Jay-Z, Kanye West's Throne Tour Has Thrilling Liftoff

 Jay-Z and Kanye west

TLANTA, Georgia — Not even a stormy night could stop the regal reign of the Throne. On Friday, Jay-Z and Kanye West opened up their Watch the Throne Tour in Atlanta. While the WTT album has been noted for its opulent displays of wealth, Hov and Yeezy's show will be marked by the duo's overabundance of hit records.

The doors to the Philips Arena opened at 7:30 p.m. ET and, with no scheduled show opener, the house DJ played old slow jams like the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets," Little Beaver's "Get Into the Party Life" and Hank Crawford's "Wildflower" — all songs that have been sampled by Kanye and Jay at one time or another. Still, the subtle measure wasn't nearly enough to keep fans satisfied. By 9 p.m. ET, the crunked-up crowd was restless and salivating for the night's stars.

With the house lights low and fans pumped, the multilayered instrumental from "H.A.M." came blaring through the sound system. The initial WTTtrack has been criticized by some as too over-the-top and too much unlike anything in Jay and 'Ye's respective catalogs, but the helter-skelter mix of crashing symbals, bleeps, beeps and bombastic bass was clearly built specifically for sports stadiums and grand auditoriums.

The build was perfect, even if the execution wasn't. Kanye commandeered a rising platform at the front of the stage, while Jay simultaneously occupied a similar lift that was situated on the floor in the middle of the crowd. Within moments, the duo were elevated in unison towering above the audience, volleying verses from one side of the arena to the other. Jay stumbled vocally, though: His ear piece short-circuited and failed to properly feed him the music and his timing was clearly affected. For a time, Hov's raps were badly off beat.