In concert: Jay-Z and Kanye West

What’s better than getting a global megstar rapper to play a headline show in one of the world’s top showboating venues? Yes, that’s right, getting two global megastar rappers to play said venue at the same time, and that’s what’s happening as Jay-Z and Kanye West get ready to blow the roof off the O2.

Working together as The Throne for last year’s number one billboard chart debuting record Watch The Throne, the Grammy-winning, best-selling duo hit London for these five enormo shows to bring their album to the masses.

A record a year in the making, it was recorded as the two toured the world, separately, with recording locations as varied as Bath and Abu Dhabi, and contributions from such luminaries as Frank Ocean, Curtis Mayfield and Mr Hudson, as well as, of course, Mrs Jay-Z, Beyonce, herself.

As anticipated as musical releases can be, it did not disappoint when it hit stores last August, the expectation surpassed only by the heaped plaudits that rained down on it. Lead single OTIS was even declared by Entertainment Weekly to be “the most well-executed rap song of the year”.

Independently, Jay-Z and Kanye (when he’s not stealing the awards show stage from gobsmacked country singers and getting called a jackass by the US president for his actions) are awesome headliners. Anyone who caught Jay-Z’s prize-fighter show at Glasto in 2008 can attest to that. Together, with their back catalogues to dip into, too, they’re a proposition that hasn’t been seen in a long time.

The O2 | May 18-22 | Doors at 6.45pm |  £39.50
Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX
Tube | North Greenwich 
theo2.co.uk