I bought the hype for “Watch the Throne,” the much-publicized album by Jay-Z and Kanye West.  I mean, I loved the hype.  I ran to the “Watch the Throne” pop-up store in SoHo, although by the time I got there, two days after the opening, it was already over.  The custom-desecrated Maybach from the “Otis” video was gone.  All that was left inside was a stepladder and some cleaning supplies.  The “Otis” video has got the two men, in jeans and white shirts, taking apart the car with blowtorches and then dancing around in an empty lot while four models drive the car around them in circles.  At one point Kanye does a joyful pantomime of airplane with arms outstretched, leaning precariously to one side.  The music is great but, to be honest, I don’t like Jay-Z and Kanye singing together in the same song.  They’re entirely different characters and each time they switch voices it seems like the song is restarting.  John and Paul never sang together, did they?

The imagery of the video, directed by Spike Jonze, is classy, what with the Maybach, the high-fashion-looking models, the restrained costumes, and the minimalist scenario.  It was filmed in LA and it captures the city’s wide-open feeling and its bright daylight just right.  But I wanted something bigger.  These are the two most glamorous, grown-up men in rap, and two of the most deeply musical.  In that sense the CD’s embossed gold-colored foil cover, designed by Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tischi, is the most compelling emblem for the project.  Complex, dense, and shadowed, it’s modern baroque, and hints at what these two artists do best.