Watching the Throne

THRONE WATCH: With the widespread assumption that Jay-Z and Kanye West’s superstar collab Watch the Throne has underperformed thus far, it’s worth noting that West’s last release also sold around 600k in its first two weeks last fall, or around 43.1k a day, while Jay-Z’s 2009 album did 45.5k a day during the same period, putting both in the same ballpark as Watch the Throne’s 43.3k. That said, some observers insist the album would have come out of the gate stronger had the artists not reportedly forced IDJ to rush-release it to maximize ticket sales on their upcoming arena tour. Nonetheless, many believe the album is embedded with potential hits beyond the still-building first single, which will give the project momentum heading into Q4. (8/25p)