The interlude has always been an opportunity for an artist to switch up the vibe of their album and transition from one style to another. Sometimes they're musical, sometimes they're a humorous skit (or not so much) thrown in for comic relief. Hip Hop albums have had interludes for a long time, but they're transformed slightly during this current generation of the genre. The skit has almost entirely gone the way of the dinosaur, with very few albums featuring them. However, the musical interlude has flourished, even producing songs that are considered classics. Sometimes it gives the album's artist a chance to feature another artist that didn't really fit on one of the main tracks by having them go solo on the interlude, a practice that is increasingly popular.
Today, we'll look at some musical interludes that had real substance, as well as served to create some feeling on their respective albums. So let's sit back, chill out, and countdown the Top 10 Interludes of recent years.
Interlude (That's Love)
10. Interlude (That's Love) by Chance the Rapper
A really chill, smooth cut that follows the jam "Everybody's Something" on the masterpiece Acid Rap, "That's Love" also features some backing vocals by frequent collaborator and all-around BFF Childish Gambino. Chano tells us how love is better than literally everything. Leno, I get, but Fallon?! C'mon Chance, the man is America's Sweetheart! Even though it's the softest song ever, Chance pulls it off as usual, his unique style making this love ballad somehow whip-acceptable. Gets us everytime.
Growin' Up (Interlude)
9. Growin' Up (Interlude) by Lil B
Thank you Based God, because this is one of your strongest tracks not just on Based Jams, but ever. We got so accustomed to the disheveled, off beat spectacle that was Lil B, that some of us forgot you had real, legitimate bars to share with the world. So when you're not dooming Kevin Durant to a career full of 2nd place finishes, can we get more of this please?
Champagne Thoughts (Interlude)
8. Champagne Thoughts (Interlude) by Logic
Logic throws the bird up to all the haters with the help of the illest Family Guy sample in hip hop history. You can catch this one smoothing the transition between "Mind of Logic" and "Are You Ready" on Young Sinatra. The whole project is fire jam city, and this cut helped set the mood perfectly. Speaking of Visionary Music Group, catch our next installment of On the Come Up this Wednesday featuring QuESt!
#7
7. Thank God (Interlude) by YG (ft. Big TC & RJ)
One of the highlights on an already amazing album, My Krazy Life, YG lets Big TC and RJ handle business on this one, letting the listeners know how thankful they all are to the man upstairs. The 1st verse is more of an abstract conversation with God, thanking Him for standing by when they need Him. The second explains how His Holiness looks out for them even when they're doing wrong, telling a vivid tale of a robbery gone wrong, with friends becoming enemies, and things turning violent. The raw nature and transparency of the lyrics only added to what was an introspective look into the krazy life that YG's lived.
Interlude 47
6. Interlude 47 by Pro Era
RIP CAP STEEZ. The homie waxes poetic about all sorts of crazy shit like out-of-body experiences and lucid dreams, then gets straight to business, telling this girl he wants to give her...the business. Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, and Kirk Knight all go HAM on this one too, making a little bit more of a posse cut than an interlude, but we'll let it slide this time. This joint dropped on the day the world was supposed to end, 12/21/2012 on Pro Era's mixtape Peep the aPROcalypse, and after hearing this...maybe it did and we're all just lucid dreaming.
Beach Is Better (Interlude)
5. Beach Is Better (Interlude) by Jay Z
The 1st of two appearances on this list by the interlude king (spoiler alert!) and oh, what could have been. This is simultaneously one of the greatest interludes and most disappointing songs ever, for the simple fact that you feel cheated at the end of it. The brilliantly produced Mike WiLL Made It track features some of the hardest bars Hova spit on Magna Carta Holy Grail, but for reasons unbeknownst at the time, ends abruptly around the 0:55 mark. Later, in a Twitter Q & A, Jay explained why:
RT @SteveHiggz Why is "Beach is Better" so short man??? [This is how I feel about vacation. Just when,]
Mo Money (Interlude)
4. Mo Money (Interlude) by J. Cole
While reviews are mostly mixed on Jermaine's sophomore release, Born Sinner, the vast majority can agree on one thing: He killed this, and we wish there was more of it. Following another very strong track on the album in "Power Trip", it makes for an incredible 1-2 punch that leaves the listener in sheer awe. Cole takes what is an otherwise basic rhyming scheme, borrowed from Jay Z's "Imaginary Player", and turns it into a masterpiece. Covering topics all over the map, from Hov to oil companies, J. Cole forces the listener to take a hard look at the glorification of money we've all created.
Buried Alive (Interlude)
3. Buried Alive (Interlude) by Drake (ft. Kendrick Lamar)
In some of the rawest spitting on Take Care, K. Dot tells a cautionary tale about the lifestyle that comes with this rap shit, and who to blame for exposing him to it. Drizzy met up with Kendrick early on and stunted on him in the Maybach, Lamar retelling the tale for the kids on this gem of an album cut. Arguably the two top dogs in the game right now, let's hope they keep the collabs coming.
Interlude
2. Interlude by Lil Wayne (ft. Tech N9ne & Andre 3000)
No disrespect to Weezy (maybe a little...) but this was the best track on Tha Carter 4. Although that's not saying a whole lot, this was a certified banger. Although far more uptempo and aggressive than a traditional interlude, it made for a smooth transition between the T-Pain-assisted ballad "How To Hate" and the speaker rattling "John". Tech spazzed as usual, but you could tell he knew some of Wayne's younger fans might not have known who he was because he seemed to keep introducing himself. Then we get to 3 Stacks, who (SHOCKER) murders this joint.
In a phone interview with Funk Flex while locked up, Weezy said, "I've been saying to myself that I really want to do a song with either Andre 3000 or my man...Tech N9ne," he said. "Other than that, I've been really trying to do a song with this little dude, this boy Weezy. That boy Weezy, he's stupid [laughs]."
Dreams do come true.
Public Service Announcement
1. Public Service Announcement by Jay Z
While some will say this isn't an interlude, we checked iTunes for their official tracklisting on The Black Album and it is, so there. Possibly Hov's most iconic track, and surely his most requested one during live performances, "PSA" took on a life of its own, cranking up the already other worldly levels of lyrical finesse. The production is almost as legendary as the lyrical content, Just Blaze blessing us with what would turn out to be a classic. On the album, it served as a transition between the more heavy, guitar-fueled "99 Problems" and the more soulful-feeling "Justify My Thug", but it ended up being so much more.