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2. Jay Z and Eminem
Title: War of the Gods
Ideal producers: Dr. Dre, Rick Rubin, Kanye West, Timbaland, Hit Boy
Two of rap's reigning titans have only crossed paths once on record: “Renegade,” a highlight from Jay's classic Blueprint and as colossal a friendly challenge as exists in hip-hop, two greats at peak powers pushing each other to rap their asses off. While it's been almost fifteen years since that fateful meeting and both Eminem and Jay's rapping abilities (or at least their capacity for being interesting across the run time of an album) have deteriorated since 2001, an album's worth of the two juggernauts going back and forth would still be fascinating if for nothing else but the spectacle and the handful of stunning verses the competition would likely inspire.
3. Kendrick Lamar and Drake
Title: Take The Throne
Ideal producers: 40, J. Cole, T-Minus, Just Blaze
What better way to turn one of rap's more interesting, high-profile cold wars into a series of great songs than by getting Kendrick Lamar and Drake to hop in the studio together and record an entire album. Solo songs, songs where they go back and forth, thinly veiled disses, boasts, outright challenges–a Kendrick and Drake album would be an unprecedented moment in the the history of hip-hop beefs, two artists engaged in professional rivalry coming together to immortalize their competition in a series of stellar songs.
4. Tyler, the Creator and Pharrell
Title: Happy Radicals
Ideal producers: Tyler, the Creator, The Neptunes
Since his earliest days in the public spotlight, Tyler, the Creator's admiration for Pharrell has been no secret and has been reciprocated by the superstar producer. Though Pharrell's been known for his share of goofy rap cameos, he also has a flair for fun, irreverant verses. A Jaylib style collaboration where the artists alternate rapping and producing duties would be a cool showcase of their full complement of talents.
5. Young Thug and Danny Brown
Title: Triple Cup
Ideal producers: SKYWLKR, Rustie, Metro Boomin, Baauer
Drugs, over-the-top energy, amazing ad-libs: Young Thug and Danny Brown seems like a match made in oddball hip-hop heaven, two of rap's most exciting, unusual talents combining to create an album rife with drug references, weird sex, and all manner of sounds you've probably never heard on record. An element of the unexpected–whether a poignant anecdote, an odd turn of phrase, or an outburst without warning–keeps listeners glued to each word of both emcees, so an album of the two would plant fans firmly on the edges of their seats, hanging gleefully on each word.
6. Cam'ron and Gucci Mane
Title: BUR'R
Ideal producers: Bangladesh, Heatmakerz, Zaytoven
While both Cam'ron and Gucci Mane have plenty of vocal detractors, both have created some of the great gangsta rap of the 2000s, playful inventors with language capable of conjuring absurd images as readily as they can represent the urgency and darkness of their origins. An album of Cam and Gucci would be full of outlandish boasts and outfits, drug deals gone wrong, excellent production choices, and plenty of lines for fans to quote and critics to pick on as crass and ignorant (a win-win for all involved).
7. Action Bronson and DOOM
Title: The Buffet
Ideal producers: DOOM, Harry Fraud, Party Supplies
Two of rap's most prominent, culinarily inclined figures would make for a fantastic tag team if they focused solely on making an album dedicated to extravagant meals and food metaphors (the former an Action Bronson special, the latter DOOM's bizarre stock-in-trade on celebrated second solo album MM..Food).
COOKING UP MF DOOM’S FOOD REFERENCES IN THE P&P TEST KITCHEN
8. Nicki Minaj and A$AP Rocky
Title: Pretty Motherfvckers
Ideal producers: Bangladesh, T-Minus, Hit-Boy
Nicki Minaj and A$AP Rocky don't always get the respect they deserve. Both can rap, but neither of them rely too heavily on technical skill, so they're never included in those "best rapper" discussions. Instead, they get by on style. They can both spit the kind of verse that gets stuck on your head like the best of hooks, and both have style and stage presence for days. With Nicki gone pop and A$AP still looking to break through to the next level, the combination would be mutually beneficial.
9. Nas and Roc Marciano
Title: The Syndicate
Ideal producers: Roc Marciano, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Salaam Remi
For fans of storytelling and dedication to rapping craft, the combination of Nas and Roc Marciano (a sort of master and student combination of crime-narrative rap) would be hard to resist. A short album with production from Marciano and a cast of some of New York's other usual suspects (DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Salaam Remi would round it out nicely) and a heavy focus on tales of the city's seedy underbelly, heists gone wrong, crooked cops, and money hungry hustlers would be a likely home run.
10. A$AP Ferg and Busta Rhymes
Title: RAWR
Ideal producers: P on the Boards, Q-Tip, Metro Boomin, Jahlil Beats,
On the heels of their surprise collaboration on the stellar “Shabba” remix, a high energy collaboration between A$AP Ferg and Busta Rhymes would be a hell of a lot of fun. Mixing Busta's tongue-twisting dungeon dragon style with Ferg's explosive, animated rhymes might get a little exhausting over the course of more than ten songs, but their collective electricity alone would be enough to keep listeners hooked.
11. Future and Lil Wayne
Title: How To Loveeeeeeeeee
Ideal producers: Mike Will Made It, Metro Boomin, T-Minus, Sonny Digital
With a proven track record of catchy, off-kilter collaborations, the duo of Future and Lil Wayne could pick up the mantle meant to be carried by Wayne and T-Pain, with a bit more pathos. Delving into each rapper's psyche and softer side (though with no shortage of threats, brags, and shit references), a full length Future/Wayne collaboration would provide a bounty hashtags, catch phrases, and crass, unusually emotional romantic anthems for fans.
12. Ice Cube and Killer Mike
Title: Right to Be Hostile
Ideal producers: El-P
Sporting penchants for righteous fury and larger than life personas, the duo of Ice Cube and Killer Mike make fiery sense for a politically-minded full length. The duo has previously combined forces on Mike's lost (and plenty confrontational) "Pressure," but an album's worth of tag team songs assaulting society's ills (preferably atop El-P's riotous production) would speak to the essence that made Ice Cube a frightening essential in the early 90s and that sparked Mike's resurgence in the last three years.
13. Death Grips and Kanye West
Title: Anarchy in the US
Ideal producers: Kanye, Arca, Zach Hill
From the moment Kanye West hopped on the SNL stage to perform "Black Skinhead," he drew comparisons to rap's resident agitators, Death Grips. While the Sacramento duo is a bit more extreme than even Kanye's most jagged moments, a hybrid of their styles could produce something accessibly angry and visceral, perfect music for raging against whatever machine fits your revolutionary fancy.
14. Chance The Rapper and Childish Gambino
Title: Roscoe's Wetsuit
Ideal producers: Ludwig Göransson, Nate Fox
Chance The Rapper and Childish Gambino are friends. We saw them hanging out in Gambino's Clapping For The Wrong Reasons short film, then we heard them together on "The Worst Guys," although to be honest, the song was a bit of a tease—Chance doesn't even have a verse. The good thing about a tease though: it leaves you wanting more.
15. Earl Sweatshirt and Mac Miller
Title: BFFz
Ideal producers: Earl Sweatshirt, Larry Fisherman, Pharrell, Tyler, the Creator
Earl Sweatshirt and Mac Miller have already traded tracks on each others' albums, collaborating on Watching Movies With the Sound Off standout "I'm Not Real" and woozily excellent "Guild" from Doris. They seem to draw an enjoyable weirdness out of one another, choosing off-kilter production to accompany their dense, freely associative rhymes. It wouldn't be the most focused listen, but it'd probably play the perfect soundtrack to late nights shrouded in clouds of weed smoke.
16. Azealia Banks and Missy Elliott
Title: Under Construction III
Ideal producers: Timbaland, Diplo, The Neptunes
The union of Azealia Banks and Missy could allow for the troubled up and comer to deliver on the promise she's shown since stirring up excitement with "212" and provide a platform for one of hip-hop's legendary female artists to return to form. Mixing rap, R&B, house, and all manner of other sounds and styles, Azealia and Missy would serve up eclectic party music that sounded well ahead of its time–they way each of their finest moments have.
17. Gunplay and Waka Flocka Flame
Title: LEGGO!
Ideal producers: Lex Luger, Young Chop, Metro Boomin, Zaytoven, Hucci, Lil Lody
The one time Gunplay and Waka Flocka Flame joined forces on record, it resulted in the absolutely riotous "Rollin." So...why not recreate the raucous magic over a full length project? With a proper complement of subwoofer destroying beats, the surprisingly effective combination of Gunplay and Waka would knock out the perfect set of songs to tear the club up, shake stadiums, and fill parents with dread.
18. Big Boi and André 3000
Title: Honestly, it doesn't matter...
Ideal producers: Organized Noize, Earthtone III
Well, obviously.
