(Kanye and Jay-Z sharing a moment in the “Otis” video)

Mikey: Last night, the “Otis” premiere was an event in itself. Pretty much everyone I know was waiting by MTV at 8:56PM. Simplistic yet exactly everything it should have been (in my opinion). I feel like it’s almost like a “f*ck you” to the people hating on the project. Clearly, these millionaires were having fun without all the baller cliches that say “Big Pimpin” had, but letting us know “they got it like that.” 1 Maybach, 2 rappers, minimal jewelry, couple models chicks and a American flag is all it took paint the picture of…rapper opulence.

As I was combing through our archives, I noticed I did a full review and WTT listening session recap that was never published. Check out my first reaction after hearing the album at the Planetarium event…

Link: ‘Watch The Throne’ Listening Session Recap

Watch The Throne Gallery: And if you need more Watch the Throne….you need to actually get physically close to it….then there’s a bricks-and-mortar ‘pop-up’ shop selling the deluxe CD of WTT that just opened today in Soho. See the real Throne-Mobile there!
Address: 201 Mulberry St., NYC
Hours: Fri til 10pm, Sat 11-8, Sun 11-6 (Only open this weekend)

more screengrabs from “Otis”…
Rza and 88 Keys talk about their contributions to WTT…
Swizz Beatz performing “Welcome To The Jungle”…
and more from ‘The Throne’…
after the jump…

(via Upscale Hype’s Otis Screengrabs)

Check out: Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Otis” Video…and Miss Info’s ‘Watch The Throne’ Wrap-up

88-Keys opens up to Billboard on how the Frank Ocean-assisted Watch the Throne cut, “No Church in the Wild,” came to fruition.

Although the duo go back some 10 years, 88-Keys production on the album was unplanned and came to be after a studio visit. Apparently, Kanye casually asked, “You got any beats on you?” which led to the producer playing some tracks off Soundcloud. Kanye made some suggestions to edit the beat, but it eventually became “No Church in the Wild.” Ironically, 88-Keys didn’t even hear the finished product until the planetarium listening Mikey & Miss Info were in attendance for. He did however hear Kanye say the track was “just what they needed for the album — a different sound.”

Rza on working on Watch The Throne

“I’m really honored to be a part of the project,” RZA, who produced the grimy “New Day,” tells Rolling Stone. “These two are obviously very capable in their own right, so to include me in this classic project is a testament of how much respect we share for one another.”

“Kanye asked me to send tracks while they were in Australia,” says the Wu-Tang Clan master. “I just thought I would send some shit that would be rugged. I know they can find the poppy, hip-hop places, but I wanted to send them some real edgy shit. Apparently they thought they were great – Kanye said, ‘Send some more of that Wu shit!’”

“In the past, when Jay-Z did Best of Both Worlds with R. Kelly, I thought it was a great album but the campaign went south because of personalities,” he says. “With this project, it’s the best of many worlds. These two guys have a great chemistry and a great relationship. I’m excited.”

(read the full interview at RollingStone)

What’s the latest view from ‘The Throne’?:
-Complex traces Jay-Z’s fascination with art through time
-Vibe document the best WTT lines
-The NYT analyse The Throne
-A lengthy but uniquely interesting album review on Grantland

Swizz Beatz rocks out to “Welcome To The Jungle” at last night’s Billboard Summer Blowout concert

DJ Clark Kent blasting off “Otis” at Nigel Sylvester x G-Shock’s party sponsored by Hennessy in NYC. (via CtotheJL)

Related:
The Throne (Kanye West & Jay-Z) Preview Their New Video For “Otis”
Jay-Z Is #1 On Forbes’ 2011 Hip Hop Cash King
Kanye West Still Feels Unloved: “People Look At Me like I’m F**king Insane …like I’m Hitler”
Jay-Z Stops By Hot 97 For Surprise Interview with Angie Martinez (Audio)
Kanye West To Debut His Women’s Line at New York Fashion Week…What Can We Expect?
An Elegant Overview of Cannes With Kanye West, Michel Gondry, Spike Jones and more
Kanye West and Director Spike Jonze: We Were Once A Fairy Tale (Video)