Jay-Z, Kanye Throw a Spectacle for ‘Watch the Throne’ in NJ

The word "spectacle" doesn't seem to do Jay-Z and Kanye West's joint Watch the Throne tour much justice, but we'll start from there. Sunday night (Nov. 6) in New Jersey saw the two hip-hop titans turn the IZOD Center into their own personal arena-sized playground. With a stage set up as big as Jay and Kanye's personalities, the show allowed for the rappers to weave through their vast catalog of hits and their collaborative album, 'Watch the Throne.'

As the opening, orchestral pangs of 'H.A.M.' rattled the capacity crowd, Jay and Kanye took turns playing each other's hype man with infectious enthusiasm. From there on, laser lights, giant fireballs and huge cube-sized video screens allowed for both stars to supersize their performances over a selection of close to 40 songs.

Despite the overall largeness of the event, the screens allowed everyone in the arena to get up close and personal as the unique camera system kept the close-ups constant. The pair, decked out in mostly black, traded rhymes and smiles as they rolled through Throne standouts 'Otis' and 'Gotta Have It.'

As good as they are together, perhaps the biggest treat of the night was seeing how the two decided to approach their solo moments in the sun. Jay-Z clearly had the hometown crowd wrapped around his finger with plenty of polish on his live delivery while Kanye took a more, surprisingly, demure angle playing hits like 'Runaway' and 'Heartless' on a dimly lit pop-up stage in the middle of the crowd.

Then it was back to Hov and 'Ye helping each other out with hits like 'Big Pimpin'' and 'Diamonds From Sierra Leone.' Despite the good time the duo were obviously having, the intricacies of their massive stage production didn't really allow for too much banter with the crowd, so the show had a very business like feel. But, as they should, the songs spoke enough to the raucous crowd as Jay and Kanye closed their set and opened their encore with 'N----s in Paris,' encouraging the entirety of the crowd to "bounce."

It isn't too often when stars, literally, align, and even less often that ones the size of Jay-Z and Kanye West get along or share the spotlight. That being said, the rap duo are writing new chapters into the hip-hop history book with their one of a kind, and possibly, once in a lifetime spectacle.