Rumors usually end up being just what they are ... rumors. But if there is one rumor in the world the BoomBox is hoping is true this week, it's word that the Jay-Z and Kanye West joint album 'Watch the Throne' will drop -- without much warning -- this Monday (July 4).

Word that 'Watch the Throne' would surface unannounced, everywhere and with a big bang on Independence Day -- just like the aliens in the Will Smith movie of the same name -- came earlier this month via the Source. Then today (June 30), AllHipHop.com suggested that not only would the album be dropping on the 4th of July, but it would be a digital-only release.

The rush to release is being blamed on the paranoia that if such action isn't taken, the album will be leaked. West's latest album, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,' and its tracklist were both leaked prematurely before the official Nov. 22, 2010 drop date, while Jay-Z's last solo effort, 'Blueprint 3,' found its way online two weeks before its scheduled release date in 2009. And, proving the point further, an unofficial tracklist for 'Watch the Throne' made its way to the Internet earlier this month.

CyHi da Prynce, who is signed to West's G.O.O.D. Music label, added more fuel to the fire in an interview with MTV's RapFix on Wednesday (June 29.) "They are ready to go," CyHi said in regards to the Jay-Z and Kanye album. "Right now, all the music and everything is done." CyHi added that if there was any delay to the release it was because Kanye was adding "his last little pizzazz" to the effort.

Originally announced by Kanye on his Twitter page as a 5-track EP, 'Watch the Throne' has been a top secret project engineered across New York City hotel rooms over the course of the past year. Only one track has surfaced from the project so far, the gritty in-your-face 'H.A.M,' which is an acronym for "Hard as a Motherf---er."

Fingers-crossed till Monday. Both hands and maybe toes too.



Listen to Kanye West and Jay-Z's 'H.A.M'

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