was a crowning moment for Jay-Z and Kanye West as they kicked off the Watch
the Throne tour to a packed house at Philips Arena in Atlanta on Friday night
(Oct. 28). The hip-hop kings, collectively known as The Throne, opened the most
anticipated hip-hop tour of the year with a bang, emerging on two
cube-shaped mini stages to the operatic sounds of “H•A•M.”
During the two-and-a-half hour extravaganza, each rapper took turns
performing solo material and came together for their collective efforts off Watch
the Throne as images of Rottweilers, tigers, and sharks filled the screens and lasers
beamed across the arena.
After their joint opener, Kanye exited the stage letting Jay-Z shine on his
own with “Where I’m From.” He encouraged the audience to sing along to “Empire
State of Mind” and told them to throw their diamonds up as he ran through his
catalog of classics including “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” “Big Pimpin’,” and
“Hard Knock Life.”
As always, Yeezy’s swagger was on a hundred thousand. The trendsetter
sported a T-shirt with the beastly image of himself from the Riccardo
Tisci-designed album artwork and pulled off a leather kilt while dropping hit
after hit off his five albums. He appeared to be on the verge of tears during
“Runaway,” pouring his emotions into the song.
“Atlanta, you are now looking at black excellence at its finest. Make some …
noise!” Jay
said at one point while putting his arm around Kanye.
The historic evening concluded with a powerful performance of “Made in
America” as Hov asked the audience to hold up their phones and lighters in
honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Jay and ‘Ye followed with “Why I
Love You,” affirming their status as two of the greatest who ever did it.
