Daydreaming about the ideal rap collaborations
This is something I think about frequently, so why not share my thoughts with y’all?
I so frequently fantasize about random potential collaborations between my favourite rappers that I’ve never bothered to mention it here before, because I worry I would fall down a rabbit hole and never get out, but the homie Myka 9, himself a legendary emcee with whom it has been my privilege to work, brought the question up on Facebook a few days ago, so what the hell, I went in.
“There are many, but one “I wanna hear that!“ collabo idea that consistently returns to my head is a posse cut featuring Freddie Gibbs, Killer Mike, and Brother Ali. I can think of a bunch of producers who could make a great beat for it – Digs, Speakerbomb, Mr. Lee, DJ Burn One, Ant, Marco Polo, Myer Clarity, Jake One, Beatnick & K-Salaam, Bigg E, Fresh Kils, and many more.
I also have a deep longing to hear as many of my favourite rappers as possible over DJ Premier production. This is true even though he makes fewer and fewer great beats these days. I would like to hear him work with all three of the dudes I mentioned earlier, plus Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, De La Soul, Freeway, Peedi Crakk, Kendrick Lamar, E-40, T.I., Chali 2Na, Gunplay, Big Boi, Black Thought, Tragedy Khadafi, Pharoahe Monch, Mystikal, Suga Free, Percee P, CL Smooth, 8Ball & MJG, Juvenile, WC, Queen Latifah (if she could somehow be convinced to rap), Method Man (a proper three-verse solo song), Redman (same deal), Scarface (and again), a local don from here in Toronto named The Legend Adam Bomb, another Canadian legend named Shad, and, for a proper song rather than just an admittedly ridiculously dope YouTube segment, Dres of Black Sheep. I also think Preemo should probably produce an entire album for AZ or for my friend A.G. of DITC, both of whom sound great on his beats, and I would also like to hear most of the same artists I’ve just listed work with Pete Rock.
I also consistently wish that Nas had better taste in guest rappers with whom to appear. The fact that he gave a throwaway mixtape verse to Raekwon when the opportunity finally came for the two of them to work together again for the first time since this imperishable 1995 classic remains an insult. It was also an insult when De La Soul invited Nas to appear on one of their songs and he only spit the chorus. Nas should be working with artists like Raekwon, Ghostface, Kendrick, Freddie Gibbs, Pharoahe Monch, Black Thought, Royce Da 5’9”, Elzhi, Inspectah Deck, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, Big Boi, and Run The Jewels, instead of lightweights like The Game and Rick Ross. He should also, of course, work more often with AZ, with whom his chemistry is utterly superb, and should get production from people like Jake One, Marco Polo, and Statik Selektah. “The Scientist”, the Just Blaze-produced Nas banger that remains unreleased for some reason, is one of the great lost rap songs.
I realize that Big Daddy Kane is mostly retired now, and that he prefers mellow production these days, but I maintain that you could put him on a Timbaland, DJ Mustard, Neptunes, or similar club beat and the result could be earthshaking. He may never have the juice in him to put a great album out ever again, but he’s more than capable of it if someone helps guide him.
If I understand things correctly, there is an unreleased song from the Magna Carta Holy Grail sessions called “Heaven” that features Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon all on one track. This is a dream lineup, and that song should immediately get released. There should also be a posse cut that’s just Nas, AZ, Ghostface, and Raekwon losing their minds over an ill beat.
It makes no sense to me at all that neither Big Boi nor André 3000 has ever worked with Scarface – imagine how amazing he would have sounded on Aquemini! I also think Scarface would sound great next to most of my other favourite emcees – Rakim, Ghostface, Raekwon, AZ – and that all of them should hit him up. It’s almost impossible to make a bad song with Scarface, really, although E-40, another of my very favourites, nearly managed it by making the very bad decision to sing his own chorus. And why, in 20 years, were there so few songs officially featuring Scarface in the UGK catalogue and vice-versa?
Has Freddie Gibbs worked with Gunplay yet? That would be an inspired collaboration. Freddie Gibbs and Roc Marciano sounded fantastic together when they jointly appeared on a Westside Gunn album, such that Westside Gunn himself was almost superfluous in that context. Speaking of Griselda, several of my favourites – Gibbs, Raekwon, Ghostface, DJ Premier, AZ, WC – could make hits with Benny The Butcher. Gibbs is so versatile that there are many others I think he’d sound great next to, from AZ to Chali 2Na to Yelawolf to Twista to Chance The Rapper to Suga Free to Kendrick Lamar to The Legend Adam Bomb to Rittz to Myka 9 himself. (Myka himself got this whole process right a few years ago by making a bangin’ posse cut over a bouncy beat and recruiting Casual, Sunspot Jonz, Aceyalone, and Kirby Dominant! Everyone brought it! What a triumph!)
Kool G Rap is another rapper I wish I had a little bit more motivation to make great music in his middle age. The man can definitely still spit, and would sound amazing next to Freddie Gibbs, Ghostface, Jadakiss, Pusha T, or any number of others. I think both Redman and Method Man both also have great boom bap solo albums in them, if only they could be bothered. Along with Marco Polo, Statik Selektah, and Jake One, another producer whose door many of these cats should be banging down is Black Milk.
I still hope to hear Killer Mike on production by people other than EL-P again someday, but if we are destined never to hear Mike outside the Def Jux orbit ever again, could we at least get Killer Mike on the same song as Aesop Rock? What about these other rappers more famous than Aesop Rock is who claim he’s their favourite lyricist – why is there no Lupe Fiasco & Aesop Rock song? Why did the one instance that Aesop Rock appeared on the same song as Danny Brown turn out so badly? That’s still a total mystery to me, especially since the song also featured a third amazing rapper, Busdriver. Can we get Aesop Rock and Black Thought? Aesop Rock and Pharoahe Monch? Aesop Rock and Chali 2Na? Aesop Rock and Lyrics Born? Aesop Rock and Brother Ali? I know for a fact that Rakim, Ghostface, and Brother Ali have all toured together – is there a reason we never got a song out of it?
A song by Brother Ali featuring Pharoahe Monch did get made not long ago, as did a Freddie Gibbs/Black Thought/Mos Def joint, and they were both amazing, but even as an artist myself, with more knowledge and experience than I’ve ever had before of how these things go and how seldom they go according to plan, it’s a mystery to me why they happen so very seldom. Perhaps I should be grateful that it happens at all.”
I could go on about this for hours, but I need to stop somewhere! What about y’all, what are y’all’s thoughts on this?
I'd love to see the likes of Tonedeff perform more frequently (still waiting for his project with Kno to drop) as well as continue his work on Quintec, I'd love to see him feature with some of the more well known names, I think he'd be right at home next to the likes of Pharoahe Monch, the technical skill on show would be overwhelming and not only that, seeing my favourite rapper get his flowers next to names like Monch would make me so happy.