10 Rapper/Producer Collaborative Albums That Need To Happen Right Now

With word that Nas and DJ Premier are doing an album together, we thought up more albums we'd love to hear.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Yesterday, we heard some news that made our inner-rap nerd geek out. DJ Premier claimed that he has a joint album with Nas in the works. As hardcore cynical rap fans, our natural reaction was to say, "Yeah right! We'll believe it when we see it!" Which is a pretty reasonable thing to do, since the idea of a Nas/Premier full-length project has been floating around for years.

In fact, the two memorably appeared on the cover of Scratch magazine together around 2005 with talks of doing said project. Of course, it not only failed to materialize but in the years since, Premier has done more songs with Christina Aguilera than he has with Nas. For all the talk of Nas and Premier's fabled relationship, they've only made nine songs together. Then again, those nine songs are like nine of the best Nas songs ever (including "New York State of Mind," the actual best Nas song ever). So if and when the album does come to fruition, we'll be dying to hear it. 

But the news got us thinking: What are the other dream collaboration albums we'd like to see? After all, there's no musical relationship more important than the one between artist and producer. (The most underrated is the one between artist and accountant.) So we thought up some duos we'd like to see lock in for a proper project. Here's 10 Rapper/Producer Albums That Need To Happen Right Now.

Written by Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin) & David Drake (@somanyshrimp)

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Nicki Minaj x Kanye West

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Nicki Minaj is one of hip-hop's most underrated rappers. Bar for bar, she should be considered in contention with the top two or three lyricists of her era. Her decision to "go pop"—in other words, to adapt to the more EDM-friendly sounds of the contemporary pop charts—was probably a necessary development in reaching her potential audience. But it has definitely made for more schizophrenic albums.

Try going from "Starships" to "Come on a Cone." Rather jarring!

Kanye West, on the other hand, is a big-picture thinker. His work is all about cohesion—even if, as on Yeezus, it was a very abstract kind of cohesion. Giving Nicki someone who could frame her work with some kind of greater vision would probably help her credibility with hip-hop heads. But it would also add a new tension into her work, allowing her to sidestep the pop/'real rap' trap she's found herself in recently. — David Drake

What it might sound like:

50 Cent x Rick Rubin

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Rick Rubin has had a pretty big year. He helped Kanye West realize his vision for Yeezus, he helped Eminem get his mojo back for "Berzerk" (who knows what else he can bring out of Em on MMLP2), and he slept on Jay Z's couch. For years, Rubin has been in the business of helping superstar acts like Johnny Cash get their swagger back. So why not help out 50 Cent? For one, 50 sure could use a damn hit. More importantly, in his prime 50 had a close relationship with luminaries like Dr. Dre, so Rubin is as good a replacement for Dre as we can think of. 50 has proven to be an extremely hard worker when he's motivated, let's get Rubin to get him motivated. All 50 has to do is ask Em for Rubin's phone number. — Insanul Ahmed

What it might sound like (except it would be 50 and not Em rapping, duh) 

J. Cole x Mike Will Made It

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Eminem x The Alchemist

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This never made any sense to us. Alchemist is Eminem's damn tour DJ which means they're around each other all the time. But for whatever reason, Em never felt compelled to rap over ALC's beats. In recent years, Alchemist has unleashed his vaults and produced more songs than he ever did before, including complete projects with guys like Curren$y, Action Bronson, and Domo Genesis (he also has an upcoming project with Boldy James).

So why not put the two together for some super lyrical fun word salad rap? We'd love to hear Em just black out over Al's instrumentals. We just hope it sounds more like this awesome Eminem freestyle where he rhymes over the Alchemist produced Slaughterhouse cut "Microphone," and not like the one time Em actually rapped over Em's beat, "Chemical Warfare." Because, according to Alchemist, that one ended with Em telling Al, "Yo my bad, I had to give you one of the accent joints for your album." — Insanul Ahmed

What it might sound like (skip to the three minute mark) 

Kendrick Lamar x Hit-Boy

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This one is tough. Kendrick Lamar is one of the most talked about rappers right now and his sophomore album is going to be one of the most anticipated albums of 2014. The world is his oyster and he could get in the lab with anyone. But if we had to play imaginary A&R, we'd throw him in the studio with Hit-Boy.

The two worked magic with the excellent "Backseat Freestyle" which shows just how great a duo they can be. But really, we'd put them together because Hit-Boy's beats have a nice mix of big hits like The Throne's "Niggas In Paris," G.O.O.D. Music's "Clique," and Lil Wayne's "Drop The World" and lyrical bangers like A$AP Rocky's "1 Train" (which Kendrick, of course blacked out on) and Pusha T's "My God." In other words, it could give Kendrick the musical canvas to get a few Top 40 hits but also rap like a lyrical maniac. All we could ever ask for!  — Insanul Ahmed

What it might sound like

T.I. x Dr. Dre

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Back in 2009, a series of songs from Dr. Dre's Detox that featured T.I. leaked. The songs were "Coming Back," "Shit Popped Off," and "Topless" and they were all pretty great, even in their unmastered form. We've basically given up all hope in ever hearing Detox (at this point we kinda just wish Dre would release an entire hard drive with all 10,000 songs he's recorded in the last 10 years and leave obsessed fans to piece a puzzle of an album together) so we'd totally be willing to settle for a T.I./Dre album.

If the two could muster up a dozen songs as good as those sounded, they'd probably have a pretty great album on their hands. Besides, Dre never really got it in with a Southern rapper for a full length project, and Tip is definitely one of the finest Southern lyricists ever. — Insanul Ahmed

What it might sound like

Lil Wayne x 40

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Lil Wayne is a great rapper who's been in need of consistent production for years. All of his projects from the past few years have been totally schizophrenic with each song going in wildly different directions. It feels like Lil Wayne just raps over whatever beats pop up in his Pro-Tools, followed by Birdman rubbing his hands together and making a tracklist (which is how we assume Lil Wayne albums get made). Meanwhile, his labelmate Drake has been releasing cohesive, thoughtful albums all overseen by 40. So idea of Wayne actually being "produced" and creating a singular thought of an album is exciting to us. — Insanul Ahmed

What it might sound like

Earl Sweatshirt x MF Doom

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Earl Sweatshirt's recent work owes a debt to MF Doom; the overall vibe-the artful nonchalance, the acerbic sense of humor, the casual vibe that is at once laconic and a little dark. There's a twisted wittiness the two of them share. Hearing Earl spit over Doom's production might be obvious, but it would also be a perfect complement to the rapper's thoughtful, clever, biting style, perhaps adding a bit of color and dynamics to Earl's typically dark sound. — David Drake

What it might sound like

Jay Z x Just Blaze

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This one is pretty obvious. Do we really need to list off all the classics these two did together? Umm...there's "Intro" (from the Dynasty album) "U Don't Know," "Song Cry," "Ignorant Shit," "Kingdom Come" (say what you will of that album, but that one song bangs) and of course the masterful "Public Service Announcement (Interlude)." Let's just lock these guys in a room until they get it done and see what they come out with. If they make 10 songs together, there's no way like five of them won't be dope as hell. — Insanul Ahmed 

What it might sound like

Rick Ross x NY Philharmonic

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"Carmina Burana." "Flight of the Valkyries." "B.M.F." Which one of these doesn't belong?

Trick question: They all belong because they're all 100% classics that could soundtrack epic film montages for the next seven centuries. Picture it: Ross walks on stage in an all-black tuxedo, a pink boutonniere stuck to his lapel. He taps his baton not once, not twice, but thrice, upon the conductors stand. His hands raise in the air. His hands dart forward, and the orchestra begins, string section swirling as the percussionist hammers at the bass drum in the background. Ross turns away from the orchestra and steps to the microphone. "I think I'm Big Meech!" he yells as the monied audience raise Galilean binoculars to their faces. At the conclusion, Ross bows deeply, the audience breaks into wild applause, and roses rain down upon the stage. — David Drake

What it might sound like

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