Posted July 20, 2011 by dantana 58 comments

Audio: Kanye West x Jay-Z “Otis” (Feat. Otis Redding) [No Tags]

The latest leak from Kanye West x Jay-Z “Watch The Throne” comes in the form of “Otis,” the name being a nod to the Otis Redding sample “Try A Little Tenderness” the song is built upon. This is Hip-Hop. “Watch The Throne” is available digitally on August 1, while the physical versions hits shelves on August 5.

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(K. West, S. Carter, H. Woods, J. Campbell, R. Connelly, K. Robinson, R. Hammond, J. Brown, J. Roach)
Please Gimme My Publishing|EMI Blackwood Music Inc. (BMI)/EMI April Music, Inc.|Carter Boys Music (ASCAP)/EMI Robbins Catalog Inc. (ASCAP)/BMG Gold Songs/Hot Buttermilk Music, Inc. (ASCAP)/BMG Platinum Songs/First Priority Music (BMI)/Tufamerica Inc. da Swing Beat Songs (BMI)/Dynatone Publishing Co. (BMI)/Intersong-USA, Inc. (ASCAP)
Produced by Kanye West for Very Good Beats/Hip Hop since 1978
Recorded by Noah Goldstein at (The Mercer) Hotel, New York
Mixed by Anthony Kilhoffer at (The Mercer) Hotel, New York

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Comments

http://www.thecomplexmedia.com/blog/ theComplex

Ahh, I just a ear-gasm. This is so HOT!
jukeboxjai

heat. i’m excited for this drop.
SteadieRoc

still miss the old lyrical kanye from the first two albums never satisfied
Tony Tanna

Masta Killa, Raekwon, and Ghostface used this sample already on the No Said Date LP, they flipped it better a bit better.
Kwanrasheed

Average….. A little more lyrical creativity would be nice…..
lungile

Mad corny.. bt its 2011 i guess.
- schane
  
  you trippin man! Give Props where its due, what are you a musical idiot?
- Roland
  
  Another pair of rappers talking about swag, diamonds, women, and cars. Bleh… move along.
Jericho Drumm

The beat is ill. I can do without Kanye and Jay flowing on this; I would have preferred some other emcees…maybe De La, Mos, Pharoahe Monch, or even Jay Electronica.
- afroartmami
  
  Can you say REMIX? Maybe they’ll be some dope MCs for the remix? *crosses fingers*
yamikani

So hot can’t have the courage to pause this track, am about to call the paparazzi on myself. trusted jay since ’96.
ahmed

i find it funny how the beat is so heavily influenced by Kev Brown’s production style. its funny cos Kev Brown remixed Jay Z’s Black Album, and most people thought that it was better.
- Rottenapple
  
  You know the game..dudes slap their name on shit they ain’t make just cause they the bigger name.
http://www.youtube.com/user/DrMarihuanovic Dr. Marihuanovic

I don’t know, why is there such a hype around this track. But i can’t feel it for a second. Otis Redding was too good to be sampled this way. He doesn’t deserv something like this, He was and still is one of the best singers ever to walk this planet. I think what would be fair, is just to leave his music as it is. No more sampling and no more remixing, please.
- Jericho Drumm
  
  I think the only reason that I like the track is because Kanye had the “BALLS” to sample this particular Otis Redding song (How many times have we heard the “Tramp” track).
  
  I do agree; Otis Redding is truly one of the greatest.
- http://www.youtube.com/user/DrMarihuanovic Dr. Marihuanovic
  
  Please don’t get me wrong, i don’t wanna start any flaming here. Just a guy who prefers good stuff. I simple don’t see as you do it. It has nothing to do with “balls” to sample something. It’s just matter of cash, how can you buy some ones piece of art and trash it. He destroyed such a beautiful track in my ears. Otis Put his soul on this track and he preached to men how should they treat women. And then comes kanye along and raps about “i made jesus walk, so i am never going to hell…”, i don’t believe in god, but if there is hell i hope kanye will go truth all 9 circles as Dante Alighieri described in his poems.
- Jericho Drumm
  
  No “flaming” sun.
  
  I actually agree with some of what you have to say. Respect.
- tomba
  
  Doc – I couldn’t agree more. Otis is THE man and they should just leave him and his great performances out of it. I suppose his family etc must have signed off on this or perhaps it’s not necessary. Either way they should be embarrassed and his Foundation should be appalled. Certainly Otis would not have condoned this type of use of his wonderful music. These people should be ashamed and nobody should bother to listen or buy any of their rambling obscene garbage.
- Afrikan
  
  Thank you! Plus Otis’ vocals looping in the back is mad annoying.
- Jay
  
  hip hop is hip hop songs get sampled not 2 ur views but theres!! And the song was ill..
  This is not about how they sampled the song. the song itsself was hard. we can ll disagree on that but numbers dont lie
http://www.firstregime.com Missy

Not as good as the first two albums!
Shakespeare

Big fat EHH. Slighty above mediocre. Jay Z just doing the same thing he has been doing since 2002 post BP2, resting on his laurels. He doesnt have what he used to have so he just reminds the listener on whathe used to do.

Kanye West might be the most overated person in the history of hip hop, yeah I said it. His beats are dope, some of his concepts are catchy so it makes some forget how average of an mc he is.

I was born in 82 and im from NY so i always use the DJ Clue test to see if a song is hot. I say to myself “self, if Clue was still making tapes, would this song be on it”, loud emphatic NO. (maybe, cause Jay is Clue’s boy, but you get the idea)
- Shakespearewhat
  
  LOL so because you were born in 82 and from NY, you think you know hip hop? You are stupid, I’ve heard every clue mixtape he ever put out and this sound would def be on it. What is clue doing now huh? Kanye and Jay Z are making hot music while u NY cats think you know EVERYTHING about music and your case for the song not being good is always some stupid sh*t lol If it was 3 Ny rappers no matter HOW wack they were, you would say this is FIRE, Clue mixtape in a second! lol you’re a lame buddy
- Jericho Drumm
  
  “DJ Clue?” LMAO…cornball!!!
- Rottenapple
  
  Clue? LMAO..Son clue just used to play records..it took clue putting out mixtapes for nearly ten years before he even learned how to blend beats..you could’ve done what clue did in that era play one record after the other and talk between em cause you can’t mix for shit.
http://900poundgorillacypher.com ILL Se7en

This track Is Fresh!
Shakespeare

To Shakespeare what,

Not to nitpick but you contradicted yourself in your criticism.

You said if it was 3 NY cats i would say it was “FIRE”

Jay Z is a NY cat, more specifically a BK cat, even more specifcally a Myrtle Avenue cat (pre gentrification) as I am. By that reasoning I should be saying its hot. on the contrary I am saying that my own B54 brethren has to step his game up if he gonna run around telling people to watch the throne.
By the way, “Watch the Throne” deserves a phat PAUSE. Kings share thrones with Queens, not other…
http://your411now.com/?s=Audio%3A+Kanye+West+x+Jay Lil Capone

Always cold wit it. Lyrical genius!
- Rottenapple
  
  Lyrical genius? OMFG! The bar in hip hop has been lowered to the floor.
KD06

Good track. Can’t really front on this… The expectations will be hard to live up to but I’ll reserve judgement till the final product is released…
BLAS DAT

yall sure love dem homo rappers…smh
if you dumb downed your lyrics…how can you be considered a g.o.a.t.? get your intelligence up ppl
- Dave_MC
  
  Attacking the sexuality of the people who make the track and the intelligence if the people who dig it is a weak and easily dismissed type of critique. I hope you’re smarter than that.
otis

awful
- http://www.youtube.com/user/DrMarihuanovic Dr. Marihuanovic
  
  I fully agreed.
Truth

Unliestenable. production is elementary. consult the wu. Masta killa, ghost and rae came correct on D.T.D. This track is simply unlistenable. ESPECIALLY ye’s “naaaaaaaa” and the screaming part. Awful.
Dave_MC

Mathematics flipped this Otis track so much harder for D.T.D, as many of ya’ll noted. This is what it is. Real whatever. Don’t shift the meter, and deserves to be forgotten soon.
http://www.myspace.com/GAIAearthpeace GAIA

I DEMAND MORE….
hritz

it’s okay. being a big otis redding fan myself, i’m confused as to why the chorus for “try a little tenderness” is used at the front end of the track but doesn’t carry in thematically with the rest of the song. i’m all for soulful samples, but to put otis in like this, name the song “otis,” & not pay homage to the legend in any other way is surprising. shoot, they could have done a whole song about legends going out before their time, and drawn on a lot of past personal survival experience to talk on how fortunate jay-z & kanye are. maybe i’m thinking too much about this…
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=622163990 natasha
  
  agree. the sample deserves so much more.
- http://www.youtube.com/user/DrMarihuanovic Dr. Marihuanovic
  
  We are lucky that his is okayplayer site, this means not too many blinded fans, who can’t think with their heads. It’s not question of being big Otis Redding fan, is more the respect for good music. He left his soul on that track, kanye and jay-z can only dream about vocal control which Otis had. This is just disprespectfull for such a great artist, to make it worst. for an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A61c4FgxZz8&feature=relmfu -> Booker T. Jones – “Everything Is Everything” with ?eustlove and captain kirk. This is how you can perform good covers or tributes.
- Cosas
  
  hritz,
  love your idea for how they could have taken the content of the song in a better direction. woulda been epic
OKAYDUKE

Hard. Dope. Yes.
dre8791

This shit is garbage! Niggas been getting brainwash for the last 10 years that they think this is good music. “I had to laugh a that.” Jay-Z.
disgusted

wtf this is garbage. my ears. So many idiots in the world. waste of time. yuck
Justin

Kanye West & Jay-Z – Otis (Remix)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rgKVnJUzhc&feature=channel_video_title
maarzsix

Eh. Really confusing production. I respect Jay and Kanye, but this production is so crowded with missed beats, the “whooooooo” yelling part.
It just seems disjointed, too busy. The production got in the way of the drum beat and the spittin.
I hope Otis’ estate gets a cut on the sales of this, but this is just not good, IMO
Rottenapple

I’m bugging at all the posts saying this is dope. So pretty much ya’ll saying jay-z and ye can put out a track just going ugh and ahh for 3 minutes and that’ll be dope to you too? This shit is hot garbage on a 102 degree day! If you went to 96 and played this back for him he’d hang himself. Damn the bar that low that mofo’s tracks are hot just because it’s two big names?
djrubadub

watch the throne. that’s all they’re saying. mmmkay.
southeast KID

This song is just OK…. not moving to me…. I really think the internet killed Good Music… with leaks of songs everywhere… people can’t get excited for their fav rapper release date anymore… No more in stores…. just sad… MY last great day in music… was when, Outkast, A tribe called Quest, and Jay-Z all dropped on the sameday…
Micah L

This song just makes me wanna listen to Otis Redding…..
Surge’s

I give this song a SUPER D-DUPER……..

“Meh”
grae

song seems kinda crowded. to many vocals over vocals.
grae

http://kiwi6.com/file/r4gqs120on check this tune
http://Gardenstatehiphop.com @RodGstatehiphop

This record is good, but not great. I think ‘Ye and Hov will blow us away with this new album, we’re still getting small samples.
thirtyfive

I can’t get through the track. The mics sound worse than my 49.00 MXL that I bought used. Can’t ever question the talent of these two but, if your gonna rap about other other benz’s and private jets @ least get a decent mic…Plus rapping over looped singing makes my head spin like a crappy 3D film…
Cokelord

Crap..
http://www.facebook.com/dpresley80 dpresley80

Ya’ll be hatin…. Period.
Kappacino91

What makes y’all think Otis can’t be sampled? If Michael, Stevie, Prince, Aretha, and the Beatles can be sampled, then Otis can too.

Btw, the track was better than what’s be out these past few months.