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Five Times Rappers Collaborated with Artists Who Influenced Hip Hop
Hip Hop stands out as a genre that proudly pays homage to and embraces the genres that shaped our sound. While initially heavily influenced by Disco, the music evolved to incorporate Funk, Jazz, among others genres. Criticism from outsiders increased as it gained popularity and Gangsta and Mafiaso Rap emerged as leading subgenres.
The stigma about the culture did not stop a host of predecessors from embracing and collaborating with the younger artists. In this piece we will take a look at five instances where the figures who influenced Hip Hop collaborated with rappers.
George Clinton- Can’t C Me (2Pac)
George Clinton known as the front man for Parliament and Funkadelic opened up one of Pac’s most known album cuts by giving 2Pac his blessings to carry the P-Funk torch. Dr. Dre drops an upbeat funk sampled beat as George performs the hooks and adlibs. Near the end of the track, he went back and forth with Pac before ending it with a 90 second outro that is just as funky as his Parliament and Funkadelic work.
George Clinton- Synthesizer (Outkast)
George provides a few adlibs as Andre 3000 kicks off the track. On the second verse he kicked a verse that’s reminiscent of the cosmic heavy P-Funk mythology story lines. He seemingly held a scattered conversation of adlibs during Andre’s proceeding verse and jumped back in for the fourth, and final verse. The final verse brought home the theme of how synthetic (or fake) forces are weakening us, as he croons about web cam sex.
Last Poets- The Corner (Common)
The Last Poets formed in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park and has featured several lineups since 1968. Member Umar Bin Hassan appeared on the track and video off Common’s classic, Be. In between the chorus and verses, Umar shouted rhymes straight from the poetry sessions and street corners where he honed his craft. Most notably he spit, The corner was our magic, our music, our politics…Power to the people, Black power, Black is beautiful!
