Today Jay-Z and Kanye West (aka The Throne) dropped the music video for Watch the Throne‘s first official single “Otis.” In the Spike Jonze-directed clip the dynamic duo strip down a gorgeous Maybach and ride around in it like they haven’t got a care in the world. And that’s what make this video so great: the guys are having so much fun and the pyro-infused atmosphere is infectious. You can’t help by smile and bang your head to the Otis Redding-sampled beat all the way through. Add some hot models, fireworks, a giant American flag, and ‘Ye’s buddy comedian Aziz Ansari to the mix and you’ve got yourself a care-free joyride that’s truly a blast to watch.
In related Throne news, the highly anticipated album is out! On Monday, August 8 Watch the Throne released digitally exclusively on iTunes. Today the physical version dropped in stores; the standard version can be found in most retail stores that sell CDs, but the deluxe version is exclusively sold at Best Buy through August 22. In a press release the deluxe packaing is detailed:
The DELUXE packaging for “WATCH THE THRONE” is high-end art created by acclaimed designer Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy. The softpack, when opened up, turns into a cross-like shape printed on gold mylar with Tisci’s patterns embossed throughout. The package also includes an 18-panel poster that features Tisci’s artwork as well as lyrics to the entire album. The CD is a special edition black colored disc which is not standard with normal packaging. In tune with his codes for Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci created an artwork that channels most of his aesthetics: symmetry, lightness, darkness, sharpness and 3D.
MTV reports that Jay and ‘Ye have opened a pop-up store in Manhattan to sell copies of the album today (August 12) through Sunday. The storefront is wrapped in the Riccardo Tisci-designed gold album art and inside you’ll find the Maybach used in the “Otis” music video; you’ll also hear the video since it’s played on a loop. The location is SoHo at 201 Mulberry Street and Jay-Z is expected to make an appearance there tonight. So there’s that.
Want to sample the album before you buy? Spotify’s got it streaming.