Guest features have been an important part of hip hop throughout its history, and have become increasingly popular in recent years. It's a great way for artists to cross promote between each other's fan bases, as well as give each track a signature shakeup for a verse or two. The only problem with letting other rappers spit, is once in a while they body you on your own shit. See what I did there? Here's 10 of the best times it happened, with a few that just missed the cut.
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mentions
15. Rick Ross on "Diced Pineapples"
This one barely cracked the list because Ross didn't lay a dud by any means, it just wasn't the kind of track he could spazz on. Spitta, however, thrives on these beats and promptly took advantage. Curren$y has the steadily deliberate flow to take elevator music like this and turn them into hip hop power ballads.
14. Common on "Sweet"
Common put out "Sweet" as a thinly veiled (and later confirmed) shot at Drizzy, but everything about the track was underwhelming. The only redeeming quality was the No ID produced beat, which fellow G.O.O.D. Music member Pusha T subsequently murdered, lyrically speaking of course.
13. Big Sean on "My Last"
Chris Brown sung the hook on the original with Big Sean, which is a mildly decent song. Then when Breezy dropped his rap mixtape, Boy In Detention, he snapped a verse off on it too. Young Ike has bars when he wants to, that's for sure. Let's hope he stay out of trouble going forward so we can hear more of them.
12. 50 Cent on "Patiently Waiting"
Fif had some memorable bars in the squirrel and glass house lines, which helped him avoid ending up in the top 10. But he still makes the list because Em is the heart and soul of this track, delivering a chilling verse for the ages.
11. Game on "Hate It Or Love It"
50 needed a little redemption after #12 on our list. This was a tough call, as 50 had twice as many verses as Game, even though it was released as a Game single. For that reason, it didn't quite crack the list. Regardless, Fif killed it on his 1st verse especially, and leaves us always wondering what would've happened without the eventual beef.
Kanye West on "Monster" by Nicki Minaj
Kanye's verse was actually solid, but Nicki lays down one of the best verses of her career. If anyone got truly bodied on this one it was Jiggaman, who mailed in one of the weakest verses we've ever heard from him. This was surprising, knowing how Kanye and Jay bring the best out in each other when collaborating. Regardless, Nicki had by far the best verse on this one, and showed an Eminem-esque ability to write one verse from the voice of multiple personalities in an amazing fashion.
Que on "OG Bobby Johnson" by Wiz Khalifa & Chevy Woods
This is the first double fatality of the list, as Wiz separated himself from the droves of rappers hopping on this track with his insane rendition, then Chevy Woods comes in and bodies that version too. You can find this one on the Trap Wiz tape "28 Grams" or hear it blaring out most open car windows pretty much anywhere. Truly one of the hottest joints in the game right now, and poor Que thought he was going to get off easy with only Papoose hopping on his shit.
#8
8. Migos on "Versace" by Drake
This was a no brainer. No disrespect to Migos, but there's only one reason this song transcended pop culture. I'll give you a hint, he's Canadian. Migos deserve some credit, it truly is a hot song, but when Drake goes absolutely hammer time while everybody else drops a quick 8, it's not really a competition.
Waka Flocka Flame on "Hard In The Paint" by Rick Ross
Admit it, when you saw the song title, you thought Roscoe Dash was making this list. Silly you. Rozay wasn't on the original version, but that didn't stop him from jacking the beat for one of the greatest remixes ever. After listening to this version, it's almost disappointing when the original comes on. Also, Ross has the crazy eyes in this video, nightmare shit.
Rocko on "UOENO" by literally everyone in Black Hippy
The fact that this banger is only #6 shows the kind of heat that made the Top 5. Everybody and their brother hopped on this Rocko track, and one guy even lost a bunch of money because of it (cough*Ross*cough), but nobody did it quite like the TDE boys. All 4 members put Rocko's verses to shame, begging the question, who did it best? That's right, it's List Within a List time folks!
Best Verses On Black Hippy's "UOENO Remix"
1. Schoolboy Q
2. Kendrick Lamar
3. Jay Rock
4. Ab-Soul (Nobody deserves to be in last, all these verses were fire.)
Dilated Peoples on "This Way" by Kanye West
Dilated peoples have classics on classics, but when they dropped this track right in the middle of Kanye's meteoric rise, they should've known he was going to try to get all the shine. West managed to craft a verse where almost everything is quotable, including one of the most memorable lines of his career so far; "I don't know what's better, gettin' paid or gettin' laid. I just know when I'm gettin' one, the other's gettin' away."
Fredo Santana on "Jealous" by Kendrick Lamar
With time, this song may move higher up the list. It was one of the best tracks of 2013, if not the best, so hat's off to Fredo. The hook and second verse aren't terrible by any means, but that just goes to show you how next level Kendrick's was. Typically Kendrick's features aren't on the level of his own material, but in 2k13 he went HAM, blessing us with classic verses on this song, #6 on the list "UOENO", Pusha T's "Nosetalgia", and a few others. Any time a song features K. Dot, this sort of verbal assault is a possibility. Rappers have to keep their head on a swivel.
Kanye West on "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Jay Z
Kanye doesn't get shown up too often on his own tracks, but Hov came through and finished him like Mortal Kombat. Yeezy even admitted to it later on his song "Big Brother" where he rapped "On that Diamonds remix I swore I spazzed, then my big brother came through and kicked my ass." Who are we to tell Kanye he's wrong? Jay was on a mission, dropping quotable after quotable, lacing together a legendary verse that will not soon be forgotten.
Fast Life Yungstaz on "Swag Surfin" by Lil Wayne
Another no brainer, as Weezy took an incredible beat that had been wasted (Sorry F.L.Y.) and made it his own. It became the opening track on the fan favorite mixtape "No Ceilings" and was bumping in every car and at every backyard party that summer. This track embodies just how hard Weezy F. was going for a couple years on the mixtape circuit, as this list could've had 4 or 5 entries from the BM Jr.
Rich Boy on "Throw Some D's" by Andre 3000
Bet you forgot about this one. Bet Rich Boy wishes he could, as his single biggest hit was mercilessly snatched from his grasp by one of the Rap Gods. 3 Stacks blesses us with a rare guest verse and doesn't disappoint, elevating this ringtone rap track to a whole different stratosphere, and reminding us just how special he is. All we can hope for is to hear more from him like this in the future.