Tuesday, August 23, 2011

[The Tens] 10 Hip Hop Collaborations Albums We Wish Would Happen




Now that Watch The Throne has brought our dreams of a super collaboration between Kanye West and Jay-Z into fruition, it has us now contemplating all of the possibilities for future collaborative efforts. After a lot of thought, TWV came up with ten hip-hop collaborations that we wish could somehow happen. Hopefully we spark up an idea for at least one of these to happen.


Andre 3000 & Cee-Lo (Produced By Organized Noize) – “Strange And Some Change”

This collaboration makes perfect sense. Both are Dungeon Family affiliated, are ATLiens, have out of this stratosphere talent and have questionable wardrobe choices. Wouldn’t it be great to hear these two rhyming alongside one another? It’s not like we haven’t heard it before. Remember “Git Up, Git Out,” “Thought Process” and “Black Ice?” Honestly, shouldn’t this have happened already?



Elzhi & Royce Da 5’9″ (Produced By J Dilla) – “Detroit”

These two Detroit representers are quite familiar with one another. ElZHi made mention that this project could possibly happen in the near future. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t. What would make it even more incredible is to have production from the late, great J Dilla. But if it were ever to come to fruition, we wouldn’t mind Black Milk anchoring the production.




Nas & Common (Produced By DJ Premier) – Stream Of Consciousness

“Ghetto Dreams” was a mere indication of what these two have the potential to do as a tandem. It would force them to not make lazy mainstream music as they would likely try to out-conscious one another. Put DJ Premier in the mix and you have one scary album that would raise your IQ 27 points after one listen.




Drake & Phonte (Produced By 9th Wonder) – Brutally Honest

Drake has always said his favorite rapper was Phonte Coleman. The two had never met when they dropped “Don’t You Got A Man” and “Think Good Thoughts.” Imagine what a full project from these two would be like with some beautiful 9th Wonder backdrops. Lots of honesty, sh*t talking, introspection and some really, really, incredible hooks.



Ice Cube & Kendrick Lamar (Produced By The Bomb Squad) – “California State Of Mind”

People have forgotten how much of a monster Ice Cube was in his heyday. Before all the TV shows and movie roles, this was the guy that dropped AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted and Death Certificate while also being the injections of both brash commentary and political consciousness for NWA. Kendrick Lamar is like a one man NWA. If we could go “Back To The Future” and send Kendrick to 1990 via Delorean, can you imagine the music these two could have made together? Cops would have been scared to beat Rodney Kings ass.



Lupe Fiasco & Black Thought (Produced By Madlib) – “Super Rappin’”

When you talk about two guys that can rap circles around just about everyone, Lupe Fiasco and Black Thought come to mind immediately. But let’s make this one interesting and throw the quirky soundscapes of Madlib into the mix and see what these two lyrical mad scientists could concoct. It would be mind numbing, rewind button punishing, “Damn, did he just say that,” hip-hop. Nobody would want to touch the mic they scarred.





Lil Wayne & Eminem (Produced By Just Blaze) – “Sober Thoughts”

It’s amazing how great these two have sounded since eliminating drugs from their respective lives. Both have been on a tear and not riffing off jibberish so we wouldn’t mind a collaborative effort with nothing but sober rhymes and dope beats. Two guys who can claim the “Best Rapper Alive” title might as well get on an album and try to out-rap the other. A batch of Just Blaze beats would most certainly cause the studio to burn down during every session.


Lauryn Hill & Jean Grae (Produced By The Roots) – “The Queen & The Sorceress”

First things first, this is meant to be the “old” Lauryn. Not that woman in clown makeup who performs every song at 273289 BPMs. The old Lauryn had no peer on the mic, much less a woman that could hold a candle to her. Jean Grae would have pushed L Boogie like no other. Two femme fatales who could rhyme about anything with a feminine point of view would completely redefine what women in rap should be. Not that body enhanced, poppy fluff that we’ve seen over the past decade or so. Real music. Damn good music.




Notorious B.I.G. & Big Pun (DJ Premier) – “Heavyweight Champions Of The World”

Words cannot say what would have happened if these two could have spent time in the booth together. It would have had to been a pretty big booth, but the greatness that would have come out of those sessions could have been of the jaw dropping variety. Mix in a little bit of Premo and hip-hop heads would have shed tears to hear this project.





Mos Def & Jay Electronica (Produced By DJ Hi-Tek) – “Nomads”

If we could find a way to make Jay Electronica sit down in one place and write rhymes while breaking Mos Def from his tendency to want to sing on every song, we might have something amazing here. Yes, they are supposed to drop that Center Edge Territory project a quarter past never, but these two with that good ol’ BlackStar DJ Hi-Tek could craft an album full of amazingness. Nothing more, nothing less.

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