"I Think You Can Not Like Rap Music But If You Listen To [Watch The Throne], You Will Become A Huge Fan"

With Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne album appearing on Rolling Stone and TIME's Top 10 Albums of 2011 lists, SOHH reached out to contributing producer Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph for his reaction to the LP's success.

Honored by the various accolades, Sak Pase explained why WTT is not your average platinum-selling album.

"It's a huge accomplishment for [Watch the Throne] to get the accolades that it's gotten and is going to get," Pase told SOHH when informed of the album making it onto Rolling Stone and TIME's Top 10 Albums of 2011 lists. "The music actually speaks for itself in a time where people kind of put out music so fast and there's so much music and so much access to it. When you listen to the album, it sounds like they took their time and it's very fine-tuned. Sonically, it's a piece of music that's way ahead of its time but it's needed [now] when I think people ran out of things to do in terms of music. Here you have a body of work that uses so many different elements in terms of how to make an album, how to release an album and just how they handled the production using so many different elements of music and putting it in one body of work for hip-hop. I think it's just amazing what they did. It's a classic piece of art that I think ten years from now, people are going to listen to it and hear it. I think even at that time, people are going to get an appreciation for it. There's an appreciation for it because of the things they did on the album." (SOHH)

He also stressed how the music transcended beyond just the core hip-hop fan base.

"It's just great music," Pase added. "Without any personal feelings toward Kanye or Jay-Z, I think it's great music. The music is great, there's a theme behind the lyrics that people might not even understand what they're trying to say or get their idea or vision behind it but it's a great body of work. I think you can not like rap music but if you listen to it, you will become a huge fan. I remember when the album first came out and I saw [movie director] Spike Lee tweet the lyrics to "Made In America," he's very important in terms of the hip-hop culture and what he represents in the film industry. For him to hear a piece of music that was strong enough to make a statement that resonated to him and for him to tweet it, it just goes to show you how impactful the music was to him and people." (SOHH)

While ranked at No. 3 on TIME's list, Jay and Ye's landed a notch higher on Rolling Stone's annual roundup.

1. Adele, 21 2. Kanye West and Jay-Z, Watch the Throne 3. Paul Simon, So Beautiful or So What 4. Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues 5. Radiohead, The King of Limbs 6. Lady Gaga, Born This Way 7. The Decemberists, The King Is Dead 8. Wilco, The Whole Love 9. Wild Flag, Wild Flag 10. Robbie Robertson, How to Become Clairvoyant (Rolling Stone)

Earlier this month, G-Unit leader 50 Cent admitted WTT eventually grew on him.

"I learned to like some of those songs now," Fif told radio host DJ Whoo Kid. "Some that didn't really matter to me when it first came out are better over time. When you really sit and listen to it, it's some cool moments I liked on it. I was waiting to hear that CD though. I was like, 'Ah sh*t. This could be crazy.' You know what I'm saying? This could really get crazy with both of them on the joint and then I listened to it and I was comfortable after hearing it. Yeah, I was comfortable because it didn't, not at that point, it didn't blow me off my feet. I did learn to like some of those joints because it didn't mean anything early on." (Shade 45)