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It’s not easy to make a great song, but any self-respecting rapper has to be able to spit a hot 16. Nowadays when a rapper puts out a project the first question everyone wants to ask is, “Who’s featured on it?” Guest verses are a huge part of hip-hop: A great feature can start a career, resurrect one, and prove which rapper is really the hottest in the game (which inevitably leads to debates about who got murdered on their own shit). So after running through the Best Albums, Best Songs, and Best Rap Lines of 2012 to date, we felt it was only right for us to count down the 20 Best Guest Verses of 2012 (So Far). Our list includes veterans who found the fountain of youth, young artists who found a way to establish themselves, and one guy who's just giving away hits this year.
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20. Kanye West on Tony Williams' "Another You"
Album: Some Of My Best Rappers Are Friends
Producer: Bink!
Label: N/A
The World Famous Tony Williams—the R&B/soul crooner who made multiple appearances on Kanye West’s College Dropout—dropped this sultry snippet of “Another You.” Kanye’s fresh verse feels like he's kicking back near a fireplace serenading the girl of his dreams. Backed by Bink!’s warm guitar and organ backdrop, ‘Ye’s lyrics sound like a throwback to those soulful, romantic songs of yesteryear.
19. Juicy J on Wiz Khalifa's "My Favorite Song"
Album: Taylor Allderdice
Producer: Rob Holladay
Label: Rostrum/Atlantic
All doubts about Juicy J's affiliation with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang were dismissed after his appearance on the first release from Taylor Allderdice. Juicy has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity—and quality—that started with his Rubba Band Business mixtape series, and it seems as though his relationship with Khalifa has helped fan that flame. They share an ostentatious nature and materialistic charisma that makes for an uncanny chemistry on collaborative tracks. As soon as Wiz finishes bragging about running up his tab in the club, Juicy J comes in to the complement the story with tales of intoxication and girl-stealing in the same venue. These guys should blow $30,000 together more often.
18. Lil Reese on Chief Keef's "I Don't Like"
Album: Back From The Dead
Producer: Young Chop
Label: N/A
This verse alone got Lil Reese signed to Def Jam. The first three minutes of Keef's best known song are filled with muddled aggression and contempt, and Reese follows suit with what feels like an equally threatening, but more passive approach. "Broski got the .30, he ain't tryna fight," he warns, with a nonchalance evocative of the murderous climate of his and Keef's hometown, Chicago. "Fredo in the cut, that's a scary sight," another nod to someone besides himself willing to cause physical harm, became the record's signature lyric, even spawning T-shirts. "I Don't Like" is addictively monotonous, but Reese's verse was just the break listeners needed to get this song over the hump into mainstream recognition.
17. Drake on 2 Chainz's "No Lie"
Album: Based on a TRU Story
Producer: Mike Will Made It
Label: Def Jam
As he's done so many times this year, Drake steals the show on this single from 2 Chainz's solo debut. It's moments like these when you realize how unbelievably comfortable the Toronto rapper is with himself and his current place in the hip-hop landscape. Talk of his success never makes him seem unrelatable, either. When he raps "Forbes list like every year, my office is my tour bus" the last half of the line humanizes the fantasy-laden financial boasts we so often hear from rappers. Even Drake's escapades with A-list women are personalized when he speaks of them bringing food over to his home and "acting up" just like less famous ladies do. It all makes for a fun, outlandish verse that remains pleasantly grounded thanks to all the intricate details.
16. Bun B on Killer Mike's "Big Beast"
Album: R.A.P. Music
Producer: El-P
Label: Williams Street
Bun B is one of the most dependable go-to guest MCs in the game. But even by his high standards, Bun's work on "Big Beast" is remarkable. In the space of 16 bars he takes us from getting schooled to the G-code "at a very young age" to the stresses that come with running the block. "A hater wanna catch you slipping," he raps. "Try to be a Jordan, but settle for a Pippen." T.I. also turns in a hot feature on this record, but Bun's is the one. You can't argue with a verse that ends like this: "Player, I ain't even tripping, but I don't really care/Cause my pistol's in your face, so put your hands in the air."
15. Drake on Meek Mill's "Amen"
Album: Dreamchasers 2
Producer: KeY Wane
Label: Maybach Music Group
Our first glimpse of Meek Mill’s major label debut Dreams And Nightmares, "Amen" lays out a gospel-clapping, organ-laced piano loop for Drake to take us to church. Drizzy shows off his next-level hustling skills, ("Just bought my niggas some cane, so much it came with a plane") and advises us to get that money up rather than worrying about Twitter followers. Preach.
14. Rick Ross on Nas' "Accident Murderers"
Album: Life Is Good
Producer: No I.D.
Label: Def Jam
Rick Ross isn't quite the guest feature king that he was even a year or two ago—which is perfectly understandable. The Bawse is on that quality-over-quanity tip, which is no more evident than on Nas' killer (no pun) Life Is Good cut "Accident Murderers." Backed by No I.D.'s rich organ textures and some choral vocals, Rozay shows us that he hasn't forgotten how to straight spit. Delivering one of his more lucid and straight-up impressive verses, he switches from his more methodical flow to one that's even more technically advanced—and damn near steals the show from Esco.
13. Schoolboy Q on Childish Gambino's "Unnecessary"
Album: Royalty
Producer: Childish Gambino
Label: N/A
Schoolboy Q hopped on Gambino's mixtape cut to remind folks that he's not listening to anyone's damn advice. "They say 'Don’t buy the belt' and I got it/ They say 'Don’t get the Rollie' and I bought it/Nigga, I’m balling," he raps. Now that he's getting the recognition he's always wanted and the cash to match, he's good.
12. Danny Brown on Ab Soul's "Terrorist Threats"
Album: Control System
Producer: Dave Free (of Digi+Phonics)
Label: TDE
When you have a hook featuring the line "extra pills, EXTRA PILLS" delivered with near-cartoonish anxiety, you damn well better have Danny Brown on your track. And, as expected, he doesn't just "show up" on Ab-Soul's "Terrorist Threats"; he rips the airy, albeit booming, beat to shreds. It's a guest verse brimming with Brown's trademark animated style, ridiculous wordplay, and enough internal rhyming for 100 bars. It's also one of his most socially aware pieces to date, rhyming together thoughts like "Got a n***a in the streets, no health care/Tryna slang weed just to put shoes on his feet/So fuck you, you don’t give a fuck about me/Can’t get a job cause they drug test me."
11. 2 Chainz on Nicki Minaj's "Beez In The Trap"
Album: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
Producer: Kenoe
Label: Young Money
Chainz officially made the jump to mega-stardom right around the time he was featured on the hottest single off NIcki's sophomore album. It's the first time we've ever heard the word "Doohickey" in a rap verse before—and probably also the first time anybody ever told NIcki he would put it in her kidney.
10. Meek Mill on DJ Drama's "My Moment"
Album: Quality Street Music
Producer: T-Minus
Label: E1 Music
When it comes to crafting certified street bangers, Meek Mill has been on a hot streak lately. He’s been putting in work with the guest verses too, shining especially bright on DJ Drama’s “My Moment.” Verse two doesn’t only talk about Meek’s swag, but his struggles and success in the rap game. These are probably the most emphatic Meek bars we've heard thus far.
9. Kendrick Lamar on Ab Soul's "Black Lip Bastard (Remix)"
Album: Control System
Producer: Willie B (of Digi+Phonics)
Label: TDE
As strong as Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock's verses are on this Black Hippy tour-de-force, Kendrick Lamar's demented track-opening verse is untouchable, uncrushable. "Even falling off I land on the ass of Nicki Minaj," he raps with reckless abandon. "Eat that pink pussy like it's Friday/Bust one, Roman Reload, then smoke to Sade." But that's not all. K. Dot also lets Rihanna know how much her needs her too—or her vagina at least.
8. Big Sean on Meek Mill's "Burn"
Album: Dreamchasers 2
Producer: Jahlil Beats
Label: Maybach Music Group
While "Amen" is the bigger, more popular record on Meek's epic Dreamchasers 2 tape, "Burn" features the better raps, thanks mostly to Sean's witty rhymes. "And to all the hoes that was dissin'/ I pray to God that you see me," he spits. "I'm on a yacht gettin' hella high/ Smoking good/That seaweed." Anchors aweigh!
7. A$AP Rocky on Schoolboy Q's "Hands On The Wheel"
Album: Habits & Contradictions
Producer: The Best Kept Secret
Label: TDE
A$AP Rocky is on a higher level than these other rappers. Don't believe it? Life for SBQ is "just weed and brew." And sure, Rocky's got a 40 and some weed, but he squeezes way more substances into his nimble but swagged-out 16: "Got the purple drink, got the yellow drink" (aka Pikachu—shout to the Pokemon posse) then comes "a little bit of" crack, dope, smoke, coke, weed, pills, E, shrooms, and deuce. But we all know Rocky's real pursuit of happiness: "the illest, trillest bitches."
6. Drake on French Montana's "Pop That"
Album: Excuse My French
Producer: Anthony Lee
Label: Bad Boy/Interscope
One of the things that separates Drake from other MCs is that he's giving you real-life raps with each bar. Sometimes they're about heartbreak and sadness, other times they're all about stunting. Here, it's the latter. "Fuck 'back then'/ We the shit right now/Dropped Take Care, bought a muthafuckin' crib/ And I'm pickin up the keys to the bitch right now," he spits. And you can actually read about his new crib in GQ. When you do it like Drizzy, rhyme pays.
5. 2 Chainz on Rick Ross' "Fuck'Em"
Album: Rich Forever
Producer: Academy Productionz
Label: Maybach Music Group/Def Jam/Warner Bros.
Chainz brought in the new year right on Rozay's Rich Forever tape. And though this cut—saying later to the haters—was overshadowed by the monster single "Stay Schemin'," Tity 2 did get off on this one. "Chain cost a coupe/Coupe cost a crib," he begins on his verse. "What you know about walking in the Gucci store and they salute?" Not a damn thing.
4. Diddy on Future's "Same Damn Time (Remix)"
Album: Pluto
Producer: Sonny Digital
Label: Epic
A few years back, when everyone thought Diddy's rapping career was down for the count, he hopped on Waka Flocka Flame's "O Let's Do It (Remix)" and totally spit one of the best verses of that year. Puff picks up where he left off on the "Same Damn Time (Remix)," spitting obnoxious and outlandish rhymes that he owns because, well, he's Diddy and he can do whatever the fuck he wants.
3. Gunplay on Kendrick Lamar's "Cartoons and Cereal"
Album: good kid, m.A.A.d city
Producer: THC
Label: TDE
We can't believe it either. We never thought we'd see the day we listed Gunplay this high on a list like this. But you can't argue with the music. Don Logan basically redefined his career with one verse. We'd heard Gunplay on plenty of Rick Ross tracks before, but his voice never sounded so strained or so weary as it did on "Cartoons and Cereal." He sounded like a man who's seen it all, lived to rap about it, and—as he says on the song—"Never had shit/Got lots to gain."
2. Nas on Rick Ross' "Triple Beam Dreams"
Album: Rich Forever
Producer: Justice League
Label: Maybach Music Group
Nas hasn't sounded this good (or this gutter) since the '90s. On "Triple Beam Dreams" Nasty weaves a street tale about his younger days as a disillusioned youth dazed by the glamour of Scarface who tried to sell drugs, only to realize he wasn't built for the streets ("I’m at it halfway, none of my customers are loyal"). This one 16 made it abundantly clear that Escobar season had returned.
1. Drake on Rick Ross' "Stay Schemin'"
Album: Rich Forever
Producer: The Beat Bully
Label: Maybach Music Group
We've already listed "Stay Schemin'" as the best song of the year, so you already know how we feel about it—but a lot of the song's impact had to do with Drake's incredible verse. In fact it just might be the best he's ever spit. After it was revealed that Common was dissing Drake on last year's "Sweet," Drake had to respond and it had to be good. Drake hopped on Rozay's track and kicked a verse suggesting that Common was only beefing for publicity and hinting that their rumored mutual flame Serena Williams revealed some of Com's darker secrets. Yet when he wandered off topic and onto the subject of Kobe Bryant's pending divorce he uttered the best rap line of the year.
