Image via Complex Original
”Is this real life?” Taylor Swift tweeted just after bringing Usher Raymond out to perform with her in Atlanta this past weekend. The very next night Taylor teamed up with T.I.—fresh out of federal lockdown—to perform “Live Your Life.” She called the experience “unreal.” She even tweeted a photo of her backstage guests: T.I., Nelly, and Young Jeezy. With her “Speak Now” tour continuing through November, who knows which other rappers she’ll be able to kick it with.
Though many expressed shock at the notion of Nashville’s sweetheart hanging with the Snowman and the King of The South, we weren’t the least bit surprised. On the low, Taylor has been slowly building up her rap credentials, hanging with rappers, covering their songs, and proclaiming her love for hip-hop every chance she gets.
Despite her love for the genre, when people think of Taylor and hip-hop they think the infamous VMA moment with her and Kanye West. Which is so not fair. Not to mention played out. Taylor thinks rap totally rocks, and we can prove it! Nonbelievers need to check out Taylor Swift’s Hip-Hop Moments.
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Written by Keenan Higgins (@HIGzILLMATIC)
Taylor Says She Wants To Do A Hook For A Rap Song
Date: November 2008
What happened? Shortly after releasing her breakout album Fearless, the Nashville-based country star did her first interview with MTV News where she expressed interest in singng the hook on a rap song. She mentioned T.I. and Kanye West as ideal rappers to work with.
Complex says: No, the irony of her wanting to do a song with Kanye back in 2008 is not lost on us.
Taylor Shows Interest In “Mixing Genres” With Lil Wayne
Date: May 2009
What happened? During a radio interview on the “Mojo In The Morning” show, Taylor spoke on her love for swirling—musically of course: “As far as collaborations go, I loved it when Tim McGraw paired up with Nelly. I thought that was so cool! When you mix musical genres, and it works, I think it could be so special.” Asked about collaborating with Lil Wayne, she responded “YES! That would be awesome.”
Complex says: Given her interest in hip-hop, and Weezy’s long list of pop collabos (Madonna, Shakira, Jay Sean, etc), we wouldn’t be surprised if these two started making beautiful music together. Do we smell a “How To Love” remix cooking?
Taylor Connects With T-Pain For “Thug Story”
Date: June 2009
What happened? It was only a matter of time: Taylor enlisted T-Pain for her rap debut, giving rise to a true “WTF?!” moment. She released “Thug Story”—a rap remix of her highly successful single “Love Story,” complete with a thugged-out video—at the 2009 CMT Awards. What the country music audience made of all this ain’t hard to tell.
Complex says: Taylor might have been trying to crack a joke when she rhymed, “No I ain’t got a gun/No I never really been in a club/Still live with my parents/But, I’m still a THUG!” But the truth is that most Internet rappers aren’t much different from her in those categories.
Kanye West Interrupts Taylor During MTV VMA Awards
Date: September 2009
What happened? Do we really need to explain? Cute country singer wins award. Outraged rapper rushes stage and rants about how Beyoncé should have won. Although rapper promises singer “I’ma let you finish,” she doesn’t. The whole world gets mad at the rapper, and an Internet meme is born. Will we ever be finished with “I’ma let you finish”? No.
Complex says: Like most white pop stars seeking hip-hop cred, Taylor might try and act hood when it helps make news but when shit gets real they always fall back. When some real hip-hop shit went down, Taylor was speechless, and worked the victim angle for all it was worth. Kinda reminds us of the time Justin Timberlake started crying on Punk’d.
Taylor Raps Ellen’s Theme Song
Date: January 2010
What happened? Even on one of the most important nights of her life, Taylor still made time to show love for hip-hop. During the Grammy Awards red carpet interviews, someone from The Ellen DeGeneres Show asked her if she could sing the show’s theme song and she happily obliged with an off-the-dome remix.
Complex says: Not only did T-Swizzle spit them bars, but she kicked things off with a “Yo.” So gangsta.
Taylor Says She Wants To Work With Jay-Z
Date: October 2010
What happened? A couple of weeks before she dropped her incredibly successful album Speak Now, FOX News did a feature which quoted the singer as wanting to, “Cross the country line and collaborate with rapper Jay-Z.” Is that “country line” as in Mason-Dixon?
Complex says: Taylor’s comment is a far cry from Miley Cyrus claiming she’d never heard a Jay-Z song (before shouting him out on “Party In The USA”). Advantage: Taylor.
Taylor Bumps 50 Cent Before Her Shows
Date: November 2010
What happened? During an appearance on Chelsea Lately, Swift admitted that she, her backup singer, and her fiddle player (yes, she has a fiddle player) listen to 50 Cent while warming up before taking the stage. She even mentioned that “Disco Inferno” was her favorite.
Complex says: Seeing as how the entire hook to “Disco Inferno” is about a girl shaking her ass, we’ve got a feeling Taylor can get low with the best of them!
Taylor Spits Nicki Minaj’s “Superbass”
Date: February 2011
What happened? While stopping by Nashville radio station 107.5, Taylor played DJ for the day. Asked what she wanted to hear, she chose Nicki Minaj’s “Superbass,” calling it one of her favorite songs. After introducing the song—and admitting that she knows every single line—she bashfully spit a few bars from the first verse.
Complex says: And thus, one of the greatest moments in the history of Famous White Girls Rapping was born. But Nicki’s not mad, she credits Taylor for helping make the song a hit.
Taylor Stays Blazing Hip Hop And R&B
Date: April 2011
What happened? While appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Taylor once again mentioned that—surprise!—she listens to a lot of rap music. She went on to name-check 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and Keri Hilson.
Complex says: Seriously, does Taylor even listen to any country music anymore? What’s good with Faith Hill? Can Brooks & Dunn get a little love?
Taylor Covers Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”
Date: July 2011
What happened? During the Michigan stop of her Speak Now tour, Taylor sat in front of the crowd with her guitar and did a respectable cover of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” bar for bar.
Complex says: T-Swizzle at her finest. Unlike her other rap covers, this wasn’t the least bit cheesy. We can’t front—it was pretty dope.
Taylor Covers Pras & Mya’s “Ghetto Superstar”
Date: August 2011
What happened? Calling it her “seventh grade anthem,” Taylor performed a live acoustic version of the 1998 banger “Ghetto Superstar” at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. She even shouted Mya out in the middle, reminding the home-town crowd, “Mya’s from D.C.!”
Complex says: Wait, did she say it was her seventh grade anthem? This song came out in 1998, and she was born 1989. Either didn’t hear this song until 2001, skipped three grades at age nine, or she’s lying about her age like most celebrities.
Taylor Covers TLC’s “Unpretty”
Date: August 2011
What happened? Taylor has made a habit of covering her favorite songs during this latest tour—funny enough, a lot of them were hip-hop songs. TLC was known for bridging the gap between hip-hop, pop, and R&B. “Unpretty” had a little rock vibe to it, but Taylor was the first to give the song a Tennessee twist.
Complex says: It made sense for Taylor to cover “Unpretty” since she was bullied at school and has sung about unpretty growing up. But look at her now—fresh than a muh...
Taylor Brings Out Nicki Minaj
Date: August 2011
What happened? While everybody was in Los Angeles for MTV’s Video Music Awards, the L.A. stop of Taylor’s tour was going down not too far from the ceremony. She took advantage of the opportunity to bring out Nicki Minaj. Of course they performed “Superbass” and Taylor joined Barbz to do a verse herself.
Complex says: How awesome would it have been if Nicki ended the set by giving Taylor one of her patented lapdances?
Taylor Covers Nelly’s “Just A Dream”
Date: August 2011
What happened? Taylor once mentioned that she thought Nelly pairing up with Tim McGraw on “Over & Over” was genius, so it came as no surprise when she covered his song “Just A Dream” during a tour stop in his hometown of St Louis. (Guess she didn’t see the “Tip Drill” video.)
Complex says: Obviously, only people like Taylor Swift still think it’s cool to listen to Nelly.
Taylor Brings Out Usher & She Raps Ludacris’ Verse
Date: October 2011
What happened? While performing back-to-back shows at the Phillips Center in Atlanta, Taylor brought out Usher with the immortal phrase, “Peace up, A-Town Down.” He performed “Yeah!” and when it came time for Ludacris’s part, Taylor spit the verse herself.
Complex says: What’s the over/under on Taylor being a lady in the street but a freak in the bed?
Taylor Brings Out T.I.
Date: October 2011
What happened? During her second night at the Phillips Center, Taylor upped her street cred by calling up a fresh out of jail T.I. They performed “Live Your Life” with Taylor taking over Rihanna’s hook duties. To top it off, T.I., Nelly, and Young Jeezy—in town for the BET Hip Hop Awards—were all hanging out backstage.
Complex says: Ripping stages with Taylor Swift, making tracks with Pharrell, chilling at home with his kids—these are all good ideas for Tip. Partying with Diddy in the club and causing a scene? Not so much.
Taylor Swift & Kanye West: The Reunion
Date: October 2011
What happened? The moment we’ve all been waiting for finally happaned at the Metropolitan Musem Costume Gala in NYC, Taylor and Kanye ran into each other—just over two years after their infamous incident. According to The New Yorker, Taylor froze up at first, unsure if she should approach Ye. Then she brushed it off and decided to go up to him anyway. Then, in an almost unbelievable exchange, they gave each other a “low five” and went on about their business.
Complex says: So not only did Taylor roll up on Yeezy, but she had him on mute? Maybe this girl is more gangsta than we thought!
