Jay Z and Daft Punk have two things in common: their associations with Kanye West and the fact that both acts are the darlings of their respective genres. In the eyes of many reviewers and fans, neither act can do anything wrong in terms of music. A collaboration between the two (or technically three, as Daft Punk is a duo), then, carries a huge burden. It has to be hot for the streets, it has to make listeners want to dance and it has to appeal to the mainstream. Does “Computerized” -- a recently leaked track with no discernible proof as to when it was recorded -- meet expectations?
Well, since no one expected the collabo, maybe that takes weight off their shoulders. The track -- rumored to have been produced by Kanye, but confirmed otherwise by Pitchfork -- follows much of the same formula as “Stronger,” West’s beat-borrowing 2007 hit that heavily sampled Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” It’s a solid beat by the French musicians and is complemented by the vocoder-heavy vocals we’ve come to expect from the group.
Jay’s flow is tight as ever as he raps about 21st century problems. “Whatever happened to our phone sex? / Right now I can’t think of anything that we don’t text / I broke her heart on the email / So cold I’ma just spare y’all the details," he raps.
“Computerized” kind of succeeds in thought provocation. To a lesser degree, it even succeeds in dance provocation. It could even be qualified as a decent tune. Is it the collaborative masterpiece fans with high expectations will be satisfied with? Probably not, which is probably why it was leaked rather than sold on iTunes. But perhaps the point here is for listeners to sit in the disconnectedness felt in the song and to reflect on living in a computerized world: one devoid of emotion and limited in quality interactions.
