Inside Jay-Z and Kanye's 'Watch the Throne' planetarium party
Kanye West, right, makes a guest appearance as Jay Z performs during a concert at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 13, 2010. Credit: AP
At the Hayden Planetarium, the site of last night's secret listening party for The Throne's “Watch the Throne,” Jay-Z said that he and Kanye West worried that the album might be too big and that they scaled it down as they worked on it over the past nine months.
It's an interesting thought coming after hearing the ambitious, amazing album blasted in the planetarium with planets being born and destroyed on video overhead. But judging from their finished product, 'Ye-Z got the balance right.
“Watch the Throne” is a mix of old-school beats and new-school construction. It's socially conscious and often inspirational, but it also has moments of fun (including Beyonce's countdown in “Liftoff” and a snippet from Will Ferrell's “Blades of Glory” movie, “No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative!”) And, oh yeah, it's gonna be huge.
So huge, in fact, the “Watch the Throne” tour itinerary has been revamped – much to the chagrin of many fans on Twitter and Facebook – to add more dates and more cities. The pre-sale for the shows at the Izod Center is still set for this morning at 10 a.m., but the concerts will now be Nov. 5 and 6, instead of in September.
The secret listening party itself showed off a bit of old-school confidence with its mini lobster rolls and sweet potato cakes topped with caramelized pecans – not to mention the open-bar stocked with top-shelf liquor and all the models and celebs, including Kanye, wandering around the American Museum for Natural History’s Rose Center for Earth and Space beforehand.
And as far as any reported beef between Jay-Z and Kanye, they were all smiles together and apart in the planetarium, and in the VIP area with Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Busta Rhymes, Gayle King and others.
