Luxury Art-Rap
tagStarted 2011Peak 2011-2018Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Opulence rendered as high art: soul and operatic loops, Otis Redding-style horns, designer-name verses and skull-rattling drums framing wealth, power and its costs. Lavish, self-aware and grandiose - couture references and Olympian boasts sit over the most expensive-sounding production rap can buy, flexing turned into an aesthetic statement.
History
Defined by Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne' (2011) - recorded across luxury hotel suites in New York, Paris and Hawaii and billed as the most extravagant rap album ever made. Two billionaire-track rappers detailed conquest and its toll over maximalist production, setting the template for opulent, art-conscious flex records that followed.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_the_Throne
- https://www.rap-reviews.com/post/jay-z-kanye-west-watch-the-throne-review-the-greatest-luxury-rap-album-ever-made
- https://www.popmatters.com/jay-z-kanye-west-watch-throne