Critics Debate “Take Care” vs. “Watch The Throne”

posted by on December 1, 2011 in Uncategorized

drake jay Critics Debate Take Care vs. Watch The Throne

For Complex’s latest debate/consensus, they’ve asked critics a simple question: “Which album is better, Take Care or Watch The Throne?” Below, check out my pick and explanation, and head over to Complex to check out the entire debate. Feel free to hit the comments section to share your pick or to tirelessly argue about how you think Camp is better than both.

Hit the jump to read…

It’s hard to even talk about Watch The Throne without focusing on Kanye. As much of a legend as Jay-Z is, and as much as he brings toWTT, Ye was the real driving force behind the album. When you compare Drake to Kanye West, it’s one of those apple/orange situations.

The first Drake line that ever struck me was, ironically, over a Kanye West beat. It’s a simple line, but one that so perfectly captured what I think should be the ambition of any artist. On “Say What’s Real,” off Aubrey’s So Far Gone mixtape, he says, “Don’t ever forget the moment you began to doubt/Transitioning from fitting in to standing out.” You can argue that Drake’s always stood out–and in some ways you’d be right–but he’s never done it as confidently as on Take Care. It’s a turning point for Drake. He’s spent years cultivating and perfecting his sound and the way he conveys his personality, and this album is like the epiphany-featuring turning point in a coming-of-age novel.

Kanye, on the other hand, has never had an issue with confidence, and he’s never had a problem moving forward (musically, at least). Instead of working on perfecting one sound, he drops near-perfect album after near-perfect album and moves on. Instead of treating albums like chapters in a book, each project stands as its own story. WTT is not a defining moment for Kanye or Jay, and it’s not a point that they’ve been working towards and building up to their entire careers. It’s just another great story.

For me, it all boils down to the book/chapter thing. Drake has delivered a really important chapter in his story. It was a great read, and it’s done its job with character development and advancing the plot. But as important as it is for Drake, it still isn’t as fulfilling as Watch The Throne.

My pick: Watch The Throne

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  • Scott

    I can’t believe this is even a debate. Watch the Throne absolutely shits on Take Care, and this is coming from a big Drake fan.

  • Antoine

    WTT wasn’t that good. It lacked some substance. And nothing really groundbreaking. I liked both of them. But they are definitely not my favourite albums of the year.

  • Eric

    Camp is the truth.

  • SisterSweden

    Take Care – 77

    WTT – 82

  • CK

    Yeah, gotta agree with Scott, WTT shits on Take Care. To be fair, I’m not a Drake fan and Take Care sounded like bullshit to me. But yeah, I’ll be that guy and say Camp is actually better than both. Some of WTT’s songs are better than all of camp, but there are a few WTT songs I’m not interested in listening to except as part of the album. This is not true of any Camp song.

  • Confusion

    I agree that it lacked some substance. It was there, but it comes through in flashes. I still think WTT is a great album, especially for mainstream hip-hop.

  • Jori

    books > chapters

  • J

    WTT is garbage. Take Care all day

  • J

    WTT is garbage. Take Care all day

    oh and.. Canada > United States

  • Rob Z

    I don’t think this book vs. chapter thing applies. WTT is a newer look for Kanye than TC is for Drake, but I still think as an independent work, TC is more complete and has a higher replay value.

    Take Care was more diverse, more personal, longer, and as con pointed out, a bigger breakthrough for the artist.

    I think it wins track for track too.
    The first single: H.A.M. sucked so this isn’t really fair.
    Headlines wins.

    The personal, reflective track: Look What you’ve done and Made in America are both great. But Look What you’ve done is more elegant and moving. Plus Drake’s flow is great here.

    Take Care has two uplifting, innovative pop songs in Take Care and Make Me Proud.

    WTT has lift off with beyonce, which I think is over-produced and ill-fitting for the theme of the album.

    Features
    WTT: Jay-Z (who is featured on every song on this Kanye album), Frank Ocean, Beyonce, Mr. Hudson

    Take Care: Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, The weeknd, Rick Ross

    Winner: Take Care. Frank Ocean was a great choice, but cannot compete with andre and kendrick for me.

  • Buddy Blank

    >Camp being better than Watch The Throne

    Bahahaha, fuck no. Watch The Throne was rap braggadocio taken to a whole new level, Camp is Childish Gambino still trying to pick a style he’s going to stick with. I liked Camp, but it’s hard not to notice that half the songs have him swagger jacking some other rapper. WTT wasn’t a very cohesive album, so the fact that Camp was even less cohesive says a lot about it.

    To keep this on topic, I prefer WTT to Take Care, but I liked both of them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/ayouandmething Noah Vinson

    read my flipping mind.. camp KILLS both albums, sorry to say i liked #WTT but camp….#classic, and if u didn’t like camp then I gotta question your taste in music.

  • R&B 4 LIFE…

    I’ll choose to use a movie refrence vs the book. WTT had a better cast and a bigger budget, and the movie was full of your typical action scenes, but I walked away feeling like I’ve seen this movie before. Take Care is the movie that your homey told you should check out when you get a minute. It’s the movie that was kind of a sleeper that turned out to be pretty dope that you told all your friends to see. I’ll see Take Care again. I may watch WTT if nothing else is on tv.

  • http://WePlugGoodMusic Ayo

    Not gonna lie Con, I was reading that and I thought for a second that you were gonna say Take Care??? I wouldnt have let you hear the last of it! WTT >>>>>

  • Confusion

    Take Care is really good I like it a lot. But yeah WTT is def my pick.

    I’m surprised a lot of P&P readers hate Drake so much. I need to do a Facebook poll or something. Sometimes you guys surprise me.

  • http://thebrownnoise.posterous.com Nathan S.

    Con once again comes away with the most cohesive, professional, and thought-out opinion on these Complex talking-head slideshows. This is why you’re up there on that “best blogs” poll, dude. Sure, I might not always agree with some of the artists you choose to cosign, but you always have a well-articulated reason for why you enjoy something and aren’t afraid to admit shortcomings in judgement. You’re not running with some “lol Drake is for dudes who clip their girlfriend’s toenails and drink soy milk” immature homophobic shit. You tackle the music, and the novel vs. chapter thing was something I’ve been noticing for awhile. It probably helps that I agree with you on WTT > Take Care, even though they’re completely different beasts and I’m a huge fan of both releases.
    This is running a lil’ long so I’m gonna cut it off by saying good work, man.

  • Overanalyst

    For braggadocio rap, WTT was kind of above average for what it could’ve or should’ve been. The production was outstanding, but not all the beats connected. There were noticably large weak spots. Lyrics were tight though and I think when New Day came around, I realized that it would’ve been much better off not being so shallow of a record. N*ggas in Paris/Gotta Have It are still amazing ass tracks though.

    For personal rap, Take Care was about the same. Only above average. The production was outstanding, much like WTT. 40 was really just pushing it. Drake, lyrically, was much more poignant. But looking back, Take Care wasn’t all that memorable, sacrificing bumpable hooks for musical thematics. All in all though, very enjoyable.

    I expected a lot of musical growth from Gambino in Camp. Alone, just a lot from Glover solely based on the awesomeness of Community/Derrick Comedy but overall, I was just turned off by the overbearing musical-like strings, cringe-worthy delivery…just this softness that no one would dare make fun of Glover for evoking, but would gladly throw Drake under a bus for. It exposed a lot more weak spots in his lyrical perspectives IMO and just seemed to be buoyed by biased reviews. Like, really…”Cause I ain’t Mumford, I ain’t trying to have sons” is a punchline that only appeals to indie kids that had their first whiff of “indie” and think they’re a notch cooler when they get it. Some punchlines were enjoyable though, but all this is clouded by this lack of self-awareness that pushes it in the wrong sort of direction. Overrated:(

    (Sorry for the essay) TL;DR —-> WTT > TC >>>> Camp

  • CK

    Here’s the thing about Take Care for me: Some songs were really enjoyable and some songs were quite well-done, but it REALLY didn’t need to be almost 20 songs long. About the last third trails on and on and on…. Every time I listen to the whole album, I get about two-thirds of the way through and then keep thinking every 2 minutes “is it over yet? is it over yet?” Conciseness is an art and I don’t think Drake exercised it on Take Care. On top of that, there are little moments that make me go “WTF?” and every time I have to listen to Lil Wayne rap I think a part of my soul dies. All this being said, I loved “Headlines,” all of The Weeknd features, “Marvins Room,” and “We’ll Be Fine.”

    I don’t think WTT was about braggadocio rap. I don’t think it’s all about Kanye and Jay-Z going “HEY GUYS LOOK WE’RE RICH WE’RE GONNA RAP ABOUT IT.” It masquerades as being about that, but it’s actually a great deal deeper than that, and I feel like a lot of people missed that. It isn’t the most cohesive album, but most of the songs were constructed so masterfully that I don’t see how any true fan of hip hop could not appreciate them. It’s like a Masters in how to make a number of rap songs with common themes (though not a Masters in how to make a rap album).

    Camp is the most complete album for me. Full disclosure, I’ve been listening to and really enjoying CG’s music for years now, so I had high expectations, but they were fulfilled. Every song bursts with energy, power, and grandiosity. The instruments soar powerfully behind Gambino’s stream-of-consciousness confessions. He knows the truth is very mighty and wields it to draw the listener in. He brags as much as your standard rapper but since we’ve already seen behind the veil, we understand why he brags. The bragging isn’t hollow. It’s clear that CG brags to cover up his insecurities, just as every human being does. But unlike most rappers, CG lets the listeners in behind that curtain and is able to switch from sweet ballad to hard banger in an instant. Camp to me is a very complete rap album in that it hits hard on every cylinder: great rhythm, great flow, great rhymes, great lyrics, great samples (in this case instrumentals), great hooks, great message, great cohesiveness, great album.

    IMO, Camp > WTT > Take Care

  • BENJAMMIN

    Take care is good but would you really go to that tour instead of watching Jay n Ye perform niggas in paris a bunch a times in a row…. nah didn’t think so

  • wolrah

    nice photo for the story. looks like drake is grabbing jay’s dick and they are giggling together. moral of the story in the photo.

  • Mike

    “When you compare Drake to Kanye West, it’s one of those apple/orange situations.”
    Not even apples vs. oranges. More like a BMW vs. a hot, juicy turd sitting in the middle of a NY sidewalk during rush hour.

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