The five best collaborative hip hop albums ever
What’s better than one excellent hip hop artist? In some cases, two hip hop artists.
Especially if they’re collaborating on an album together. It doesn’t happen often, although admittedly, more so in hip hop than in other music genres, and when it does, these albums can truly take on a life of their own.
Collaboration is more than just being in the studio together; solo artists joining forces, when done well, highlight the prowess of the individual artist while totally expanding the capability for music making, as the pair bring their best to the booth.
Hip hop is studded with genre-defining collaborative albums: here are five of the very best.
The five best collaborative hip hop albums ever:
5. Jay-Z and Kanye West – Watch The Throne
Potentially one of the most iconic collaborative albums not just within hip hop, but across all genres of music. This is Jay-Z and Kanye West, two juggernauts within the 21st-century rap scene, coming together for an album that would break records, certify quintuple platinum, and win Grammys for singles ‘N*ggas in Paris’ and ‘No Church in the Wild’.
The album, released in 2011, is luxuriously maximalist, with each rapper deeply and utterly naturally complementing the other. Kanye is dramatic and larger-than-life, while Jay is grounded and controlled, a contrast that renders the album an absolute classic over a decade later.
4. Drake and Future – What A Time To Be Alive
This chart-topping 2015 album from chart-topping artists works so well for so many reasons. Firstly, Drake utterly leans into Future’s sound, a moody, quietly atmospheric trap style that asserts Future’s established vibe as well as flexing Drake’s versatility.
And with Metro Boomin at the helm of the production, the beats, minimalist and bass-heavy, are perfect for allowing the two rappers’ voices to dominate the album. This is a cohesive, locked-in album that, while more stripped back sonically, carries significant energy. Most notably, the album’s percussive single ‘Jumpman’, which was used in an advert for Apple Music that depicted Taylor Swift on a treadmill. 2015; what a time!
3. Birdman and Lil Wayne – Like Father Like Son
Released in 2006, Like Father Like Son is an accurately, if not rare for the genre, sentimentally titled album that reflects the relationship between Birdman and Lil Wayne. The former both discovered and mentored the latter, and thus the chemistry between the two rappers is a true joy to listen to.
Birdman’s verses are affirmative, while Lil Wayne’s charisma and witty lyricism really stand out, and the Cash Money Records label co-founder is not afraid to let Lil Wayne take the limelight here. The production is tight and polished, the sound is big on Southern rap bravado, and the album was popular amongst rap fans, peaking at number one on the US Top Rap Albums in 2006.
2. Eminem and Royce Da 5’9 – Hell: The Sequel
This is a deeply intense album in which Eminem and Royce face one another at their most aggressive sounding. The duo had collaborated before on 1998’s ‘Nuttin’ to Do’, and then publicly fell out, with disses exchanged on both sides.
So naturally, this collaborative album with all this shared history would automatically feel somewhat weighted. The dark vibe of the production, the razor-sharp lyrics and the contrasting energies between the two establish an exciting dynamic in which neither is overshadowed, but rather, gorgeously complemented with a genuinely exciting chemistry on display.
1. DJ Quik and Kurupt – BlaQKout
These West Coast legends on the same album sound just as good as you’d want them to. DJ Quik’s funk-sounding production is vibrant and polished, while Kurupt’s aggressive, animated delivery adds an extra dimension of sonic urgency to the album.
Despite not charting majorly at the time of release, debuting at only 61, it received critical acclaim. It also remains a favourite of Quik’s, who commented that “we did a record that is for the sake of music”. You can’t ask for much more than that!