What’s better than having one artist drop a whole album? A collab, obviously! These types of joint projects have been gaining popularity within the hip hop genre. Who wouldn’t want to hear their favorite rappers drop a soundtrack together? As a huge fan of the genre myself, I’ve gone through my collection and hand picked a few faves. Let’s get into it!
Without Warning
“Without Warning” is the works of 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin, and almost every song is a hit. It dropped October 31st, 2017 and it is an homage to themes of Halloween. They reference Halloween movies such as “Nightmare on Elm Street”, brag about killing people, and include excerpts of scary Halloween music. It’s as if 21 and Offset are the killers in a scary movie, and they are the stars of the show. 21 and Offset have this cool tone to their voices, but their flows balance each other out. I love a good 21 Savage number, but my favorite track is “Ric Flair Drip”, with just Offset and Metro Boomin. It has a catchy beat that’s easy to follow along with. You’re guaranteed to see everyone bopping their heads to this song at a party.
Pluto x Baby Pluto
Whenever Uzi and Future drop a feature together, you know the song is going to be a hit. So it was no surprise when they announced they were dropping a whole list of tracks together. This has to be one of my favorite collab albums, but I’m a little biased because I’m a Lil Uzi superfan. These two have such interesting voices so I love when they put them together. They have such a cool friendship – it’s as if Future is Uzi’s mentor and you can feel the chemistry through the project. Future has always called himself “Pluto” as Uzi just recently named himself “Baby Pluto”. Their voices parallel each other, with Future’s cool tones and Uzi’s hyper and upbeat verses.
What a Time to be Alive
I know, another album with Future. But if you weren’t listening to this album freshman year, what were you doing? Iconic anthems like “Jumpman” and “Big Rings” came from this album that we know, love, and still listen to today. Drake and Future recorded these pieces in just six days, and they still managed to create multiple top hit tracks. With two of the best rappers announcing a collaboration, who wouldn’t want to listen to this release? Many people who listened to this album say the songs are underwhelming and it was obvious the project was done quickly. But to me, it’s iconic, and will always have a place in my heart.
REVENGE OF THE DREAMERS III
REVENGE OF THE DREAMERS is a series of albums that J Cole produced with the musicians under his record label, DREAMVILLE. His most recent installation of this album is the most popular because he uses features from other rappers that aren’t part of the record label, such as DaBaby and Kendrick Lamar. A total of thirty-four artists make an appearance on this album. Although J Cole didn’t really like the idea of doing features, he liked the idea of being part of something with so many people.
DRIP HARDER
This partnership project with Lil Baby and Gunna started out strong with the single “Drip Too Hard”. I remember when this song came out, I could not escape it on any radio station. But I wasn’t really mad about it. They rap effortlessly together, and I feel like that’s what makes their duo music so captivating. They cover a wide range of sounds, from slow jams like “Close Friends” to fast-paced ones like “Never Recover”.
So now I impose the question: is two, or three, or thirty-four, better than one? To me, the quantity doesn’t really matter. It’s more about the songs themselves. But I would never turn down an iconic collective mashup. When the singers can highlight their differences while being able to mash them together, it can make for a hit song.
