The Complete History of Kanye West Guest Verses

On the heels of G.O.O.D. Music's Complex cover story, and previous intimate looks at Kanye West's personal career, we decided to go back and find all the songs Kanye’s breathed on that weren’t his own. Even today, with DJ Khaled's "I Wish You Would" and 2 Chainz's "Birthday Song" making their rounds, it's apparent that 'Ye has made just as much of a musical impact on other artists' records. From 1996 to 2012, across seemingly every genre, here's The Complete History of Kanye West Guest Verses.

Follow @ComplexMusic.

Album: Down To Earth
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Correct Records

Yup, that's a teenage Kanye spitting on the track. His verses aren't perfect, but there's certainly potential and it's more polished than some of his other early material.

Album: Changing The Game
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Relativity

We're not totally sure why Kanye made this song, but we're absolutely sure why he didn't make this song. "This ain't a song I made for ugly hoes to start approaching me," he explains.

Album: J.E. Heartbreak
Producer: Jermaine Dupri
Label: So So Def/Columbia

Around the turn of the millenium, Jagged Edge was on top of the R&B game with a little help from Jermaine Dupri. For their 2000 single "Let's Get Married" J.E tapped a young Kanye West for the remix. In his verse, 'Ye talks about planning his wedding and making sure that Jagged Edge will be the wedding band. Well, 12 years later we're hoping that if Kanye and Kim tie the knot Kanye will keep his promise. Let's get a hashtag going or something to make sure that happens.

Album: N/A
Producer: Absolut
Label: 4 The Soul

Collaborating with fellow Chicagoans Abstract Mindstate, Kanye and the duo kick rhymes about their love for their hometown. While this is not a spectacular song, it's always interesting to hear a young 'Ye use rhymes that would later be featured on his own hit songs.

Album: The Blueprint
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Roc-A-Fella

It's pretty much an accepted fact that The Blueprint is a masterpiece. Kanye West's production work played a huge part in Hova's success with the album; five of his beats are on The Blueprint. West even raps the hook on "Never Change."

Album: Quality
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Rawkus/UMVD

'Ye handled hook duty for this star-studded track that also featured Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch and Talib Kweli. "We come through and all the shorties like, 'Who dat?'" Kanye raps. Don't worry, Kanye. They all know now.

Album: The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
Producer: Timbaland
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam

“The Bounce” was Kanye’s first appearance as a rapper on any Roc-A-Fella release. The feature was quite understated, as the new kid from Chicago was only given a few bars on a record that was tacked onto the end of disc one on The Blueprint 2. If you blinked, you might’ve missed it. Never one to shun an opportunity, Kanye took this feature in stride, kicking an inspired verse that sounded more Bacdafucup than College Dropout.

While you might not have been sold on Kanye (or Kayne, as you probably pronounced it at the time) as a rapper, there’s no denying he had a few quotables: “Chi-Town Go-Gettin’ pimps, we mobsters/Gingerbread Man even said, ‘You’re a monster.’” However, you’re lying if you say you predicted these two would make an entire album together 10 years later.

Album: Dame Dash Presents: Dream Team
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Roc-A-Fella

Can Dame Dash talk his shit again? Of course he can! This early 'Ye cut finds the Roc's CEO boasting about Kanye's rapping skills: "He's the producer on the Roc, he rap better than most rappers!" It's funny to think back to the days when Yeezy wasn't taken seriously as a rapper, and it's important to remember that it was Dame Dash who believed in him from the start.

Album: The Great Chicago Fire: A Cold Day in Hell
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Bungalo

Frequently miscredited as a Kanye West song, “Wouldn’t You Like To Ride” actually belongs to spoken-word artist Malik Yusef. The Chi-Town poet is best known for his interludes on Common albums, but dropped a solid debut in 2003 with The Great Chicago Fire: A Cold Day In Hell. The album featured Common and Yeezy’s first collaboration since their drunken freestyle battle in 1996.

The track featured the patented Yeezy chipmunk soul that first put him on the map, and came with a low-budget video from Coodie & Chike, which was shot in the back of a rented limo. Malik, who won a Grammy for his writing on “All of the Lights,” is still actively working with Kanye and will be contributing to the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music album.

Album: Don't Quit Your Day Job
Producer: Kanye West
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Columbia

Consequence has had a long, complex, and confusing career and "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly" might be the best song to come out of it. While 'Quence carries his weight Kanye runs away with the track. He's responsible for the beat, a wonderful example of the soul sample style which helped make him famous, the hook, and the record's best verse. "Good morning to um, I don't remember your name/But I remember the brain, here go a 'fin' for the train."

The track later turned on on Cons' debut album in 2007.

Album: Quality
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Rawkus

Talib Kweli was an early Kanye West supporter. So much, in fact, that he tapped Yeezy (who was still pretty much unknown) to tour with him in 2002. He also snagged a few Yeezy beats for his Quality album. The standout of the bunch was “Get By,” which took on a life of its own, and became Kweli’s most commercially successful record to date. In turn, it commanded an all-star remix. High profile names like Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Kanye joined backpack rap’s poster boy to create one of New York’s best posse cuts. Naturally, it was a huge look for Kanye.

Album: The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
Producer: The Neptunes
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam

If two versions weren’t already enough, Kanye threw his hat in the ring for his own rendition of “La La La (Excuse Me Miss Again)”—complete with his own verse tacked on the end. Pharrell’s version of “La La La” was hard-hitting and aggressive, and Kanye's remake was every bit as enthralling.

While Yeezy’s straight-to-mixtape version didn’t get the glossy video treatment that Pharrell’s did, 'Ye was able to fly under the radar and take playful jabs at Big Brother’s boo Beyoncé (whose relationship with Jay was still somewhat "unofficial" at the time): “So you take the Destiny’s Child girl in the coupe/And I’ma try to bag the ones that got kicked out the group.”

Album: Kamikaze
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Atlantic

What began as a Twista album interlude featuring Jamie Foxx doing a stand-up comedy bit turned into the biggest hit of Twista's career and a catalyst for Chicago hip-hop's come-up in the mid-Aughts. "Slow Jamz" almost didn't happen for a number of reasons: missed deadlines, lost hard drives, etc.—but when it hit, it hit hard.

The first No. 1 single for all three artists, “Slow Jamz” was hugely important for Twista, who'd been in label limbo at Atlantic and hadn't released an album in seven years when “Slow Jamz” pushed Kamikaze to double-platinum status.

But while Twista received top-billing on the record, arguably the song’s biggest star was producer-turned-rapper, Kanye West. Having trouble understanding Twista’s tongue-twisting lyrics? Well, the new kid with the Midwestern charm made his own sing-songy verse easy to follow. Despite its mellow tempo, “Slow Jamz” shot to the top of the charts and every party playlist—and all three artists have had viable music careers since.

Album: No Grey Area
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Icee Records

In 2004, a rapper by the name of White Boy from Rockford, IL was one of the luckiest new artists in the industry. He’d competed in and won a rap contest held by Chicago radio station 107.5 WGCI, and the purse was a single produced by and featuring Kanye West. 'Ye was red hot coming off the heels of College Dropout, and he hand-delivered White Boy a sure-shot single featuring a then-unknown John Legend and Belo from Do or Die.

The contest was run by the largest urban radio station in the market, so it basically guaranteed airplay—and boy, did it get spins. While the record was basically considered a Kanye West song ('Ye did the beat, hook and first verse), it did give White Boy the one and only hit of his short career.

Album: The Mixtape Messiah
Producer: Chamillionaire, O.G. Ron C
Label: Chamillitary

Kanye pinched the first verse and hook from his collaboration with Germany's Melbeatz. Maybe he was thinking that since people hadn't heard of Melbeatz no one would notice. Don't worry Kanye, we won't tell.

Album: Kiss of Death
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Ruff Ryders/Interscope

We're not sure if Kanye was telling the truth when he said lines like "My apologies, are you into astrology/Cause, um, im trying to make it to Uranus" were in fact "Don Juan game," but we kind of wish Kanye had recycled that peculiar gem on Katy Perry's "E.T."

Album: Kamikaze
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Atlantic

As Twista points out in the beginning of the song, the two Chicagoans did it again. By the second single off of Kamikaze album, the chemistry between Twista and 'Ye was at its peak. Even though he's only featured on the hook, Kanye managed to drop some clever lines and some knowledge. Amber Rose might be able to attest to the truth behind Kanye's powers.

Album: Take ‘Em To The Cleaners
Producer: 9th Wonder
Label: Sure Shot Recordings

Kanye, Consequence, and Phonte and Big Pooh of Little Brother all went in over a standout 9th Wonder beat. Kanye decides that this is the forum to air out his problems with overweight women, and he makes some good points: "How she order all that food and a motherfuckin' diet Coke?"

Album: Damita Jo
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Virgin

Janet already had multiple Billboard hits, world tours, and millions of records sold, while Kanye, fresh off The College Dropout, was just starting a career that seemed destined for greatness. Yeezy quickly gained acclaim as a fashion trendsetter throughout the decade, and with bars like, "This my first Rolex, it don't even be tickin'/This my first pair of earrings I can wear in the shower, without them clouding up in half an hour," this record was Kanye's Swag 101 course.

Album: Confessions
Producer: Jermaine Dupri
Label: LaFace/Arista

If you cast Kanye West as a confidant, you're definitely going to strike gold. Did you get your side chick pregnant? Let 'Ye help you out. It worked on this remix.

Album: DJ Whoo Kid: BET Awards '05
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Shadyville Entertainment

Yet another criminally unreleased track. While Carl Thomas sounds apologetic, Kanye is anything but. Peep this Ye'ism: "Who's to blame for all these fights/When you ain't always wrong, I'm just always right."

Album: The Rest is History
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Ruff Ryders/Virgin

"See, we the next generation of this rap game," Jin says in the beginning of this song. We suppose he was half correct, since 'Ye killed the hook here and went on to an illustrious career. But it's sad that Jin didn't choose this as his first single instead of that awful "Learn Chinese" song.

Album: Virtuosity
Producer: CHOPS
Label: L.A. Hill Records

This is a great example of pre-Dropout Kanye. Collaborating with the CHOPS from the Mountain Boys, 'Ye spits a verse that's quite familiar to those that poured over to debut album. The first few bars of his verse, "I drove to New York with ten dollars to my name/Brought back a couple platinum plaques on the plane," refers to the story he told during "Last Call" and he even uses the "Miracle Whip" line from the same song.

Album: Neighborhood Watch
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Capitol

At the time, Kanye could bless Jigga with hits like “Encore,” then turn around and give “Get By” to Talib Kweli. He was the happy medium between backpack and commercial rap, and his work offended neither side.

On "This Way," he overshadowed the verses of both Evidence and Rakaa, but also gave the West Coast trio their first and only Billboard Hot 100 hit, and offered one of the best observations ever featured on a rap song: “I don’t know what’s better, gettin’ laid or gettin’ paid/I just know when I’m gettin’ one the other’s gettin’ away.”

Album: Take ‘Em To The Cleaners
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Sure Shot Recordings

The amount of music that these two pumped out before the relationship turned sour is ridiculous. With John Legend on the vocals and holding down a verse, this is G.O.O.D. Music before there offically was G.O.O.D. music. While 'Ye and 'Quence come through with solid verses, Legend shines too, singing, "I know you gotta lot of stress today/Let's hit the party like we just got paid." Sounds good to us.

Album: Detroit Deli (A Taste of Detroit)
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Capitol

Perhaps the best of Ye's 2004 collaborations was the assist he tossed Slum Village on “Selfish.” Kanye came through with arguably the best cut of their post-Dilla career, but not before stealing the show with his hilariously cocky bars: “From the Polo fleece, to the Jesus piece/I got family in high places like Jesus’ niece/Can I please, say my piece/If y’all fresh to death, then I’m deceased.”

Album: N/A
Producer: Boola
Label: Roc-A-Fella

While the Rell thing never happened, he did leave us with this monster, on which Kanye was clearly the star. Flipping Phife’s verse and delivery from “Electric Relaxation,” Ye dropped hilarious lines like: “We showed you on 'Champions' how we get down/So don’t twist your lips up like Bobby Brown” and “I ain’t have to stay in class/To figure out R&B niggas get all the ass."

Album: Take 'Em To The Cleaners
Producer: A-Plus
Label: Sure Shot Recordings

Once 'Ye moved to NYC, he tracked Cons down and they began banging out music together. The two fast friends had a penchant for flipping classic rap records and making them their own. On “03 ‘Til” they took a stab at the Souls of Mischief smash.

Album: Dwele
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Virgin

Yeezy’s clever contribution name-dropped a whole slew of print mags—some shuttered, some still in print. All categories were mentioned, even obscure adult books: “I’m feelin’ her Vibe, her Body & Soul/I heard she stay in a Metropolitan Home/Well let’s kill all the polyin’/I offered you a Cosmopolitan/Let’s Jet out the club and get some Oxygen.”

Album: Purple Haze
Producer: Kanye West, Brian Miller
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam

Although he only did the hook, Kanye gave Cam one of his best beats ever. Cam laid down three dope verses and the song became a high point in the two MCs' up-and-down relationship.

Album: Afrodisiac
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Atlantic

When Kanye said, "There's no wrong way to do you know what," he wasn't lying. 'Ye has rapped numerous verses about the fairer sex, and they've all been on point. "Talk About Our Love," released shortly after his debut album hit shelves, was the one of the first of many hit verses dedicated to women. Humor and blatant truth always does the trick.

Album: Take 'Em To The Cleaners
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Sure Shot Recordings

We know Kanye to be a true player, but in this collabo with Consequence it seems like he's on the verge of settling down. In his pre-Autotune sing-songy flow, 'Ye's thinking about wedding dresses and name changes even though his boys are trying to persuade him otherwise. C'mon Yeezy, reconsider! Read some literature on the subject.

Album: Rapper's Delight
Producer: Melbeatz & Kool Savas
Label: Optik Records

A running theme in Kanye's music over the years has been his conflicted feelings towards women, straddling the line between trying to settle down and continuing to have fun with the ones he might not talk to the next day. On German artist Melbeatz's "Oh Oh," Kanye toed that line early, stating "Sometimes I want to say fuck my bitch/But I don't want nobody to fuck my bitch/Even if a modeling chick sucked my dick." For such an obscure collaboration, this is actually a great song.

Album: The Way It Is
Producer: Kanye West
Label: A&M

Kanye West is the kind of guy who demands attention. So when he says that he's "on the track, by the way" near the beginning of the song, you know you ought to move your hand away from the fast forward button. West doesn't spit a verse on the song, but his ad-libs are welcomed on any track. Sometimes presence is all you need.

Album: Take 'Em To The Cleaners
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Sure Shot Recordings

This slept-on track from Consequence's mixtape has the two MCs trading verses about the accepted fact that ballin' ain't easy. Sometimes you gotta take it as a loss, but this track is a win.

Album: Welcome Back
Producer: The Movement
Label: Bad Boy

It’s no secret that Ma$e was once Kanye’s favorite rapper. After all, some of his first major placements as a producer were on Betha’s Harlem World compilation. So when a reformed Ma$e announced his return to the rap game in the summer of 2004, Kanye—who was the hottest new thing in music—just had to get involved. While Kanye didn’t make the Welcome Back album, he did bless Betha with a better-than-the-original remix, complete with a new Yeezy verse.

Not a bit intimidated by his idol, Kanye showed up M-A-Dollar on his own track, attacking the remix like he had a point to prove: “Round the same time Nas said ‘I Can’/Bush was sending our fam to Iran/I’m the club with Henny, ass in my other hand/Lord, please forgive me, I am just a man.” It left many wondering why we needed Ma$e if the understudy was better than the teacher.

Album: Take 'Em To The Cleaners
Producer: Baby Paul
Label: Sure Shot Recordings

A good host makes sure everybody in the party is happy, and Kanye does just that. On one hand, Mr. West backs up Consequence on the hook as he spits about crime and the ever-corrupt police. Yeezy makes sure listeners, especially the ladies, aren't tuned out by 'Quence's realism in the call-and-response second half of the chorus. It's like Cons says on the hook: "This one's for everybody."

Album: Nothing To Lose
Producer: Kanye West
Label: N/A

Unfortunately, Bump’s deal didn’t work out and Nothing to Lose was shelved indefinitely, but that’s not before Kanye gave Bump some of the better beats from The College Dropout-era. “Pusha Man” featured and was produced by 'Ye, who gave Bump a crazy verse that finally addressed the most frequent mistake of Kanye’s early career: “I’m Kanye not Kayne, but to you, I’m Rick James, bitch.”

Despite Bump’s current legal situation, 'Ye still finds time to shout out his homie, most recently on Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like (Remix)” with: “Free Bump J, real nigga for life.”

Fun Fact: Many of Ye and Bump’s collaborations were recorded and spearheaded by Kanye’s righthand man IBN JASPER, a mutual friend of both parties.

Album: Be
Producer: Kanye West
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen

As Kanye's fame continued to rise, the MC joined fellow Chicago native Common and John Legend to vent his feelings about outside opinions on him over this smooth track. Not only did 'Ye use "antihistamine" in a rhyme, he also poked fun at what the rest of the world was saying about him. "They say because of the fame and stardom/I'm somewhere in between the church and insane asylum/I guess it's messing with my health then/And this verse so crazy when I finish I'm just gon' check myself in, again"

Album: D.O.D.
Producer: Kanye West
Label: The Legion/Atlantic

Kanye doesn't always need to takeover when he's on the track; he can sit back and set the mood, as well. Mr. West does just that on "Higher" as his sultry sample sets the mood as Do or Die spits. But on the hook, Kanye still throws in his confidence through that aphrodisiac of a beat: "Now when you hear this song you know it's on baby girl." Once again, he's right.

Album: The Hip-Hop Violinist
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Universal

Miri Ben-Ari is a classically trained hip-hop violinist, while Kanye West is a musician who has been open about his classical influences. So "Fly Away" sounded like a match made in heaven. West addresses his imperfections and temptations on this track, while summing up his appeal in a few lines" "I went platinum and I don't rap guns/My diamonds is whiter then Michael Jackson's."

Album: Get Lifted
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Sony

On this cut from Legend's debut album, West lets his girl know that he's the reason she's the envy of all her friends. "I keep you in 'Girl, what is those on your toes?'" Kanye brags. So she's got no reason to think he's time or money is being spent elsewhere.

Album: Be
Producer: Kanye West
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen

Whenever you have two of Chi-Town's finest emcees on one track, it's pretty much a guarantee that you're going to have a banger. Case in point: "The Corner." Common flexes his storytelling muscle, while the ever-prophetic Last Poets join in to deliver depth to the desolation that's being describe. Kanye is at his most gritty on this song's hook. He may not be able to give us the feeling, but he comes pretty damn close.

Album: Unpredictable
Producer: Mike City
Label: J

Kanye sets the mood in some of his guest appearances, but other times he can just waltz into the track and turn it up if he sees fit. Take "Extravaganza" for instance. Jamie Foxx is melodramatically singing about one-night stands until 'Ye comes in, steals the show, and casually indulges himself with one short verse. Light work.

Album: Get In Where You Fit In
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Young Gunz Media

Ye might hold the coveted record of being the first in hip-hop to referenceT.J. Maxx when he hopped on the remix to the now defunct Young Gunz' "Grown Men" and dropped a verse addressing a common topic in all of his raps: women.

Album: Be
Producer: Kanye West
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen

Remember when you first heard Common and Kanye premiere “The Food” on the second season of The Chappelle Show? Internet bulletin boards and forums were going apeshit over the record, which successfully brought Common and Chicago’s savior, Kanye West, together for a second time. In fact, it was the first time an mp3 was ripped from a TV show and circulated on file-sharing sites.

The song wasn’t a traditional Com and Kan collabo, though. Com kicked his typical South Side lit, while Ye instead hosted hook duties and sung his contribution—reminiscent of Nas on “Street Dreams.” The record was soothing and soulful, so no one seemed to notice that Kanye wasn’t rapping. However, it did give us hints that Kanye had aspirations to be a singer too, something he later explored on 808s & Heartbreak.

Album: D.O.D.
Producer: Kanye West
Label: The Legion/Atlantic

Shitting on haters is another one of Kanye's fortes. He's spitting a light introductory verse for Do or Die here, but he still finds enough space to take shots at his adversaries. Plus, to add insult to injury, he's doing it over a tightly-produced beat that he made. West is winning again while "your team pissed like urine."

Album: Be
Producer: Kanye West
Label: G.O.O.D Music/Geffen

Kanye's vocal work here is light. Between John Mayers "Go" coos, he asks listeners to "run right back to your fantasy." Still, it's appreciated.

Album: Blue Collar
Producer: Kanye West
Label: J/Allido Records

Rhymefest held his own on this track, but Kanye absolutely murdered it. 'Ye dropped some of his illest one liners ever like "I make black history every day, I don't need a month" and "And I'm still the motherfucker you love to hate/But can't, because you love what I make." And don't feel bad for Rhymefest, anybody would have been left carrying Kanye's luggage on this song.

Album: Most Known Unknown
Producer: DJ Paul, Juicy J
Label: Sony BMG

A year after declaring "George Bush doesn't care about black people" but a few years before Swiftgate, Yeezy rhymed, "A&Rs used to turn their head from side to side/Now I get on TV and do whatever I decide." True.

Album: My Ghetto Report Card
Producer: Lil Jon
Label: Warner Bros./BME/Sick Wid It Records

Remember 2006 when getting 27 people on your remix was the shit? Yeah, we're trying to forget too. Still, a relic of that era was this remix, released at the height of the hyphy movement, that found Yeezy rhyming alongside the great Earl Stevens. The verse wasn't all that, nor was the remix in general, but it was still nice to see game recognize game.

Album: Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City
Producer: Xtreme
Label: Def Jam

Let’s face it, Ghostface’s commercial first single attempts have always been somewhat suspect. The Carl Thomas record? The Missy joint? They weren’t awful, they just never worked. Despite the previous false starts, Def Jam returned to the well yet again, with the Ne-Yo-assisted “Back Like That,” which served as the first single from Fishscale.

“Back Like That” wasn’t bad—but it was missing something. So Def Jam did the logical thing and called up Pretty Toney’s labelmate, Kanye West, to aid and assist on the remix. Kanye (who was in Japan, sidebar) talked like sex on the record, threatening to put Eva Mendes to sleep and spoke of girls who “ordered the Kobe beef like Shaquille O’Neal.” This remix was done the player way.

Album: Hip-Hop is Dead
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Columbia/Def Jam

Kanye holds his own alongside one of his idols here, chronicling a nightmarish tale of a cheating man who now has to face the wrath of wifey. "Make it so cold that you gotta pull your mink out," 'Ye says of her vibe now. That's chilly.

Album: Blue Collar
Producer: Cool & Dre
Label: J/Allido Records

Even though Kanye is only on the hook, "More" is another chapter in the rich history of collaboration between the two Chi-Town brethren. The Kanye hook and Cool & Dre beat make the record sound good, but the real value to the track lies in the absolute truths that Rhymefest is dropping. Whether he's talking about R.Kelly's mistakes, the advantages of safe sex, or the perils of gang life 'Fest is a smart dude and that comes through on this track.

Album: In My Mind
Producer: Pharrell
Label: Star-Trek/Interscope

A collaboration between two icons will always have high expectations and "Number One" more than lives up to the hype. Over a beat the two producers worked on together, P and 'Ye muse a certain special someone. Kanye even steals a page out of Tom Cruise's book: "Yesterday I was half the man you see Baby that's because you the other half of me." 'Ye got game.

Album: Doctor's Advocate
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Geffen

Continuing his vendetta against gold-digging women, Kanye laced The Game with a dope verse and beat for the hit off his 2006 album Doctor's Advocate. Always the honest man, 'Ye explains that even though he knows the video vixens are only in it for the fame and money he will still partake. But c'mon, honestly ask yourself, "Would you be with Jay-Z if he wasn't C-E-O? Would you be with F-A-B-O if he drove a Neo?Would you ride with Ne-Yo, if he was in a Geo?" Listen to Kanye and look deep inside yourself, you might be as trifflin' as the rest of them.

Album: The Professional 3
Producer: DJ Clue
Label: Desert Storm/Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam

Trading verses with Fabolous on this cut from DJ Clue's third album, Kanye gets his stunt on, switching up his flows every couple of bars, even pulling off a Jamaican accent for a couple lines as he states "The dreads said to rap on every-ting/Cause he know that I snap on every-ting." It might not be the best attempt at an accent, but it gets the point across.

Album: B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story
Producer: Swizz Beatz
Label: Full Surface/Ruff Ryders/J Records

In the summer of 2007 Cassidy's "My Drank and My 2 Step" was scorching hot, so it was only right that Kanye hopped on the remix. Joined by Ne-Yo, Kanye spits about getting drunk and his first pack of (extra large) condoms. Also a line from this verse, "they taste level ain't at my waist level," was reused by 'Ye on Mercy. Usually we'd get on his case for recycling lines but both verses are hot so what are we to do?

Album: Epiphany
Producer: T-Pain
Label: Nappy Boy, Konvict, Jive

"Drank" was a smash, still one of Pain's biggest to date. And the smash got even better when a slew of big-timers hopped on it to kick some rhymes. West opened, clowing a chick trying to tsand out. "She be standing there/'Cause there's cameras," he starts. "Trying to show your legs off/You ain't Amerie." Ha!

Album: Finding Forever
Producer: Kanye West
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen

Fresh off their success of Common's comeback album, Be, Ye and Com joined forces again for "Southside," a dedication to the part of Chicago where both artists were raised. Com sounded reinvigorated, spitting, "The broads, the cars, the Half Moons, the Stars/I'm like Jeff Fort the way I get behind bars." Filledwith Chi-Town gang lore, "Southside" included shout-outs and name-drops to many of the Chi's finest, including PsychoDrama and Crucial Conflict, who, ironically, are from the Westside. The song was all Chi-Town, though. Common and Ye went crazy on this one.

Album: Can't Tell Me Nothing
Producer: Stargate
Label: Def Jam

Ne-Yo's "Because of You" was a hit that reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007. Although it was clearly a strong song on its own, Kanye came through with a verse that filled in the track's small cracks. Mr. West is riding through the solar system for this fly girl ("Looks so good with your 6-inch heels/Fly shit that you be on Gucci on") while Ne-Yo is still a sprung as ever. All in all, it's another choice cut from the Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape.

Album: Ultraviolet
Producer: A-Trak
Label: Universal Republic

When this track dropped in 2007, you probably wondered who the hell was Kid Sister? Who cares! This record was hot. As the story goes, Kanye heard the original version of “Pro Nails” through his then-DJ A-Trak, who’d just begun dating Kid Sister. Kanye loved the record so much, he immediately offered up a free verse, and placed it on his 2007 mixtape, Can’t Tell Me Nothin. Kid Sis was from Chicago and was the real life kid sister of Flosstradamus’ J2K, so it was a full-fledged Chi-Town family affair.

Sure, the Project Pat sample was great, but Kanye took it to another level with his jammin’ verse about pedicures, tricking off in the strip club, and being on Concrete Loop in his pajamas.

Album: Shine
Producer: will.i.am
Label: Atlantic

Setting out to break his new artist, Estelle, in 2004, John Legend was hit with the biggest alley-oop ever when Kanye decided to jump on her single “American Boy.” He contributed not one but two verses—a big look from one of the most popular rappers in history.

The will.i.am backdrop gave Yeezy a smooth and airy canvas, on which he stunted about being an international playboy, and selling out floor seats across the globe. The chemistry between Ye and Estelle was evident, making this her biggest single to date.

Album: The Recession
Producer: Drumma Boy
Label: Def Jam

Yeah, this was a Jeezy record, but let’s keep it all the way real—it belonged to Yeezy. Dusting off the Auto-Tune skills he’d tinkered with on College Dropout, Kanye finally broke his silence about his late Mother, Donda West, as well as speaking on the perils of success. It was lonely at the top, and now felt more alone than ever.

Kanye was also addressing his fellow Chicagoans on the verse. Chicago is often referred to as Haterville or the City of Hella Haters, so when residents began to take shots at Ye for no longer showing love to his hometown, he had to speak up.

Some on the Chicago scene believed that Kanye had ignored the talent in the Chi in favor of artists in other regions, and took his moves to LA and NY as a diss to the city that bred him. Kanye didn’t take this talk lightly—and he had to get a few things off his chest. On this song he professed that he “put on everybody that I knew from the ‘Go” and that he still puts on for his city “every night.” Just because he was no longer home didn’t mean he wasn’t representing.

Stream On Spotify

Naledge and Double-O let 'Ye hop on this Just Blaze-produced beat and do his thing. Kanye speaks about smoking a little of that sticky stuff and gold teeth.

Album: N/A
Producer: Sa Ra
Label: G.O.O.D. Music

Fonzworth Bentley was that dude by the late '00s. Diddy's former assistant had appeared in many music videos as that dancing extra who just happened to know how to dress well. In 2008, he was hosting MTV reality show G's to Gents and getting ready to release his solo album, C.O.L.O.U.R.S(Cool Outrageous Brothers Of Uniquely Raw Style).

It's first single, "Everybody" featured Andre 3000 spitting another sharp verse and Mr. West playing the soul brother on the hook. While C.O.L.O.U.R.S didn't come out until 2011, "Everybody" gave us a thowback jam that had a progressive Kanye having fun and going back to his soulful roots.

Album: Paper Trail
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Grand Hustle/Atlantic

In 2008, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T.I were arguably the four hottest MCs in the game. The grouping of this fearsome foursome on “Swagga Like Us” was a giant middle finger to the rest of the industry—a “we da best” moment, if you will.

Kanye not only verbally attacked the track, but also produced the “Paper Planes”–sampling monster, making his claim of “Swagger is Mick Jagger” an actual fact.

Luckily “Swagga” felt more like a traditional posse cut than one of those emailed posse cuts—it sounded like these four genuinely enjoyed sharing mic time together. The song did, however, give us hip-hop's most overused buzzword since “bling bling.” But watching them perform the song live at the Grammy Awards alongside a very pregnant M.I.A. made it all worthwhile.

Album: Category F5
Producer: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, No I.D.
Label: Get Money Gang/EMI Records

One of the longstanding debates in Chicago rap circles has been: Whose production makes Twista sound better, the Legendary Traxster or Kanye West? Kanye gave Twista a more commercial sound, while Trax brings that gutter West Side music out of the fastest rapper in the game.

After Kanye and Twist made a huge splash in 2004 with Yeezy’s contributions to Kamikaze, their joints together were few and far between. They had a few records here and there, but didn’t get their groove back until 2009’s “Alright.” “Alright” was a last-minute inclusion to Twista’s seventh album, Category F5. Ye was unable to complete the track in time for the initial pressing, so it was included as a digital bonus track. Unfortunately, a lot of people missed it for that reason. It stands as one of their best—if not their very best—collaborations. Plus Kanye’s verse was gnarly.

Album: In a Perfect World..
Producer: Danja
Label: Mosley/Zone 4

“Knock You Down” finds Kanye entangled in a bizarro love triangle with the smokin’ hot Keri Hilson and—well—Ne-Yo. With Kanye playing the protagonist, he dubs himself a nerdly class clown fighting for the affection of Hilson, who typically dates the football star. We’re still not sure where Ne-Yo fits in here, but we went along with it.

Kanye’s cleverly crafted verse helped “Knocks You Down” become a radio smash. Yeezy delivered one of his favorite rapping patterns, building a few lines based around a famous name. Tthis time it was the Jacksons: “This is bad, real bad/Michael Jackson/Now I’m mad, real mad/Joe Jackson.” The song eventually went double platinum and hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Album: Deeper Than Rap
Producer: J.U.S.T.I.C.E League
Label: Maybach Music Group/MMG/Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam

As Rozay came of age on his third album, Deeper Than Rap, he made quite the splash with the all-star posse cut, “Maybach Music 2” featuring T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Martin Louis The King, Jr. Over a lush Justice League instrumental, the group crafted an almost perfect record, but it was Yeezy’s colorful verse that stole the show.

His stunting on “Maybach Music 2” was next level: “So all the shit you talkin, dead. Coffin/ Light the weed. Coughin’/New crib. Loftin’/ Where it’s at? Austin/Where is that? Texas/What’s in front? Benzes?/ What else? Lexus/Now whose Maybach is this? Mr. West’s.”

Album: Man on the Moon: The End of Days
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Dream-On/G.O.O.D Music/Universal Motown

Over a brilliant flip of Lady Gaga’s worldwide smash “Poker face,” the good fellas at G.O.O.D. Music took one pop hit and turned it into another one. Produced by and featuring Ye, “Make Her Say” was originally titled “I Poke Her Face,” but the title was changed for obvious reasons. That was a good call on the label's part, because “Make Her Say” went on to be a radio hit, and led to both Cudi and Kanye touring with Gaga (kind of).

Kanye rapped about poking the faces of younger women—but not before checking ID first. “Born in 88/How old is that? Old enough.” Gotta be safe, right?

Album: The Blueprint 3
Producer: Kanye West, No I.D.
Label: Roc Nation/Atlantic

The Blueprint 3 was a statement album. Jay was pushing 40, and still proclaiming he was the best. To prove his point, he needed his best ally, Kanye West. Showcasing the new sound Kanye created with No I.D., “Run This Town” marked the second time Jay-Z would get murdered on his own shit. Advantage: Kanye.

The song would hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and win two Grammys. Jay and Ye also set a new trend for “all back everything,” and the song’s lyrics and ominous video fueled talk that Jay and Ye were card-carrying members of the Illuminati. Can't a brother just wear a pentagram in peace? “Run This Town” also made it hard out here for a Rav-4 driver. Jay-Z may have killed throwbacks, but Yeezy definitely put the toe tag on the Toyota SUV. R.I.P.

Album: H.F.M. 2
Producer: Cardiak
Label: G-Unit/EMI

“Start It Up” began as a record with just Lloyd Banks and Fabolous—it was going to be an 11th-hour entry for his Hunger For More 2project. But after Kanye West tweeted that Banks was “underrated,” the trajectory of the track changed completely.

Twitter went crazy with Kanye’s tweet, and within a few hours Lloyd and Kanye were in the lab together. Twenty-four hours later, the track went from being a two-piece to featuring Kanye, Ryan Leslie and Swizz Beatz, who were all in NYC at the time. “Start It Up” wasn’t released as a single, but it garnered radio play almost instantly, and later charted on Billboard.

That just goes to show how massive Kanye’s influence is. The song would’ve been dope sans Ye, but it turned into a hit once he blessed it. “The first album I vomited/The second I colonic’d it/Ain't nobody fucking with me, I plutonic’d it”—all such claims are validated here.