[The Tens] 10 Greatest Collaborative Hip Hop Albums Of All Time
With “Watch The Throne” being branded as a possible classic, TWV takes a look back of some of the best collaborative albums in hip-hop. Can Jay and ‘Ye beat out these projects?
We’ve got a few rules though: The collaboration would have to happen with two established artists who have released solo albums in the past (which means Talib Kweli & Mos Def , Public Enemy, Reflection Eternal, OutKast, Blu & Exile can’t make the list due to this criteria). A producer who handles all of the production for a single artist also counts as a collaborative effort. The TWV staff fought tooth and nail over some of these, while a few others barely missed making the list (you can vote on which one most deserves to be on this list below). So, without further adieu (and in no particular order)….
umm where the hell is black star?
thats what i thought right away….n f doom, rippin off his fans at shows, really? to cyanide, the holocaust was great…not the album, just playin if that worked thered be no soul kahn, soul like kahn is a free album n was a classic go get it
I was just thinking that as well I was like Talib and Mos Def so be at here lol
^^^THIS^^^
blackstar….outkast…reflection eternal..ericb&rakim…public enemy…blackstar def need to be on this list..u can make arguments for the others saying as they made their name together as a group…but your talking about 2 individuals coming together after they have already made their name in hiphop…blackstar have to be on here
wasn’t blackstarr a group? reflection eternal i think would be considered a collabo.
Blu and Ezile Below the heavens is a classic.
agreed!
Yeah, Below The Heavens > Everything on the list, easily.
Yes it is. One of the best albums in the past 10 years.
I can’t believe they left Blu & Exile off the list. Ruins the whole list. Same goes for Felt.
aceyalone / rjd2 magnificent city was good.
Blackstar should definitely have been up there. And Reflection Eternal as well.
I was amazed to not see Black Star on this.
Blackstar & Reflection Eternal tops everything on this list and imo Covert Coup > every single thing on this list as well. Honestly though OB4CL should be counted as a collab-album since Ghost appeared on almost every track and even had a solo track on it (Wisdom Body).
You saying Covert Coup is better than everything listed is like saying the new steak place down the street is better than Morton’s, The Prime Rib & Ruth Chris. Sure Covert Coup is a great album, but it’s not even better than the Gangrene album, and that’s not touch ANY of the albums listed above.
Wu Massacre was dope, Westside Connection made some noise and Four Horseman underground joint was peace. Keith Murray and Cannibus’s Undergodz go hard, Dungeon Family album had it’s moments as well, Boot Camp Click’s first album was ok too. dead prez and Outlawz was piece and there is just too many KRS joints that should be on here from his project with Showbiz to Hip Hop Lives with Marley Marl, Meta Historical with True Master and Survival Skillz with Buckshot, I know I’m missing some.
Deltron 3030 – Del the Funky Homosapien + Dan the Automator
Dr. Octagonecologyst – Kool Keith + Dan the Automator
Dr. Dooom – Kool Keith + Kutmasta Kurt
The Show – eMC (Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Punchline, Stricklin)
Uzi Does It – Get Busy Committe (Apathy, Ryu, Scoop Deville)
The Undisputed Truth – Brother Ali + Ant
Shadows on the Sun – Brother Ali + Ant
US – Brother Ali + Ant (do these count? Technically, Ant and Brother Ali already had full-length releases before ever working together, so…)
Random Axe – Black Milk + Sean Price + Guilty Simpson
CALTroit – Bishop Lamont + Black Milk
Rip the Jacker – Canibus + Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind
La Coka Nostra – Ill Bill + DJ Lethal + Everlast + Danny Boy + Slaine
These I feel are all at least worthy of being Runner-Ups. Aside from these, there are lesser team-ups like Canibus + Keith Murray as Undergods or KRS-One + (Buckshot, or Marley Marl, or Bumpy Knuckles), Ill Bill + DJ Muggs, Slaine + DJ Muggs, Planet Asia + DJ Muggs…etc. Since you’ve got lesser projects like Return of the Mac and Liberation and Death of a Pop Star and Chemistry (really? top ten?) on here, ya might as well include EVERY collab ever created.
No disrespect, but this list feels very incomplete and limited.
it saddens to not see what should really be considered the best collaborative effort of this decade in Hip-Hop, KRS-One and Marley Marl – Hip Hop Lives, that was a fuckin masterpiece and set the bar for collabo’s on albums to be cool again, i’m not sayin it like it was the 1st album to do that but look how popular that shit got after them 2 drop’d that album
Oh damn, forgot two of my favorites (due to the INCREDIBLE production):
The Holocaust – Holocaust + Blue Sky Black Death
Razah’s Ladder – Hell Razah + Blue Sky Black Death
Oh and how could i forget Westside Connection! Mack 10, WC, and Ice Cube were established before forming that. Bow Down should be on here.
I agree. This list is dumb. Who ever made it must have started listening to Hip Hop in the 2000′s.
While I understand why groups like Mobb Deep (Rap duo) or Atmosphere (Rapper producer combo) or even Bone Brothers (which is really just a truncated version of Bone Thugs N Harmony) don’t count, do the Clipse albums Lord Willin’ and Hell Hath No Fury count? The Clipse first album was Lost Audio Footage and they hadn’t teamed up with The Neptunes at that point yet and Clipse doesn’t technically count The Neptunes as members, so in a way, those two albums ARE collaborations (but admittedly, Clipse weren’t very “established” yet)
Come to think of it, why isn’t Momma Said Knock You Out on here? That’s a certifiable classic featuring two well-established artists, LL Cool J and Marley Marl.
Edit: My mistake about Exclusive Audio Footage. It was produced by the Neptunes.
This list is trash
this list seems too rookie, like someone just discovered Hip-Hop last week and did that list, some of those are GROUP albums not collaborative so half of its incorrect based on that, and Cyanide Castro good call there i prefer that list, Rip The Jacker and Caltroit are top 10 worthy, also Random Axe and Uzi Does It tho they’re both groups, don’t get me wrong most the mention’d albums are GOOD if not great but not even a quarter of them should be on the ALL TIME list, not even close, this site oughta do its research 1st
EMC – The Show
Masta Ace and ED OG = A&E…..DOPE ASS ALBUM!
Return of the Mac absolutely should’ve been on there. Its funny how Pitchfork’s Hip-Hop hating asses gave it more props than the actual Hip-Hop music critics. Grimey NYC sampled-based rap at its finest.
I would have loved to see Soul Position “8 Million Stories”, Muggs & GZA “Grandmasters” & 9th & Jean “Jeanius” make the list with Gangrene’s album making honorable mention.
And some of you must be confused, Outkast, Clipse, Blackstar & Reflection Eternal are GROUPS, not really collaborative efforts.
I do whole heartily agree that Madvilliany may be the best underground album of all time.
black star isn’t a group. a tribe called quest, outkast, slaughterhouse, etc are a group.
black star and below the heavens should be on the list like illmatic on all-time rap albums.
COLLABORATIVE does not mean GROUP!
Than why is Slaughterhouse on the list?
10.Roc C & Soul Professa – SOULROC
09.LMNO & Mr. Brady – Banger Management
08.Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx – The eXXecution
07.Qwel & Maker – So Be It
06.Madlib & Guilty Simpson – OJ Simpson
05.AG & OC – Oasis
04.DJ Muggs vs GZA – Grandmasters
03.Cl Smooth & Pete Rock – The Main Ingredient
02.KRS-ONE & Buckshot – Survival Skills(bcuz of Lyrical contributions)
01.Raekwon(Ghostface) – Only Built For Cuban Linx
I am stunned and saddened that this comment is the first time on this entire page that DJ Quik & Kurupt’s collaborative album from 2009 is getting mentioned. It fits all the criteria and was significantly more solid than about half the list posted and the majority of the ones in the comments.
Yep BlaQKout was a dope album and one of my favourites in ’09.
Where’s Talib Kweli &DJ Hi-tek’s Reflection Eternal album!?!?!
deltron 3030 is missing; your list eats shit
Smiff & Wessun with Pete ROck? Freeway and Jake One? Bumpy Knuckles & Statik Selektah? WestSide Conection? Blu & Exile? Masta Ace & Ed OG (A&E)? The Grouch & Eligh?
Blu put out Lifted prior to Below The Heavens so it should definitely meet the criteria. As well, Phonte never had any solo material before Connected so having that in the list means Reflection Eternal should count as well. And Crooked I never “released” any actual albums before the Slaughterhouse formed. Not only that, it’s four guys not “two established artists.” Jaylib is two producers so that doesn’t really work either imo.
Blackout!
Murs 3:16
Madvillainy
St. Eleswhere
All great choices. However, Watch the Throne will likely shit on all of these upon release.
madvillainy and jaylib is definitely 1 and 2..
Gangrene was sick – OH NO & Alchemist
They’re right in not putting Black Starr not on here, they were a GROUP not two collective people coming together to make an album. Mos Def and Talib Kweli weren’t doing solo stuff before that.
Now, to not have Blu & Exile on the list is a different story, see they weren’t a group, that was a collaboration. That was probably the one of the best album in the past 10 years and I always say it’s hands down the most underrated album in Hip Hop history. I mean the way some people don’t even know who Blu is disturbs me!
Mos Def was in Urban Thermaol Dynamics before Black Star.
As I see it, the truth of the matter is there haven’t been very many dope collabo albums. This whole exercise is kinda pointless. I know it’s tempting to think about it in the wake of Watch The Throne, but how many of these collabo albums have really been worth a damn as yet? Many of them have been pretty good, but have any of them been worth remembering, let alone canonizing? Naw.
Don’t get me wrong. I mean, BI love Brother Ali, I love when Meth & Red link up, I love Starks & Shallah, and shoutout to Chaz ’cause Blaqkout is an amazing album, DJ Quik is one of the great rappers and one of the great producers, heads need to know. Plus my dude Castro did the nollij with mentions of Deltron 3030 and Dr .Octagon, I don’t really mess with them shits no more but that was an important era and it’s good to acknowledge it.
But the truth is we really haven’t seen that many inspired link-ups yet. The era when rappers (moslty past-their-prime ones) realize the value of momentous collabs and start doing team-ups has only really just begun, we don’t have much to go on now. It should be interesting to see what happens in the future, but we don’t have much to celebrate yet.
I definitely ride for The Foreign Exchange tho, even though their R&B records are probably better, Connected is cool. And I don’t really think of Below The Heavens as a link-up like that, they felt like a unit, but I co-sign the chorus that says that’s a goddamn classic. What a rap album!
Oh yo, salute Marco Polo! I don’t really fuck with the rappers he picks to work with but both The Exxecution and especially Double Barrel were on point anyway. Hopefully his new record with Hannibal Stax will be the trill shit.
EDO G & Masta Ace- A&E
Paris & Public Enemy- Rebirth Of A Nation
Mos Def & Talib Kweli- Blackstarr
KRS ONE & Buckshot- Survival Skills
Hi Tek & Talib Kweli- Reflection Eternal
KRS ONE & Freddie Foxxx- Royalty Check
GURU’s Jazzmatazz- Vol 1 Jazzmatazz, Vol 2 The New Reality, Vol 3 StreetSoul
KRS ONE & Marley Marl- Hiphop Lives
Dead Prez & Outlawz – Can’t Sell Dope Forever
Boot Camp Click & Outlawz- One Nation
Paris- Hard Truth Soldiers