S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West treated fans to a surprise performance alongside pop royalty/music veteran Prince heading into the weekend live from Sweden.
Details of their stage set landed online Sunday (August 14).
Kanye West is all about the high-profile collabs right now, be it live or recorded. West, who is currently riding a crest of media exposure and publicity thanks to his ‘Watch the Throne’ project with fellow luminary Jay-Z, joined Prince on stage at Way Out West 2011 in Sweden on Friday, Aug. 12. (Pop Crush)
While on-stage, West got the crowd pumped up as they performed “If I Was Your Girlfriend.”
“Everybody put your hands in the sky right now. Say hell yeah!” chanted ‘Ye as he rocked the mic while the Purple One and the New Power Generation performed “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” bringing audience members onstage. Prince has been joined by many superstar guests at his recent shows including Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, and Mary J. Blige. (Rap-Up)
Outside of performances, West and Jay-Z’s new “Otis” music video premiered online last week.
Unlike his previous collaborations with West — the maudlin short film “We Were Once a Fairytale” or the deceptively simple “Flashing Lights” — with “Otis,” Spike Jonze plays it relatively straight. There are the same tracking shots he’s used in old Beastie Boys videos, and the blown-out color palette recalls even earlier work like R.E.M.‘s “Crush With Eyeliner” or “Electrolite.” He’s staying true to his roots, which, given the caliber of everyone involved, is an accomplishment in its own right. So while “Otis” might not be what you were expecting, in a lot of ways, it’s even more. There’s an unabashed joy to it, and there’s no denying the power of its singular image, either: slicing and dicing a Maybach (average sticker price: $380,000) is a bold, ballsy declaration, indeed. One that speaks louder than a million boasts. (MTV)
The duo’s new Watch the Throne joint LP is slated to sell over 500,000 copies its opening week.
The Roc-a-Fella/Roc Nation hip-hop icons’ Watch the Thronealbum is set for a #1 debut with anywhere from 500-550k, the second-largest first-week sales of the year next to Lady Gaga. (HITS Daily Double)
Check out Kanye West and Prince down below:
