JAY-Z AND KANYE'S WATCH THE THRONE FIRST PREVIEW

One of the most anticipated albums in the history of rap had its first preview. The album, entitled "Watch the Throne," is a joint venture featuring rap heavyweights Jay-Z and Kanye West.  The album is tentatively slated to release on August 2nd.  The first preview was in front of a host of journalists at the Mercer Hotel in New York City.

This seems to have been somewhat of a secretive affair and a lot of information about the tracks weren't divulged.  It was said that Frank Ocean was on two of the tracks on the album. Not much was said about  other features, but I hope they keep them to a minimum because I don't feel like they need much help.  Their first single, H.A.M was met with mixed reviews.  In my opinion the song was a disaster. It wasn't a disaster because they could do better, but because it was a bad song period.  Not sure if this will actually make the album, but I hope someone can convince them to leave it off.  Nonetheless, I am excited for the album and I can't wait for it to drop.  Here are some previews from those who were there.

From MTV:
'The listening session was held in the Mercer Hotel, where the New York Postpreviously reported that parts of the album were recorded. Though it was originally set to begin at 8 p.m., Jay-Z walked into the hotel lobby closer to 9 (word is he was at a Yankees game hoping to see Derek Jeter get his 3,000th hit). The group of journalists followed the rapper up to a suite that had been transformed into a recording studio. Seated in the rear of the room, wearing a Yankees snap-back hat and crisp, white shell-toe Adidas, Hova balanced a MacBook Pro in his lap. After asking those in attendance to introduce themselves, he got right into playing selections from the album, loudly.

Standout tracks included a pair of songs that feature Odd Future crooner Frank Ocean. Jay-Z relayed that he reached out to Ocean after hearing his Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape and wanted him to contribute to his next solo album. After their initial work went well — Ocean appears on one of two songs Jay-Z revealed he has recorded for the solo LP — Hova invited the crooner to get down on Watch the Throne too. The only other guest on the album is Beyoncé, who appears on the resounding "Lift Off," which sounds like it was tailor-made to be performed in large stadiums.

On another particularly interesting song, Jay-Z and Kanye deliver verses directed to their hypothetical unborn sons. (Note: Jay-Z's press representative asked that lyrics from songs not be quoted.) The Brooklyn MC recalled that Yeezy first recited his verse to him at New York's Museum of Modern Art. "I told him I wasn't going to get on it," Jay-Z told MTV News of the song, adding that he thought Kanye's verse, running down his myriad past mistakes, is one of his best ever. "The honesty of it, it's just really cool."

From AllHipHop's Jigsaw: 
'Overall, Watch The Throne is one of the most interesting pieces of Hip-Hop I've heard in a long time. Many people asked is it "classic" or is it "dope as expected." I believe, to properly enjoy the album, they are going to need to shed expectations and erase what they know. I already can see there will be a segment of the population that simple will not "get" this album. 

But, that is the beauty of Watch The Throne. Everybody won't love it and others will swear by it. It will be the topic of debates and hate. Through it all, its very cool to see Hip-Hop artist evolving creatively. Fearlessly. '