“Everyone, louder! I guarantee this will be the best concert of your lives!”
Yesterday was definitely taken over by Kanye West. First he announced the official album title for the G.O.O.D Music compilation, then he released further information on his brand new short film “Cruel Summer” (also the title for the album) and finally he opened his epic Watch The Throne Tour UK alongside Jay-Z. What more could a Kanye West fan ask for?
Obviously it was not just about Kanye West as one of the best rappers in Hip-Hop’s history gracing the O2 stage also about the legend, the main man, the jigga, HOVA. The show was meant to begin at 20:15 but of course what concert ever starts on time, they both stepped out 40 mins late and caused the whole arena to go crazy! I felt sorry for the fans who had to remain standing infront of the stage.
You knew shit was real when your hear the roaring opera vocals from the intro of The Throne’s lead single “H.A.M” which they coincidently open each of their concerts with too. Appearing on two separate rising boxes parallel to one another, they definitely took the arena by surprise. It was a dope scheme as it allowed both sides of the standing crowd to get close to each of the The Throne at a time, also the videography was amazing! Images/footage would appear on the side of the boxes as they performed, at one point during Jay’s “On To The Next One” he remained invisible however the box he was standing on showed a brief silhouette of him performing.
Shortly moving onto “Who Gon’ Stop Me” with blue strobe lights hitting every point of the arena and the crowd unable to contain their excitement as Jay-Z repeatedly told us to “bounce” whilst he bubbled to the Flux Pavilion sampled beat. They remained on the boxes throughout this song too as you will see in the footage which will be on our YouTube channel shortly (TheBluMileTV). Keeping the colour theme, the boxes turned into a deep sea blue, with the cameo appearance of a Great White Shark coming at us, once again great videography.
If you’re a fan of the album you’ll know that Jay-Z’s last verse is probably the best verse on the album where he goes in with a full 64 bars! When performing they cut the music and had Jay-Z spit each lyric amongst the silence of the Arena, I couldn’t help myself I had to jump in and spit alongside Jay.
Jay-Z showed us how fit he really is. He had to sprint as soon as he finished his verse to the rear end of the arena to join Kanye at the main stage so the two could perform ‘Otis’. Playing the original song before working it into the sample for the track had the crowd all singing along even though many may not of heard Otis Redding’s ‘Try A Little Tenderness’.
The performances on a whole were greatly constructed. From the two being able to engage into conversation whilst on stage leading up to their hit single was a great touch and definitely provided us fans with a insight into how close the two really are in terms of friendship, it seems the sharpness of the act on the European leg was taken to another level since the early US shows.
There was a great moment after Jay-Z performed ‘Big Pimpin’ Kanye walked over to him and said “Jay, I loved that song! But everytime I played she -” and in came the Jamie Fox’s voice with the “She take my money!” from Kanye’s hit single ‘Gold Digger’. We couldn’t help ourselves everyone in the box must’ve thought TheBluMile were crazy!
The track listing was on point! Performing their best hits from each of their back Catalogs up to where they’re now. Definitely pleasing each fan of every generation whether they be new fans or the old the music they performed pleased them all and allowed everybody to have their own moment to rap along. Even better was the way they worked into each song, the way Kanye West’s ‘Touch The Sky’ spung into Jay’s ‘Big Pimin’ was dope as f*ck!
Ending on the WTT tour ever present ‘Niggas in Paris’ 5 times it led the crowd to total anarchy, the box we were in bouncing simultaneously and hoardings being banged to encourage even more, a night not to forget.
The show was a mind blowing experience and no matter where your seat is in the arena you will be overwhelmed by the atmosphere and their stage presence. If you have bought a ticket, regardless on the amount of money you spent to acquire one it is and always will be worth your money! Trust me.
Some shots and video montage of the Paris show! HERE
