Last Updated on 15/05/2022
These are the Top 5 feature artists in hip hop today. Find out about the spitters of the best rap verses in this in-depth exploration.
While collaboration between artists is not new in music, the feature verse has only achieved ubiquity with hip-hop’s capture of the modern mainstream, making the artists best at featuring on other’s tracks more influential than ever.
The feature is a certain type of collaboration, characterised by the power dynamic resulting from one artist appearing in a guest spot on another’s track. It is a fascinating commodity that derives its value from it promotional potency in how it can endorse or spotlight a track or artist. From Busta Rhymes’ breakout performance on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario” in the early 90s, the guest slot has come to be one of the most significant governing forces of growth, survival and success in the hip-hop ecosystem.
While an artist’s own material is ultimately what they are often judged on, these collaborative efforts can now carry a career. In the last year, we have seen DaBaby construct a pyramid of high profile (although admittedly fairly predictable) features that he has ascended for his lucrative spell in the sun, where he allegedly makes 100K per guest appearance. Simultaneously, DJ Khaled is sustaining the peak of a near-15 year career, releasing records consisting mostly of performances from an assembly of talented features – his latest, Father of Asahd, has a total of nearly 30 different credited vocalists in under an hour of run time.
Yet, it is the feature’s formidable capacity to add artistic value to a track that grants it this power; among other things, it can introduce an interesting lyrical perspective, switch up the energy of a track or complement an aesthetic. And the top feature artists make consistently compelling contributions wherever and whenever they appear. They display versatility and consistency over a lengthy period, often creating iconic hip-hop moments. But who are the best feature artists in hip-hop today?
5. Skepta.
The grime MC began manufacturing bars around 2005, going on to become a legend of UK rap through his involvement in some of grime’s most iconic rap battles of the late 00s and his position at the epicentre of the genre’s mainstream resurgence in the mid-2010s.
The idiosyncratic presence imposed on grime tracks such as “Don’t Get Rude” by JME or “Intensive Snares” by Plastician is huge; he induces an intense magnetism with his crisp delivery that is unparalleled. And, although grime’s mainstream relevance has faded marginally now, with the sounds of drill and trap sliding to the forefront, Skepta’s guest appearances have only become stronger. His icy charisma and precise flows scythe with satisfying steadiness through the blurry mist of psychedelic trap instrumentals on tracks like “Lean 4 Real” by Playboi Carti and “Praise The Lord (Da Shine)” by A$AP Rocky. His lyricism on these tracks is simple but effective, spitting aurally pleasing messages with choppy flows. Intelligent turns of perspective are also provided in some more recent features, demonstrating a versatility for topical as well as aesthetic contribution. For example, “Inglourious” by Slowthai exhibits a thematically complementary verse from Skepta, detailing how he deals with those who oppose his route to success, while his “Back to Basics” feature, with Headie One, illustrates some astute story telling.
A Skepta verse is one of the most unique propositions in the rap game, providing energy, space and a unique aesthetic, whilst bringing consistently intelligent and entertaining bars. On top of this, he has the historical credentials of consistency to back up his case as one of the best feature artists in hip-hop today.
4. Rapsody.
Rapsody is not the mainstream powerhouse some of the other features on this list are, but she is a dream of a feature for artists functioning in the field of conscious hip-hop.
She has a textbook technical delivery, and a formidable mood of careful and informed intent shadows every bar she skewers. Overwhelmingly, the gravity of the fresh perspective brought to each track shakes it. The most famous example is her feature on “Complexion (A Zulu Love)” by Kendrick Lamar, which is arguably not only the best feature on one of hip-hop’s finest albums but one of the most memorable in contemporary hip-hop. Stealing the show from Kendrick, she raps about recognising the greatness of, and consequently having pride in, her complexion and identity as a black woman. This is achieved via some elegant bars supported by slick use of linguistic devices:
“Yeah, baby, I’m conscious, ain’t no contest/ If you like it, I love it, all your earth tones been blessed”
Despite not churning out huge numbers of features, her consistent excellence over a long period really elevates her feature profile. Alongside the aforementioned feature, she shone alongside conscious deity Black Thought on “Dostoyevsky” in 2018, as well as providing a beautifully thoughtful closing verse on Ab-Soul’s “The Law”, among others. It will be intriguing to see who next capitalises on all she can offer as one of the best guest feature artists around.
3. Rick Ross.
While I have never really appreciated Ross’ own material, he is undeniably a top tier feature artist, with both obvious current-day prowess and longevity in his consistency.
More than anyone else on this list, he is a pure impact feature. His raspy, luxurious vocals, paired with the “M M M Maybach Music©” tag rising out of the instrumental, is guaranteed to get me gassed every time. He owns the beat, cruising in with an expansive cadence that effervesces the sense that he really has recorded each verse sprawled in the back of a dark woodgrain interior Maybach. This has made him the perfect feature for classy cuts like Pusha T’s “Hard Piano” in 2018 or this year’s “Scottie Beam” by Freddie Gibbs, while his consistently witty, flexful bars make him an essential foil for hype-merchants like Denzel Curry (on 2019’s “BIRDZ”).
To bolster his already bulging feature resume, he also boasts a classic guest verse to his name on Kanye’s ‘Devil in a New Dress’, which embodies his lavish confidence and exemplifies his dominant presence – “excess is just my character/ all black tux, ni**a shoes lavender”.
A legendary feature artist.
2. Anderson .Paak.
.Paak is simply one of the most versatile and talented vocalists in hip-hop (watch his NPR tiny desk concert for a peak at why), and is on a seriously impressive feature hot streak which renders him seriously unlucky not to be the number one pick (☹).
His features always inject a shot of emotion, drama or fun into a track, with his recognisable breathy delivery and a knack for striking up fantastic chemistry. His gorgeously sung chorus on Mac Miller’s “Dang” is simultaneously tender and funky, while also lending the perfect hook to Mac’s verses; it excellently exhibits his ability to croon. But .Paak can also rap – his two fiery verses on “More” by Flying Lotus construct a striking commentary on self-interest, as he rides Fly-Lo’s dark instrumental with sizzling flair. This versatility is also faultlessly exemplified on 2019’s “RNP” with YBN Cordae, one of the most entertaining tracks of last year, as he smoothly transitions between the rhythmic and the melodic, while maintaining a sweet harmony of light-hearted banter with Cordae.
There is a reason why he is one of the most in demand names in hip-hop right now – a talented singer and rapper, as well as a proficient lyricist, his personality bursts from every appearance he makes across the breadth of hip-hop. He has been on fire for years now.
1. André 3000.
Originally one half of acclaimed Atlanta hip-hop duo ‘OutKast’, André 3000 has been widely considered one of the best feature artists around – ever since he began regularly contributing guest verses in the group’s relative inactivity.
The reason for this is pretty straightforward – he has consistently delivered ridiculously high quality and unique guest verses over a period of around 13 years and is still doing it today. With one of hip-hop’s most distinctive and enjoyable flows, emotive performances and thought-provoking messages, he masterfully constructs dream contributions. Admittedly, he is a less versatile feature artist than someone like .Paak, but his quality outweighs this slight limitation. He uses language and his fluctuant cadence masterfully to arouse powerful feeling.
One of the best verses last year is unquestionably his appearance on James Blake’s “Where’s the Catch” – a track about expecting things to go wrong even when all is peachy. André’s feature verse perfectly embodies this theme with a rhythmically nourishing verse that stutters and repeats, simulating an anxious dread of unknown disaster.
“Harmony, harmony, how many, how many/ Days of amazin’ will it be before it phases?”
Although even more famous still is André’s astoundingly intelligent appearance on Frank Ocean’s track “Pink Matter” from 2012’s Channel Orange – a relatively short contribution detailing his experiences after a break-up. In the first half of the verse, he laments his sacrifice and pain in a post-break up narrative before snapping himself out of his self-pity into a warm longing for his love interest instead. The thematic switch in the middle is relayed through a delicious, almost conversational section, which gives an impression of fatigue and a vulnerable self-consciousness in relaying his heartbroken struggle:
“Hopped into my car; drove far/ Far’s too close and I remember my memory’s no sharp/Butter knife, what a life, anyway/ I’m building y’all a clock, stop, what am I, Hemingway?”
Giving it a listen yourself is fully advised, but if you’re taking it from me the equilibrium struck with the amalgam of internal rhyme schemes and alliteration, making the phrasing lilt and huff, vividly displays the deflation of its author perfectly. It is really powerful writing, in what is a classic verse.
The number of truly mercurial André verses is vast though, with countless others of similar quality across a huge stretch of time. And, unlike some other titans of rap, this profile has been maintained into the present and it seems hopeful it will be in the near future too, with another potential, quality feature on a fresh Frank Ocean LP just around the corner.
If I could request one hip-hop artist in a feature verse on a track right now, André 3000 would undoubtedly be the first name on my lips.
Some honourable mentions of other impressive feature artists today, who all appear in our playlist below alongside our top 5, include:
- JPEGMAFIA
- J Cole
- Kendrick Lamar
- Sampha
- Black Thought
- Earl Sweatshirt
- Jorja Smith
- Lil Wayne
- Missy Elliot,
- Lil Uzi Vert
- 21 Savage
- Ravyn Lenae
- Kali Uchis
- Raekwon
- Slowthai
