The Throne Comes to D.C.

Chart-topping music heavy-weight rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z, performed their collaborative “Watch the Throne” album as well as individual hits, at the Verizon Center on Thursday November 3, 2011. The hip-hop stars were originally scheduled to hit the Verizon Center’s stage on September 29th, but pushed the date to November 3rd, thus building the anticipation level of ticket holders, which was already at an all time high. The show was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. but was delayed up until a couple minutes before 9:00 p.m. hit. The center began to fill up rapidly as everyone prepared to witness greatness in the form of two men. As the audience “watched the throne”, they witnessed one of the most visually stunning hip hop concerts that one can experience. With lights beaming every which way and two raised video infused cube platforms as their individual stages and a collaborative main stage, Kanye West and Jay-Z performed a phenomenal show. Jay and ‘Ye opened the concert with their first single “H.A.M.” on two cubes, with a video of vicious dogs barking as the four faces of each cube and ended the show with “Encore“. Before officially ending the show, the stars performed their hit song “N***** In Paris” three times. They performed the song two times, thanked the crowd for coming out and how they enjoyed D.C. while walking off stage with the lights going down, then questioned if the crowd was ready to leave while they were backstage, then ran back on stage to perform the song one more time. The crowd’s response and the stars’ energy was just as hype, if not more, as the past two times the song was performed. This magnitude of a concert may not come again for our generation to witness.