Music

Frank Ocean, Beyonce Knowles, Otis Redding, Mr Hudson and Curtis Mayfield are lined up as featured guests in the upcoming album.

• Jul 13, 2011

AceShowbiz - Kanye West and Jay-Z are done selecting new songs for their joint album "Watch the Throne". In the newly-announced tracklisting, it's revealed that twelve tracks are listed for the standard edition, and four more songs including buzz track "H*A*M" are added to the deluxe package.

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All member Frank Ocean, Jigga's wife Beyonce Knowles, soul singer Otis Redding, Kanye's protege Mr. Hudson, and R&B/funk artist Curtis Mayfield are lined up as featured guests. Each of them lends their vocals in one song, except for Frank who is featured in two songs, "No Church in the Wild" and "Sweet Baby Jesus".

A listening party for the effort has been held by Jigga last Thursday, July 7. To a handful of selected music journalists and two lucky fans, the rapper played the new songs from his laptop at the Mercer Hotel in New York. He reportedly banned any live tweeting during the event to prevent lyrics being leaked.

Reviews from the media are mostly positive. AllHipHop called the album "one of the most interesting pieces of Hip-Hop." The publication furthermore wrote that people "need to shed expectations and erase what they know" if they want to properly enjoy it.

"But, that is the beauty of Watch The Throne. Everybody won't love it and others will swear by it. It will be the topic of debates and hate. Through it all, it's very cool to see Hip-Hop artist evolving creatively. Fearlessly," it concluded.

The album has been made available for pre-order since July 4, and will be shipped to the customers across the United States a month later on August 2. The front page of the CD features a royal metallic gold artwork with ornately-carved graphics which was designed by Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci.

While waiting for the album release, fans can watch Kanye and Jigga performing "H*A*M" together at SXSW Music Festival in Austin Texas. The two high-profile rappers made the live duet at the gig as part of G.O.O.D Music Show.

"Watch the Throne" Tracklisting:

1. "No Church in the Wild" Ft. Frank Ocean
2. "Lift Off" Ft. Beyonce Knowles
3. "Niggas in Paris"
4. "Otis" Ft. Otis Redding
5. "Gotta Have It"
6. "New Day"
7. "Prime Time"
8. "Who Gon Stop Me"
9. "Murder to Excellence"
10. "Welcome to the Jungle"
11. "Sweet Baby Jesus" Ft. Frank Ocean
12. "Why I Love You" Ft. Mr. Hudson

1. "Illest Motherf**ker Alive"
2. "H*A*M"
3. "That's My B**ch"
4. "The Joy" Ft. Curtis Mayfield