2021 Year End Lists Chapter 3: Top 10 Featured Rap Verses Of The Year
it's time for the list that's usually the most popular among the shorter bunch, almost entirely due to how much buzz anything hip hop related can attract online. Features are still a pretty big deal and they are normally one of the first pieces of promotional material leading to a new album or single. The shortlist this year wasn't as long as in years past but make no mistake, there were literally thousands of featured verses that people out there may consider when making a list like this. I certainly don't claim to have heard every single rap record released this year but I heard a LOT of them, and these were my favorite featured artists who gave memorable performances on someone else's song.
10. 21 Savage on J. Cole's my life
A few years ago J. Cole jumped on 21 Savage's song a lot for a standout feature on what became one of his most acclaimed and well known songs to date. So when it came time for Cole's newest album the pair linked up again and Savage returned the favor with an incredible slick verse on the back end of the albums standout track my life. While Cole's worldly bars and Morray's surprisingly chilling hook do a lot of good for the song, 21 Savage steals the show with his trademark blend of undeniably cool with cutthroat focus. Savage has all the tools to make the next spectacular rap album and he showed all the reasons why on this song.
9. Princess Nokia on Ashnikko's Slumber Party
If you're an unknown commodity to the world of hip hop, simply find someone who isn't. For her sensual lesbian pop rap anthem Ashnikko tapped Princess Nokia fresh off a unique and creative streak of rap albums. Her slick sexuality and direct vocal delivery are the perfect compliment to Nikko's messier more comedic stylings and they play off each other across the songs second verse and hook. Even with a relatively short performance Princess Nokia leaves an impact crater on the song and helps elevate it to one of the most notable pop anthems of the year.
8. MF DOOM on Your Old Droog's Dropout Boogie
Late last year it was announced that the world had lost one of its most creative rappers. As MF DOOM, DOOM, Viktor Vaughn, Madvillain, Dangerdoom, as a member of The KLF and other many other pseudonyms, Daniel Dumile deployed lyrical gymnastics like nobody else could. He showed off his trademark ability and narrative focus on Your Old Droog's lyrical attack on public school systems Dropout Boogie. The song is a pair of MCs showing off the unique way they can breathe life into their words with MF DOOM showing us exactly what the world will miss so much without him.
7. Earl Sweatshirt on Armand Hammer & The Alchemist's Falling Out The Sky
In 2021 Earl Sweatshirt brought his fans a pair of new songs, a revived social media prescence, a new album announcement, and a number of quality features. The best and most memorable of the bunch came on one of the most acclaimed underground rap albums of the year, Armand Hammer and The Alchemist's Haram. Earl gets the songs first verse right out the gate and handles the chilling beat with his typically raw and chilling vocals swaying back and forth over the classic samples. If you're familiar with Earl and Alchemist you know it's a match made in heaven and this is yet another effective entry into their combined catalog.
6. A$AP Rocky on Slowthai's Mazza
At first, breakout British grime parallel rapper Slowthai and cloud rap's captain of cool A$AP Rocky seem like a strange combination. Once you're deep into Mazza it all starts to make sense. Rocky has all the rockstar cool to match Slowthai's explosive and uncompromising sonic energy. They both deliver multi-faceted performances with Rocky pacing smooth refrains one time after another and Slowthai bringing the pubby chant-along bars we've come to expect from him. The talent on display is obvious and the duo lives up to exactly what you could hope from them.
5. JID on James Blake's Frozen
James Blake has a long history of making great collaborations with rappers. Names like RZA, Chance The Rapper, Vince Staples, Travis Scott and Andre 3000 have stepped onto his tracks and come out the other side with excellence. JID was the most recent addition to that list of great names on the fittingly icy track Frozen from Blake's most recent album. While James' own chilly vocals and dense isolating production style do a great job of setting the mood JID's lyrical versatility and unbreakable flow do the rest and the result is one of the most satisfying crossovers of either artists entire career.
4. CENSORED Dialogue on Backxwash's Terror Packets
Backxwash's incredible I Lie Here Buried With My Rings And My Dresses is full of standout moments but one spot that can go toe to toe with any of them is CENSORED Dialogue's explosive introduction to Terror Packets. CD's verse is an absolute wail of personal grief speaking to the pain of her personal experiences as a trans person and the vices she's forced to turn to. It's a more conventional style rap verse than much of what Backxwash performs on the record but it doesn't sacrifice an inch of emotional vulnerability along the way, serving as a great addition to one of the years most harrowing rap songs.
3. Danny Brown on Brockhampton's BUZZCUT
There's nobody like Danny Brown and there is nothing like the energy and eccentricity he can bring to a song. All of that means you better be ready to match Danny when you invite him onto a track and Brockhampton absolutely was. They threw it back to the zany bangers of their Saturation era with an explosive posse cut featuring verses that sound nothing alike, but somehow work together so well. Danny is hilarious, vocally unhinged in a good way and absolutely spectacular on the song
2. Jay Electronica on Kanye West's Jesus Lord
Kanye West's Donda was one of the most talked about albums of the year and it featured a diverse cast of rappers delivering heavily talked about features. Fivio Foreign, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, Baby Keem and Travis Scott all perform with massively varied results. But despite all this star power it's Jay Electronica right in the middle of the albums standout track that dwarfs all of them. Jay had a number of killer features in 2021 but living up to the grandiosity of Jesus Lord is his most impressive feat. The nearly 10 minute song approaches everything from the blissful blanket of religion to the harrowing depravity of the prison system and Jay Electronica manages to fit right in with his signature tight flows and effortless word bending. Fans waited a long time for Jay to finally capitalize on his enormous potential and in 2021 he continued to do so, look no further than his verse on this song for proof.
1. Mrs. Lauryn Hill on Nas' Nobody
It's been a long time since more people were talking about Lauryn Hill for her music than her controversy, Nobody changed that. All it took was one reminder of her immense talent as a vocalist and lyricist and one dash of her impeccable charm as a performer to remind the entire world why she has the reputation she does. Much like Nas has on his pair of Kings Disease albums, Lauryn takes a well deserved victory lap on her legacy and reputation as one of raps greatest ever crossover stars. But she hardly coasts on the track, in fact she turns in a performance that further establishes everything we already knew, she's absolutely one of a kind. Despite so much young talent in the hip hop world the veteran poise and style of Lauryn Hill still stood above everyone else this year, and that shouldn't surprise anybody.
Thanks for reading!
If you like hip hop you probably know a thing or two about production and might want to read my recap of the best produced music of 2021 here
Or you can check out Tyler's favorite album covers of the year here
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