’03 Bonnie & Clyde was the couple’s first song together – the pre-game to Crazy in Love. But individually, it’s not the last appearance for either one. Spoiler alert: this is the last Jay Z and Beyoncé duet on our list. This is one of the few songs on the list that’s not a ‘love song’, but its vision of utopia carries a romanticism much more beautiful than any love song ever could. In the song, Nas shares his vision of a perfect world free of injustices, which Hill echoes on the chorus: “ If I ruled the world (imagine that), I’d free all my sons.” The rest of the song makes clear the ‘freeing’ refers to the literal physical freeing of African Americans in prison, as well as freeing minorities from the shackles of racism and systemic inequities. Then Nas switched gears, changed tone, and released If I Ruled The World featuring Lauryn Hill to set the stage for his Illmatic follow up. ![]() The slick raw lyrics layered on top of classic soul & jazz-inspired beats from a legendary cast of producers (DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Large Professor) proved to be a perfect formula. His debut album Illmatic became the definitive New York (and East coast) rap album, with its vivid and poetic storytelling about life on the streets of Queens, New York. If I Ruled The World was the first single off of Nas’s sophomore album It Was Written, and was a bit of a curveball at the time. If I Ruled The World (Imagine That) – Nas & Lauryn Hill Method Man’s raps, forever entertaining, detail his own unique vision of a romantic future: “ I’m your mister, you my misses with hugs and kisses, Valentine cards and birthday wishes, please, w e on another level of planning, of understanding, t he bond between man and woman, and child, th e highest elevation ’cause we above, a ll that romance crap, just show your love.” It’s sentimental and unsentimental at the same time, and that’s what makes it feel authentic. Blige’s version, which is produced by Trackmasters, RZA, and Diddy, they’ve kept the same sentiment but transformed it from pop standard to rugged love song, complete with a Biggie Smalls sample on the chorus. Released back in 1995, it’s based on a reimagining of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s original song You’re All I Need. Blige is about expressing love and devotion to a partner. Like You Got Me, this classic from Method Man and Mary J. I’ll Be There For You / You’re All I Need to Get By – Method Man & Mary J. His pre-Black Album verse is both vintage and smooth, and fits perfectly on Beyoncé’s breakout anthem. Beyoncé’s energy and swagger on the song essentially set the standard for pop music of the 2000’s. ![]() Crazy In Love remains a contagion 18 years after its debut, infecting the ears of everyone across the world who has heard it. It’s an emphatic introduction to the music icon’s voice and world. It’s literally the first song on Beyoncé’s first solo album. This is a bona fide classic beyond the confines of this category. Make sure to follow the playlist on Spotify, where we’ve got the top 25 and a lot more. ![]() Anyways – here’s the list, in very loose order, with write-ups for the top 5. Maybe we just missed them? Let us know in the comments. There really aren’t any songs from one-hit wonder artists that made our list. The list of top 25 songs here is essentially a cross-pollination of these prolific rappers and singers mentioned above. (There’s a much longer list of catchy rap/R&B songs from the era that were a hell of a lot of fun when they came out, but they don’t really hold up today). To make the parameters even tighter, we realized that from ’95 to ’05 there’s a very short list of great artists that have created the bulk of the most iconic and timeless rap/R&B collaborations – think rappers Jay Z, Nas, and Biggie and singers Beyoncé, Mary J. So we narrowed our scope down to a decade’s worth of music from 1995-2005. Much later than 2005 and the lines between rap and R&B become so fluid that labeling songs as rap and R&B collaborations can feel outdated and pointless. Much earlier than ’95 and rap was still coming into its own. There are a couple reasons why.įirst off, the golden age for these jams sits roughly between 19. Putting together this list of the best rap/R&B collaborations of all time was easier than expected, surprisingly.
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