I realized Jay-Z hasn't a big solo hit. As in a hit without a feature on it. The last single that was big which was just him. Was Show Me What You Got in 06. The rest all had featured rappers or singers on them. Eminem has only had a few too without features or singers.
Do you prefer rappers solo? or rappers with lots of features? i feel like the features thing is getting crazy. Every album has 8-10 guest spots on it
Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen
Jay has almost always had features, even in the prime of his career his singles were things like "Can I Get A" with Ja Rule, "I Just Wanna Love U" with Pharrell, "Big Pimpin" with UGK....... Blueprint was the one album where there was no features except the Eminem feature on Renegade, all the singles from that record were Jay solo..... but that album is mostly the exception and not the rule.
Jay has almost always had features, even in the prime of his career his singles were things like "Can I Get A" with Ja Rule, "I Just Wanna Love U" with Pharrell, "Big Pimpin" with UGK..... Blueprint was the one album where there was no features except the Eminem feature on Renegade, all the singles from that record were Jay solo..... but that album is mostly the exception and not the rule.
Hard Knock Life ... his breakout hit was him alone.
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
Jay has almost always had features, even in the prime of his career his singles were things like "Can I Get A" with Ja Rule, "I Just Wanna Love U" with Pharrell, "Big Pimpin" with UGK....... Blueprint was the one album where there was no features except the Eminem feature on Renegade, all the singles from that record were Jay solo..... but that album is mostly the exception and not the rule.
Hard Knock Life ... his breakout hit was him alone.
True.
But that was actually his 13th single. 7 of those singles had features on.
Jay has almost always had features, even in the prime of his career his singles were things like "Can I Get A" with Ja Rule, "I Just Wanna Love U" with Pharrell, "Big Pimpin" with UGK....... Blueprint was the one album where there was no features except the Eminem feature on Renegade, all the singles from that record were Jay solo..... but that album is mostly the exception and not the rule.
That's always bugged me about Jay. He is always full of features... i mean Kanye is too. But even on The College Dropout. Kanye had solo hits with Jesus Walk & Through The Wire. Which were all him. And some of his other biggest hits (Stronger, Love Lockdown, Heartless, Power) were just him solo.
Public Enemy & Run-DMC didn't have many features. At least in their prime era.
Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen
You should not consider features a weakness. It actually takes a certain kind of talent to collaborate well with others without smothering their styles.
And besides, he had plenty solo hits "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" "99 Problems" "Encore" "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" "Show Me What You Got" "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)"
You should not consider features a weakness. It actually takes a certain kind of talent to collaborate well with others without smothering their styles.
And besides, he had plenty solo hits "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" "99 Problems" "Encore" "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" "Show Me What You Got" "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)"
I Just Wanna Love U isn't really a solo hit, because Pharrell sings the chorus.
You should not consider features a weakness. It actually takes a certain kind of talent to collaborate well with others without smothering their styles.
And besides, he had plenty solo hits "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" "99 Problems" "Encore" "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" "Show Me What You Got" "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)"
Encore wasn't a hit unless you count his collab with Linkin park. Roc Boys didn't even reach top 40. And as Militant mentioned IJWLY had Pharell on chorus. 99 Problems, Izzo and Hard Knock Life for sure. Show Me What You Got... i always forget that song. I haven't heard it played anywhere since i was in 10th grade
Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen
You should not consider features a weakness. It actually takes a certain kind of talent to collaborate well with others without smothering their styles.
And besides, he had plenty solo hits "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" "99 Problems" "Encore" "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" "Show Me What You Got" "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)"
I Just Wanna Love U isn't really a solo hit, because Pharrell sings the chorus.
Pharrell didn't have a verse. All he sung was "Give It To Me" and also Memphis Bleek is on the chorus also.
But I wouldn't call that a feature, compared to "Money, Cash, Hoes" which featured 16's from DMX or "Ain't No Nigga" with heavy features from Foxy Brown.
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
I Just Wanna Love U isn't really a solo hit, because Pharrell sings the chorus.
Pharrell didn't have a verse. All he sung was "Give It To Me" and also Memphis Bleek is on the chorus also.
But I wouldn't call that a feature, compared to "Money, Cash, Hoes" which featured 16's from DMX or "Ain't No Nigga" with heavy features from Foxy Brown.
He sang more than that.
"I'm a hustler baby, I just want to you know, it ain't where I've been, but where I'm about to go
Now I just wanna love ya! but be who I am, but with all this cash, you'll forget your man
Now give it 2 me... but don't bullshit me"
That's the hook. Comes in before anything else in the song and again repeated at the end. How is that NOT a feature? lol. Hell, Pharrell did the beat too. It's even more his song than Jay's! He also sings that bit:
"Can't deny me, why would you want to You need me, why don't you try me Baby you want to, believe me"
Pharrell didn't have a verse. All he sung was "Give It To Me" and also Memphis Bleek is on the chorus also.
But I wouldn't call that a feature, compared to "Money, Cash, Hoes" which featured 16's from DMX or "Ain't No Nigga" with heavy features from Foxy Brown.
He sang more than that.
"I'm a hustler baby, I just want to you know, it ain't where I've been, but where I'm about to go
Now I just wanna love ya! but be who I am, but with all this cash, you'll forget your man
Now give it 2 me... but don't bullshit me"
That's the hook. Comes in before anything else in the song and again repeated at the end. How is that NOT a feature? lol. Hell, Pharrell did the beat too. It's even more his song than Jay's! He also sings that bit:
"Can't deny me, why would you want to You need me, why don't you try me Baby you want to, believe me"
Somone singing a hook on a rap song is different than a rapper spitting a verse, IMO. When you get two or more rapper together, on the same song they're usually battling trying to get the best verse. No so much with a singer and a rapper.
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
The "featured" artist on hip-hop tracks has always been around, yet it didn't really take off until around the mid-1990's. Most of the early hip-hop tracks didn't need featured artists because most of the early tracks were by hip-hop groups, so multiple rappers within the group would do a verse on each track. Even the early albums by LL Cool J and 2Pac were primarily solo efforts. It wasn't until Dr. Dre released The Chronic and P Diddy started producing for his Bad Boy labelmates that the featured artists began appearing on hip-hop tracks in earnest, and when Mariah Carey had a huge remix hit of "Fantasy" with Ol' Dirty Bastard, that opened the floodgates and made it safe for pop artists to have hip-hop artists featured on their tracks and vice versa.
Since I'm only now starting to redevelop an interest in hip hop after 20-something years of being over it, I have only very limited knowledge of what's been out there. I do have to say, though, that all these collaborations devalue the showcase of a single artist's talent, in my mind. They're OK from time to time, but I like the idea of an emcee whose voice and bars are so commanding that they can seize a listener's attention for an entire track all by themselves.
These days there are no huge hits without features and heavy reliance on samples.
Bring me back to the days of two turntables and a microphone.
"Never let nasty stalkers disrespect you. They start shit, you finish it. Go down to their level, that's the only way they'll understand. You have to handle things yourself."
I think the overreliance on collaborations is just a lazy way of creating a hit for a cross over audience. Either they use a famous or upcoming rapper or a pop artist with a tacked on pop hook. Hip hop artists used to create their own hooks. A track like Black Sheep's "The Choice is Yours" is a fully realized song with a melody, a hook, and a bridge. And its all done with samples, drum machine, and a voice. There was no need for a pop singer or another rapper. Most of todays rappers just throw a verse on a beat. No effort is made to create a full song that lives and breathes.
This whole thing started with Method Man and Mary J Blige on All I Need. The first time was inspired now it so hopelessly played out. That song came out almost 20 years and they're still doing it.
These days there are no huge hits without features and heavy reliance on samples.
Bring me back to the days of two turntables and a microphone.
But those turntables played nothing but samples.
True! What I meant was a heavy reliance on samples from songs previously recorded by other artists.
"Never let nasty stalkers disrespect you. They start shit, you finish it. Go down to their level, that's the only way they'll understand. You have to handle things yourself."
Oh geez, I read Rappers with Huge Tits that don't have features...
So as not to disappoint ...
"Never let nasty stalkers disrespect you. They start shit, you finish it. Go down to their level, that's the only way they'll understand. You have to handle things yourself."
I realized Jay-Z hasn't a big solo hit. As in a hit without a feature on it. The last single that was big which was just him. Was Show Me What You Got in 06. The rest all had featured rappers or singers on them. Eminem has only had a few too without features or singers.
Do you prefer rappers solo? or rappers with lots of features? i feel like the features thing is getting crazy. Every album has 8-10 guest spots on it
You should not consider features a weakness. It actually takes a certain kind of talent to collaborate well with others without smothering their styles.
And besides, he had plenty solo hits "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" "99 Problems" "Encore" "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" "Show Me What You Got" "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)"
I'd go the other way.
The reason that these cats have so many features is because they can't carry a whole project on their own.
Not being particularly interested in rap music I find that most rap songs that I hear on the radio have perfectly nice hooks sung by the feature, which are unfortunately spoiled buy the incessant shouting of the main artist...
You should not consider features a weakness. It actually takes a certain kind of talent to collaborate well with others without smothering their styles.
And besides, he had plenty solo hits "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" "99 Problems" "Encore" "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" "Show Me What You Got" "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)"
I'd go the other way.
The reason that these cats have so many features is because they can't carry a whole project on their own.
I know what you mean but I don't think Jay-Z had a problem composing