The Best Albums of the Decade, Ranked

Published on January 29, 2020 By Mathew Cohen

38. Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch The Throne, (2011)

Widely known as rap music’s greatest “frenemies”, these two icons previously exhibited their potential chemistry when Kanye West helped produce Jay-Z’s 2001 album, The Blueprint. In August 2011, the full extent of this potential was realized as Watch the Throne hit the shelves.

Just some of the golden tracks that were featured on this album included Murder to Excellence (a provocative piece addressing black-on-black crime) and Otis, which offered an old-school trade off between Jay-Z and Kanye West where each rapper would build on what the other one said. Lauded as one of the best rap collaborations of the 2010s, this album reached the number one spot on the US Billboard 200, Billboard Canadian Albums, and the UK R&B Albums charts.