHS: A Kanye Trilogy (Part 1)JEEN-YUHS has had its Sundance premier. And I got to see it! So here are my initial thoughts about part 1 and some broader thoughts on the trilogy as a whole. We'll get into Coodie, Chike, J Ivy, Ye, what...
- 2022 / 1 / 18Eazy by The Game & Kanye WestAs Ye ramps up for Donda 2, he's giving us some great music in the meantime! This week it comes in the form of Eazy, a collaboration with The Game that features production from Mike Dean, Hit-Boy, and DJ...
- 2021 / 12 / 16Donda: Reflections and Song RankingsDonda released just over three months ago. And 27 episodes later...we're exhausted! In a good way :) That's right! It's the season finale of our Donda coverage. For this episode, we look back at our favorite...
- 2021 / 12 / 13No Child Left Behind by Kanye WestAfter 22 long, grueling, enlightening song discussions...we've finally reached the end! Today we're breaking down the final song on Donda's main narrative: No Child Left Behind. We discuss how Kanye and Vory...
- 2021 / 12 / 7Come to Life by Kanye West (feat. Cole Cuchna)During the course of our season-long dissection of Donda, we've penciled in our thoughts. Well, now it's time to write 'em down in pen for our Come to Life episode—and for that, we'll need a little help. For...
- 2021 / 12 / 2Pure Souls by Kanye WestThe truth is only what you get away with, huh? Well, we've got a truth for you: Pure Souls is an awesome song. And not just because the track is a bop—it's because Pure Souls pays off on so many narrative and...
- 2021 / 11 / 30Lord I Need You by Kanye WestFor years, Kanye sought stability in his life—and Kim brought that. But now, as they move on from each other, we see Kanye putting those years together into perspective. What happened? And what's next? Lord I...
- 2021 / 11 / 22Tell the Vision by Kanye West (and Pop Smoke)Ah, everybody's favorite song on Donda!! Just kidding—people seem to *hate* Tell the Vision. But we're here to prove why it's an essential track on an album where Kanye is discovering and fueling his...
- 2021 / 11 / 19New Again by Kanye WestWhat Kanye lyricize...we'll analyze! That's right, today we're dissecting New Again—the track that leads us into the final movement of Donda where Kanye, indeed, seeks to be made new again after a trying time...
- 2021 / 11 / 17Jesus Lord (Part 2) - Jay Electronica & Larry Hoover Jr.One episode? Not enough for this masterpiece. Based on the hours of discussion we've already had about Donda this season, Jesus Lord has proven to be the most important song on the album. Kanye's verse (which...
- 2021 / 11 / 15Reactions to Kanye releasing Donda DeluxeJust when you thought you had everything figured out...Kanye throws a wrench into EVERYTHING!!! Yesterday we got the "Deluxe" version of Donda, which includes some new songs, changes to old songs, and a...
- 2021 / 11 / 12Reactions to Kanye's SECOND interview on Drink ChampsChris takes your questions about Ye's second appearance on Drink Champs and everything that happened during and after that interview. If you'd like to support the show (and hear this episode ad-free), then...
- 2021 / 11 / 11Jesus Lord (Part 1) - Kanye's VerseYou really thought we could do this in one episode? Nah. Jesus Lord is an epic track. It's the Runaway of Donda—the Sun around which all of the other planets revolve. Jesus Lord gathers all of the album's...
- 2021 / 11 / 8Keep My Spirit Alive by Kanye WestKeep My Spirit Alive is a song that's absolutely chock-full of underlying meaning and introspection. The self-awareness of Westside Gunn's verse, Conway the Machine's determination to move on from a...
- 2021 / 11 / 5Reactions to Kanye's interview on Drink ChampsA classic Kanye interview—it's what we hope and pray for each day. And today...we have one! That's right, Ye went on Drink Champs and talked about a number of topics, from his beef with Drake (and other...
- 2021 / 11 / 3Donda by Kanye WestIn October 2007, Donda West gave an incredible speech where she discussed social justice in the context of both hip hop and her family. And, obviously, that meant talking about her son: Kanye West. Fourteen...
- 2021 / 11 / 1Heaven and Hell by Kanye WestThe song Heaven and Hell Is on Earth by 20th Century Steel Band has been sampled dozens of times by the biggest artists in hip hop and R&B—and we can now add Ye to that list. And in classic Kanye fashion,...
- 2021 / 10 / 25Moon by Kanye WestHow can I get through? It's a question many of us face when confronted with grief, with longing, with a desire to move forward—which is why so many people relate to the song Moon. As one of the standout...
- 2021 / 10 / 21Remote Control by Kanye WestGlib...no. Globgobob...no. Globglo...gabgalab? Yes! That's it. That's the bulbous creature we hear at the end of Remote Control. So who exactly is the Globglogabgalab? And why the heck did he replace Kid Cudi...
- 2021 / 10 / 1924 by Kanye WestSo far on Donda, there's been an overwhelming sense of fear, of antagonism, of disorientation. But 24 is our very first moment of respite—and what a beautiful relief it is. This spare gospel track represents...
- 2021 / 10 / 8Believe What I Say by Kanye WestSunny melodies. Pop culture references. Lauryn Hill samples. Is this...Old Kanye we hear??? Believe What I Say certainly feels that way after so many dark, grim tracks on Donda. But there are plenty of New...
- 2021 / 10 / 6Junya by Kanye WestJonah has a Drake diss. Ok Ok has a Drake diss. And now Junya...has a Drake diss. Hmm. We're starting to see a pattern. So why is Kanye so obsessed with Drake on this section of the Donda? On this episode, we...
- 2021 / 9 / 27Ok Ok by Kanye West"Kanye vs. Drake." That standoff has been brewing for quite some time, and it finally reached a head these past few months with the release of Donda and Certified Lover Boy. Of course Drake has thrown his...
- 2021 / 9 / 24Jonah by Kanye WestWho's here when you need a podcast to lean on? We are! And today, we're dissecting one of the heaviest songs of Kanye's career. Jonah navigates a minefield of depression, pain, anger, and suffering—with a...