‘Watch the Throne’ peak of Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration

As Jay-Z and Kanye West’s collaborative album, “Watch the Throne,” garners buzz, here’s a look back at their intersecting paths to stardom.

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Jay-Z, left, performs with Kanye West during Hot 97 Summer Jam 2005 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The pair have lent their voices and production skills to each other’s albums throughout the past decade.

RICH SCHULTZ / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jay-Z, in this "Reasonable Doubt" era shot taken by Jonathan Mannion in 1996, which was shown in D.C.’s Govinda Gallery.

/ JONATHAN MANNION/GOVINDA GALLERY

Jay-Z sits in a police van Friday, April 13, 2001, outside the Midtown North Precinct in New York. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, was arrested with three other men when a loaded handgun was found in their car.

ROBERT MECEA / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles perform at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. The pair married in 2008.

WIN MCNAMEE / REUTERS

Democratic presidential hopeful Rev. Al Sharpton is flanked by rappers Jay-Z, left, and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, in 2003 during Sharpton's 49th birthday party in New York.

CHAD RACHMAN / AP

Jay-Z holds his four MTV Video Music awards at the 2004 ceremony.

J. PAT CARTER / AP

R. Kelly, left, and Jay-Z perform at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. at the first stop in their 2004 Best of Both Worlds Tour. The pair collaborated on the album "Unfinished Business."

BRIAN KERSEY / AP

Kanye West’s first album, “The College Dropout,” included “Never Let Me Down,” a collaboration with Jay-Z.

File Photo / ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS

Kanye West performs "Jesus Walks" at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005.

KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Actor Mike Myers and singer Kanye West solicited donations for the Red Cross during a 2005 special raising money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. During this telethon, West remarked that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

/ SCREENGRAB VIA YOUTUBE

West performs at the NFL Kickoff Celebration in 2005 at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

CHRIS CARLSON / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rappers Nas (left), Jay Z, and Kanye West perform onstage during Power 105.1's "Powerhouse 2005: Operation Takeover" in 2005. The three have all lent vocals to each other’s albums.

Scott Gries / GETTY IMAGES

For a 2006 cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine, Kanye West wears a crown of thorns.

HO / ROLLING STONE VIA REUTERS

Musicians Jay-Z, left, Paul McCartney and Chester Bennington perform at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006.

MARK J. TERRILL / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jamie Foxx, left, and Kanye West perform "Gold Digger" at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006.

MARK J. TERRILL / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kanye West poses with his mother Donda West at the 48th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2006.

ROBERT GALBRAITH / REUTERS

Kanye West performs outdoors as host Ellen DeGeneres dances on stage during taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2006.

DAMIAN DOVARGANES / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jay-Z performs during his "Rock tha Block" tour at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia in 2006.

Kristian Dowling / GETTY IMAGES

Jay-Z appears with a GMC Yukon Denali in J-Z Blue at the GM Style Event in 2007.

GARY CAMERON / REUTERS

Jay-Z, who owns a share of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, jersey with the year the Nets arena was supposed to be completed and ready for play during a 2007 news conference in New York. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn is still under construction, and is expected to open in 2012.

Kathy Willens / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kanye West performs during the 2007 Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London. The concert was held to mark what would have been the 46th birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales.

MATT DUNHAM / ASSOCIATED PRESS

50 Cent, right, and Kanye West face off before they present an award at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2007.

Mark J. Terrill / AP

Kanye West accepts the award for best rap album for “Graduation” at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008. West has won 14 Grammy Awards throughout his career.

Kevork Djansezian / AP

Kanye West performs at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. He has been nominated for 15 VMAs throughout his career, and has won two.

Matt Sayles / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jay-Z and Beyonce try to find their seats as they arrive for the inauguration ceremony of President Obama at the U.S. Capitol.

Jae C. Hong / AP

Eminem, left, and Jay-Z perform together at a 2009 concert celebrating the launch of the video game "DJ Hero" in Los Angeles.

Matt Sayles / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kanye West takes the microphone from singer Taylor Swift as she accepted the "Best Female Video" award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in New York. West’s reputation was damaged when he interrupted Swift to tell the audience that Beyonce’s video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” was “one of the best videos of all time.”

Jason DeCrow / AP

Kanye West and Amber Rose arrive at the Chanel Spring-Summer 2010 fashion show in Paris. The couple split that year.

THIBAULT CAMUS / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Placido Domingo (right) presents Jay-Z and Rihanna, with the award for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Run This Town” at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

Matt Sayles / AP

Kanye West, left, makes a guest appearance as Jay-Z performs during a 2010 concert at Yankee Stadium in New York. The pair’s collaborative album, “Watch the Throne,” dropped on Aug. 8, 2011.

Jason DeCrow / AP

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