When Jay-Z and Kanye West unveiled the tracklisting for their collaborative album Watch the Throne, the most intriguing cut on the LP was a tune titled “Otis,” featuring vocals from the late soul great Otis Redding. That tune has now been unveiled via Jay’z website Life + Times — head over here to stream it.
On “Otis,” the pair sample Redding’s 1966 classic “Try a Little Tenderness” and they brilliantly infuse the soul ballad into a minimal hip-hop track. Redding’s vocals, horns, and guitar riffs are repurposed to serve as the song’s main percussive beat, as Jay and ‘Ye trade verses about their ultra-fly lifestyle: couture, private jets, supermodels, champagne, Kanye’s Benz, “his other Benz,” and all manner of bling that’d max out your credit card. “Sounds so soulful, don’t you agree?” Jay asks. Hell yes!
As SPIN previously noted, Watch the Throne is stacked with other guest collaborators, including Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, Mr. Hudson, and a Curtis Mayfield sample. The album will be released digitally on August 1.
