Two marquee rappers, one shared album, and a guest list assembled like a state dinner. Watch the Throne puts Jay-Z and Kanye West on the same record from start to finish, released on 8 August 2011 through Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation and Def Jam.

The two had traded verses on singles for years, and West had produced for Jay-Z long before this, so the sessions started from an established working rhythm. The original plan was small: five songs, an extended play, something to sit beside the solo catalogues. It grew into a full-length instead, and the scale shows up in the credits. Frank Ocean, The-Dream, Beyoncé and Mr Hudson take the formal guest slots. Around them sit vocal contributions from Kid Cudi, Seal, Justin Vernon, Elly Jackson, Connie Mitchell, Charlie Wilson and Pete Rock.

Classic soul carries as much weight here as any living guest. Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield turn up through sampled vocals, and the credits list both as guest features rather than tucking them into the small print, which sets the register for everything else. Come to this one for maximalist rap production, two established voices sharing a single tracklist, and a sampling approach that treats the source singers as collaborators.