Jay-Z & Kanye West show biggest hip-hop event ever in Vancouver

The Jay-Z/Kanye West show scheduled for October 14 at Rogers Arena is promising to be the biggest hip-hop event Vancouver has ever hosted. As well as songs from their separate catalogues, the two music icons will be performing material from their upcoming collaboration, Watch the Throne, which will be made available worldwide exclusively on iTunes on August 8.

Beginning this Thursday (July 28), fans that visit www.LiveNation.com/WatchTheThrone will have access to presale tickets, which includes a digital copy of the album. Here's what concert promoter Live Nation had to say about the album in a press release:

The longtime friends and music innovators inspired each other to new heights with their collaboration on Watch the Throne, recorded in person at various locations around the world. Over a year in the making and a truly global affair, the duo recorded in London and Bath in the U.K., Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Paris, and New York City. Though shrouded in secrecy, the album has already been heralded a "masterpiece" by those who have heard it, and features production from the RZA, the Neptunes, and Kanye’s longtime collaborator, Mike Dean. The short list of featured vocalists includes Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Curtis Mayfield, and Mr. Hudson. The lead track “OTIS" brilliantly weaves Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness".

The production is classic Kanye West soul, with the two MCs trading couplets over a sample manipulated the way only West can. ”˜Sounds so soulful, don’t you agree?”, intones Jay-Z, and the two launch into a treatise on swagger, claiming their rightful place at the top. Since the track's release the flood of praise for it has been nothing short of deafening. Entertainment Weekly declares the track “the most well-executed rap song of the year.” “Otis” can be streamed at www.watchthethrone.com/otis.

The Watch the Throne Tour will begin September 22 in Detroit, with 24 dates confirmed so far.