The John in this metaphor isn’t who you think it is.
Kanye West and Jay-Z released their new track ‘HAM’ online today. Building on their catchy-as-hell collaboration “That’s My Bitch,” “HAM” is epic and haunting. But more notably, it’s something neither artist is on his own: a perfect balance between pop hook and experimental inventiveness. Remind you of anyone?
At first glance you’d think Jay-Z is the John in this metaphor and Kanye the Paul. Jay-Z is cooler than Kanye and pretty much everyone respects him, whereas Kanye’s antics, which include everything from rapping impromptu over an airplane intercom to performing live with 30 Seconds to Mars, can come across corny—which is very Paul.
But actually the reverse is true: for all his stoic poise, Jay-Z’s touch is that of the common man and his musical gift is cranking out pop hits. Each of his records has at least a couple huge hits that pervade every auditory corner of the globe and find their way into the cultural archives. Meanwhile, his best attempt at avant garde inventiveness is probably “The Death of Auto Tune,” which may be one of the single worst-sounding hip hop songs ever recorded.
Meanwhile, for all of his goofy shenanigans (not to mention venetian sunglasses) Kanye has always shined at experimenting with form. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is a strange record. It spawned the 25 minute film Runaway, and while it was praised as one of the best records of the year and one of the best hip-hop records of the decade, it didn’t have a single hit that will scale to the level of Jay-Z’s “Empire State of MInd.”
In short, Jay-Z is the guy writing “Hey Jude” while Kanye is cranking out “Across the Universe.” And as was the case with Paul and John, the combination of their talents is proving pretty awesome.
“HAM” teeters on the edge of tradition in an exciting way: The strings and bizarre Gregorian chant-style background vocals sound like something from Carl Off’s Carmina Burana (all Kanye) while the track buzzes with a kinetic rapid-fire delivery that’s all Jay.
“That’s My Bitch” similarly benefits from the balance between the two talents, pushing the envelope toward the edge without falling over.
Check out the earlier stream of “That’s My Bitch,” and listen to the new track “HAM” at Kanye and Jay-Z’s Facebook page.
January 11, 2011 at 7:34 pm, Mrosin80 said:
In his solo career, Lennon rarely “experimented with form.” By comparison, Paul, in his solo career, has constantly experimented with form.
January 11, 2011 at 8:00 pm, Mrosin80 said:
What I mean is that Lennon’s music (post-Beatles) is all guitar-driven rock and roll. He took few chances musically, never leaving his genre, leaving that up to Yoko. Whereas Paul’s solo albums are all very experimental. McCartney I is every different sounding (musically) from Ram, which is very different from Band on the Run, which is very different from McCartney II, etc., etc. And that doesn’t even get into McCartney’s Fireman stuff or his classical pieces. I’d say Kanye is more like McCartney in this respect. You’re giving Lennon too much credit when the only thing experimental about him was his lyrics.
And people tend to forget, because he’s now Saint Lennon, Mr. Cool, how big a fool John often made of himself. Kotex on the forehead, anyone? Sending out acorns as his big political statement? Dressing like a character from Lord of the Rings? That was Lennon.
Kanye’s sense of PR is like a combination of McCartney’s and Lennon’s worst moments. But that’s what gets the media’s attention these days. Jay-Z is kinda boring.
January 11, 2011 at 9:18 pm, Ben Pirie said:
Agree. You took the words right out of my mouth.
January 11, 2011 at 9:18 pm, Ben Pirie said:
Agree. You took the words right out of my mouth.
January 12, 2011 at 1:02 am, Clementine said:
I always kind of disliked Paul’s solo career though. The songs never did anything for me, whereas George Harrison’s first solo album was somewhat epic. Even if John was less experimental in his solo career, he had better songs. I really can’t think of any songs in Paul’s entire solo career that can shake like Mother or gather the whole world together like Imagine, or soar like Instant Karma. I kind of like the minimalist period Lennon went through the most: when he was doing all those primal songs. Genius stuff.
January 12, 2011 at 12:06 pm, Mrosin80 said:
Well that’s a dead horse that we could beat all day. I like Imagine, but I know plenty of people who think it’s the most confused bunch of pap Lennon ever produced; every time the song comes up on various UK Web sites, it gets torn to shreds. And Paul has plenty of songs that “can shake”: Try Dear Friend (perhaps the most haunting, yearning song ever recorded by a solo Beatle). Every Night is gorgeous. And what about Live and Let Die? Talk about soaring. Then there’s Maybe I’m Amazed, which soars more than any love long Lennon ever wrote.
But it’s all subjective. I can only take so much of Lennon’s Magical Misery Tour in one sitting. To be honest, on most days, I would rather listen to McCartney’s Ram than any of Lennon’s solo work. Talk about genius: Ram is completely original. It’s indie music 20 years before indie music existed. It doesn’t sound like anything else, and is a beautifully odd, angry album. But that’s all IMO of course.
January 13, 2011 at 3:44 am, Clementine said:
I guess this is all really subjective. I don’t like to argue with people over two BRILLIANT songwriters. I think it’s ridiculous. If John was a lame songwriter in any degree we wouldn’t even be interested in debating, and vice versa with Paul. I think Paul’s solo career had some great songs like Maybe I’m Amazed, Every Night, and Let Me Roll It. I dislike Live and Let Die but that’s another story. I do, however, agree to disagree with you on Paul’s Maybe… soaring more than any John love song. I have always, always adored the beauty that is Oh My Love and Woman is my all-time favorite love song. It is extremely powerful and very personal for me, as my husband and I both pretty much only have agreed on that one song as our favorite “us” song (he’s never liked the Beatles, always been into Bowie, Roxy, Zeppelin, etc.).
I like “Ram!” Favorite Macca solo album. But can’t touch ATMP or “Imagine”/”Walls & Bridges” for me. I think it’s all different strokes/different folks but I’m glad to discuss it with a fan of good music.
January 19, 2011 at 2:22 am, OSL said:
Paul wrote Magical Mystery Tour, John Lennon’s Woman and Beautiful Boy stack up to any Macca Ballads, McCartney himself cried to Beautiful Boy and found it very moving.
January 19, 2011 at 2:19 am, OSL said:
I’m assuming that if you don’t like Paul’s songs, that you don’t bother listening to anything new, why would you right?
January 11, 2011 at 7:34 pm, Mrosin80 said:
In his solo career, Lennon rarely “experimented with form.” By comparison, Paul, in his solo career, has constantly experimented with form.
January 11, 2011 at 7:45 pm, Joshmo said:
Death of autotune is one of the worst sounding hip hop songs ever recorded?!?!?!?! Alex Moore, you are a freakin retard! You don’t know $hit about good hip hop and to say any song is “one of the worst sounding hip hop songs ever recorded” is a HUGE statement! D.O.A. was off the hook and better than anything on Kanye’s latest album (which is a good album) H.A.M. is a major disappointment, I’m waiting for a press announcement saying that this is not the real track that they meant to release.
January 11, 2011 at 8:17 pm, MDG said:
I have to agree, Kanye is much more of a John. I think “Blame Game” is his version of John’s “Jealous Guy.” John’s antics were much more unpredictable then then level headed Paul. I’m the biggest Jay fan in the world and I’ll be the first to admit that he doesn’t like breaking away from the “blueprint.” A traditional 16 bar verse linked by three choruses is still and will always be Jay’s stomping ground where as Kanye thrives in the un-structured and ridiculous. I can be the first to say that Kanye would sound dead boring on Jay’s “What We Talkin’ About” beat where as Jay would fumble on the sparse melody driven beat of “Runaway.” When they are together they really do project the best of themselves onto the other. Kanye’s verses sound more aggressive and focused, his verses on “Monster” and “H.A.M.” prove this. Jay can also be seen to be more tempted to match his flow with the harmony of a beat when Kanye is a part of the record. While the two are still a long way from their own “A Day in the Life” record in terms of quality and groundbreaking sound they are surely on the right path. While both can do wonderful things on their own the territory of perfection that both crave so bad will prove to require a joint effort from the two MC’s.
February 04, 2011 at 6:44 pm, George said:
Can you start writing these articles? You put this a lot more matter-of-fact and less alarming. I would love for them to come up with their own style of ‘A Day In The Life’, and I hope it would be something that can stand up to the greatness of it. Where everyone would sing its praises and it be non-offensive and thought-provoking to everyone. That would really be something. A major advancement.
January 11, 2011 at 8:56 pm, Taker904 said:
Forget comparing people. There are no song writers like John Lennon and Paul McCartney and to put Jay z and kanye in the same category is crazy.
January 11, 2011 at 9:58 pm, James said:
Alex moore you shouldnt write about jay-z ever again. DOA is the worst hip hop song ever? you know nothing.
January 25, 2011 at 12:03 am, jackie said:
i feel the same way…i had to read the sentence like 3 times just to make sure he wasnt forgetting a word..i loved DOA!! just saying
January 12, 2011 at 1:55 am, BRIDGE6643 said:
YOU AVE GOT TO BE KIDDING , RIGHT !
January 12, 2011 at 2:39 am, Jrlott2008 said:
In 40 years let’s see if ANYONE is still talking about Jay Z or Kanye West. I doubt it.
January 12, 2011 at 4:13 am, Layla. said:
THANK YOU!
January 12, 2011 at 4:12 am, Layla. said:
You can NEVER EVER compare Kanye and Jay- Z to John and Paul. Its can NEVER be done. They will never be as amazing as Paul and John were/ are.
January 12, 2011 at 4:17 am, Anonymous said:
um, no.
January 12, 2011 at 4:39 am, crayonnah said:
Alex Moore: You should be strung up and beaten with a stick made of every hit record The Beatles ever made. It’ll be so massive it might take your Kanye/Jay Z worshipping soul away from you when it makes contact with your incredibly distorted taste in music. I hope Paul McCartney reads this article and sends some arsenic to your house disguised as wine.
Ok so I don’t really want you to be physically harmed but the extent of my frustration with reading such a headline equals such harm.
Thank you for your time.
January 12, 2011 at 5:00 am, Jcgolden311 said:
jay z is good, kanyes an ass hole, and neither should ever be compared to john lennon or paul mccartney. most of their fans dont even know who the beatles are anyway.
January 12, 2011 at 6:48 am, Marc W Matthews said:
Maybe their writing partnership works similar to John & Paul’s [which by the way, is hugely simplified in your article; eg; Paul was privately more edgy & experimental and John wrote beautiful melodies] but to compare their careers is ridiculous. Before they were 30, Lennon & McCartney had put out an average of 2 largely original albums every year for 7 years, all albums & singles just about charting at No.1. And you could probably fill another couple of albums with tracks that were never able to be released as singles due to the plethora of great material they had. Every song they wrote was recorded and only a couple weren’t released in the 60s. Their batting average was amazing!! And all this while at the cutting edge of popular music, fans & critics adored them, they never sat on their laurels and always pushed for new sounds, always progressive in their approach. I would love to hear a new John & Paul, but even if music was still as big with youth today as it was in the 60s [which it's not
] the chances of 2 guys like that meeting is astronomical. I agree with Mrosin80 about their solo careers; John lost me with ‘preachy’ rock n roll whereas Macca was always [& still is] an interesting listen the way he orchestrates & arranges [enough to forgive him the occasional crap he put out.] This article in summary: A nice headline, [but it's made me seek out the tracks to listen]
January 12, 2011 at 11:46 am, Mrosin80 said:
I downloaded Kanye’s new album and musically it’s more interesting that anything hip hop has produced in a long time. Too bad that lyrically it’s just repetitive (motherfucker this, nigga that). If you’re going to take that much time producing great music, why not take the time to SAY SOMETHING lyrically.
January 18, 2011 at 1:26 am, thedarkness said:
whitest response ever.
January 20, 2011 at 11:36 pm, M Rosin said:
Whatever. Black artists for generations managed to create gorgeous, memorable music without dropping the f bomb every other word. All Kanye talks about is variations of how he’s a motherfuckin monster. It’s a little empty after a while.
January 20, 2011 at 11:36 pm, M Rosin said:
Whatever. Black artists for generations managed to create gorgeous, memorable music without dropping the f bomb every other word. All Kanye talks about is variations of how he’s a motherfuckin monster. It’s a little empty after a while.
February 01, 2011 at 9:21 pm, Devon said:
Yea go ahead and play the race card. Such a black response! The truth is, Lennon and McCartney would run circles around these two nit wits anyday of the week. How many records have these two sold? How many have the Beatles sold? I rest my case. Facts speak for themselves.
February 04, 2011 at 6:32 pm, MasterLuke said:
Take your non-white responses then and shove it up your bung hole. Kanye and Jay-Z are nasty and shameful representations of human beings, but they have a right as much as anyone to express themselves. We have a right to call them on it, too.
January 12, 2011 at 3:13 pm, musicMan said:
Good headline but that’s about it.
I like music by both Jay Z and Kanye, but nothing has come out yet that matches the amazing work created by the combination of Lennon & McCartney.
January 12, 2011 at 4:59 pm, sun said:
This article might be the single most retarded thing I’ve ever read on the internet. And that says a lot.
February 04, 2011 at 6:39 pm, GeorgeK said:
Thanks sun… finally found a comment that matches what I think.
January 12, 2011 at 8:42 pm, Bluehefner401 said:
check out the song here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-uxWS1pCBU
January 12, 2011 at 8:59 pm, Nicholas Cobraetti said:
Well, considering John and Paul actually…y’know, wrote and played their own music in addition to lyrics, the very idea of even comparing the two on any kind of level is absurdly preposterous. Apples and oranges…
January 13, 2011 at 3:38 am, Lohn Jennon said:
Um, no.
Are Jay-Z and Kanye known as the best writing team EVER? No. Have they written the most popular songs of the century? No. They don’t even use their real voices. Anyone ever heard of autotune? This article sickens me.
January 24, 2011 at 4:49 pm, Halle Barry said:
Jay-Z doesn’t use autotune, did you not read that he has a song called “Death of Auto-tune”? Kanye used it for one album, which sucked, but has moved on from that back to doing what he does best
January 13, 2011 at 6:00 pm, gg. said:
This article is disgusting and Alex Moore should be ashamed to have his name credited for writing such filth.
January 13, 2011 at 9:14 pm, deathOfautOtune said:
wow you guys must have little or no knowledge about this subject, thus the word ignorant fools should be used.. first of all jay-z and kanye west make really good music maybe not as good as your bumpkin butt buddies but this is a definent hit and just throwing them down is not the right idea.. and yes they are the new Paul McCartney and John lennon…
January 19, 2011 at 2:13 am, OSL said:
They are just niggers who sample songs, turning classic has beens into new and unimproved trash, I think it is you who lacks knowledge here seeing you too are the minority.
February 04, 2011 at 6:38 pm, Ozzy said:
You’re absolutely wrong, they are NOT the “new” Paul McCartney and John Lennon… If they were, their music would go along well in SOME WAY with something John and Paul put out… Do you get the same feeling from listening to a Jay-Z/Kanye track as you do listen to a John or Paul track? Put them on side by side. I just don’t get the same level of deep feeling and Lennon and McCartney said it best and used way less words to do it.
January 14, 2011 at 10:08 pm, Meyer4hair said:
how dare you to compare them to paul mccartney and john lennon.Or maybe it was a joke…
January 15, 2011 at 4:56 am, Daya T Washington said:
HAM is whack and DOA was genius. Clearly you do not know Hip Hop at all.
January 17, 2011 at 2:13 am, -Lº said:
Yeah. Right. Please.
January 17, 2011 at 3:01 am, Sarah B. said:
bullsh.
January 17, 2011 at 7:27 am, Inuyasha491 said:
YOU. ARE. A. FUCKING. IDIOT!!!! NEVER COMPARE LENNON/MCCARTNEY WITH THOSE LOW CLASS ARTISTS!!! THEY DON’T DESERVE TO EVEN BE MENTIONED LIKE THAT!!! THOSE TWO WILL NEVER CHANGE THE WAY OF MUSIC THE WAY LENNON/MCCARTNEY DID!!! AND THOSE TWO SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEIR DISGUSTING MUSIC!!! “That’s My Bitch?” ARE YOU FUCKING FOR REAL???? SHIT MUSIC WITH SHITTY ARTISTS WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO PLAY, SING, OR WRITE SHIT!!!! NEVER COMPARE THEM WITH LENNON/MCCARTNEY!!! YOU STUPID IDIOT!!!! IF YOU WANT TO SAY THEIR GOOD, FINE. BUT NEVER COMPARE THEM!!!
January 17, 2011 at 7:29 am, Inuyasha491 said:
OH!! AND ONE MORE THING!!! KANYE IS A MORON!!! SPEWING HIS MOUTH WHEN TAYLOR SWIFT GOT THAT AWARD WAS FUCKING STUPID!!! I BARELY RESPECT JAY-Z, BUT BOTH OF THEM HAVE TRASHY MUSIC!!! “That’s My Bitch!!!” THAT’S SO SEXIST I COULD PUKE!!! >BC. KEEP YOUR SHITTY ARTICLE TO YOURSELF!!!! NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!!! COMPARE. LENNON/MCCARTNEY. TO THOSE. SAD. SAD. SAD. EXCUSES. OF MUSICIANS. thank you. <3
January 18, 2011 at 1:07 am, hum said:
Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga are the new Mozart and Beethoven
January 19, 2011 at 5:08 am, ClassicallyTrainedPianist said:
The composer of Carmina Burana is Carl Orff. Note the “r”. That is all I have to say about this article.
January 19, 2011 at 9:22 pm, madmonq said:
No no. There is a major difference between being the creator of fire and throwing flames. Both are cool, but Jay Z and Jay Z alone is the Lennon and McCartney of hip hop.
January 25, 2011 at 9:37 pm, michel meyer said:
how dare you to compare Sir Paul Mccartney and John Lennon to those two guys,or maybe it was a joke…
February 01, 2011 at 9:18 pm, Devon said:
I agree with the last post from crayonnah. You should be ashamed of your title!!! How the heck can you compare to modern day nobody’s to McCartney and Lennon. They’re by far two of the greatest muscisians in the history of rock and roll and it’s a slap in the face to compare these two bums to them!!! You should be ashamed as a writer!! Wow how I wanted to strangle this author when I read this. The worst journalism I’ve ever seen……
February 01, 2011 at 9:18 pm, Devon said:
I agree with the last post from crayonnah. You should be ashamed of your title!!! How the heck can you compare to modern day nobody’s to McCartney and Lennon. They’re by far two of the greatest muscisians in the history of rock and roll and it’s a slap in the face to compare these two bums to them!!! You should be ashamed as a writer!! Wow how I wanted to strangle this author when I read this. The worst journalism I’ve ever seen……
February 04, 2011 at 6:28 pm, GeorgeK said:
I tried listening to Jay-Z and Kanye’s music, and I didn’t hear much to brag about with Jay-Z and Kanye’s music. It isn’t on the level of Lennon & McCartney, Jay-Z and Kanye have a long way to go to become great songwriters. These two guys even know squat about Lennon and McCartney themselves? This type of comparison needs a lot of explaining, you got our attention but it doesn’t go anywhere after that.
February 04, 2011 at 6:28 pm, GeorgeK said:
I tried listening to Jay-Z and Kanye’s music, and I didn’t hear much to brag about with Jay-Z and Kanye’s music. It isn’t on the level of Lennon & McCartney, Jay-Z and Kanye have a long way to go to become great songwriters. These two guys even know squat about Lennon and McCartney themselves? This type of comparison needs a lot of explaining, you got our attention but it doesn’t go anywhere after that.