A mini-Twitter riot erupted last night upon learning Jay-Z had a super secret listening session for his mythical collaborative album with Kanye West, Watch The Throne. Only 20 people, give or take a few (including one who was kicked out for live-tweeting), were invited which helped enhance the secret-society-mystique even more. That being said, there’s something I’ve learned from reviews from these type of events over the years. It’s to basically take them with a grain of salt. They aren’t true listens which are indicative of the quality and often times the entire songs aren’t played.

However, Sean Fennessey’s well written synopsis of the event has more than piqued my interest. According to his write up, the project appears to focus more on Jay and ‘Ye’s lyrical capabilities instead of gunning for chart topping results.

-“No Church,” the first track of 11 played, one of the few referred to by name, and Jay’s favorite at the moment, is a dramatic, dynamic treatise on sin and hypocrisy. Jay explicitly reflects on Socrates question, “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” Deep! Odd Future affiliate Frank Ocean sings the massive, gospel-tinged, Christian-baiting chorus.

-“Lift Off.” The second song played; Jay said he has misgivings about releasing a single for the album, but since they likely will, this would be it. Also, his wife Beyoncé appears on the (literally) space shuttle-launching chorus. So that’s nice.

Head over to GQ to read the entire piece and hear Jay briefly address Barack Obama’s performance thus far as President, reviews of several other songs including one where he and Kanye address their unborn sons and how Derek Jeter unintentionally ruined the entire night. Somewhat.