My favorite musical collaborations of all time
I thought it’d be fun to make a list of my all time favorite collaborations that exist between two or more musicians of unique fame. For this list I decided to not worry about the order. I was just moving in circles over and over again trying to order this one and I got tired of it. Some things just don’t need to be ranked like that. Pretty much all these songs are unbelievable colliding of worlds that result in absolute classic songs or albums. Sometimes you get collaborations that sound awesome on paper but don’t pan out as great as you’d wish they did. These ones I’m including are the ones that worked out perfectly. Here we go.
*Future Al here* - Just a heads up, I ended up writing waaaay more than I thought I would. This article is kind of enormous. Sorry in advance, it might be better to just scroll through and read the ones that interest you. Good luck soldiers.
Deftones & Maynard James Keenan (of Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer) - “Passenger”
This is a great place to start when talking about the most perfect collaborations to have blessed the ears of the public. In 2000, Deftones released their masterwork White Pony. Deftones spent the 90’s cultivating a following in the nu metal world. This album sees them striving to break out of that categorization. What better way to do that than enlisting Tool’s Maynard James Keenan to duet with Chino on a song? Supposedly Maynard was asked to produce the album, which he declined. But fortunately enough he decided to contribute in another way. “Passenger” is one of my favorite duets of all time, with both singers playing to each other’s strengths famously, crafting a song that feels like a textbook amalgamation of their styles. In fact, “Passenger” probably wouldn’t work the same way if Maynard wasn’t a part of it. Maynard sings in ways that Chino probably couldn’t. Originally Maynard was just helping with writing the song, but since Chino couldn’t do some of his parts the right way, they just asked Maynard to sing it for them. Bringing an extra layer of brooding melancholy and heightened angst to the song, Maynard is the secret sauce that makes “Passenger” one of Deftones’ most celebrated songs to date.
Beastie Boys & Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest) - “Get It Together”
Okay, maybe this list is somewhat ranked. The first three are probably what I’d consider the best on this list. Cuz how in the world do we deserve tracks from Deftones with Maynard James Keenan AND Beastie Boys with Q-Tip? These really are the holiest of holy collaborations. “Get It Together” feels like a very similar situation to “Passenger” where the Beastie Boys were kind of known for one sound up to this point and enlisting Q-Tip may have helped them branch out to a different audience (you should read my article about Beastie Boys if you haven’t yet) . What makes this song so awesome though is that everyone here is rapping like their lives depended on it. Q-Tip sounds like an honorary Beastie Boy in this song, where he trades bars with the group in trademark Beastie Boys fashion while still bringing his own personality to the table. With such a killer and grimey beat and fun rhyming and lyricism from all rappers, this song is the epitome of 90’s hip-hop (except they rap about Pineapple Now and Laters instead of social issues). Also, fun fact: everyone was tripping on mushrooms when this song was made, and Q-Tip freestyled the whole thing! Seriously though, one of the best hip-hop crossovers of all time, and probably one of the most overlooked too. If you’re a fan of both Beastie Boys or A Tribe Called Quest and you haven’t hear this song, A) yes, it is as good as it sounds, and B) stop what you’re doing and go listen to it right now.
Gorillaz & Del the Funky Homosapien - “Clint Eastwood” and “Rock the House”
Finishing up the trifecta of my definitive favorite collaborations of all time would be from virtual pop shapeshifters Gorillaz and West Coast rapper Del the Funky Homosapien. Gorillaz’ self-titled debut dropped in 2001, which was produced largely by Dan the Automator. Del and Dan had worked together before in a group called Deltron 3030 which also featured DJ Kid Koala. Multiple songs on their debut self-titled album from the year 2000 featured Damon Albarn from Gorillaz. While these songs are cool too, it was really when everyone linked up again on Gorillaz self-titled album that the sparks of genius began to fly. Two songs included Del on this project: “Clint Eastwood” and “Rock the House.” “Clint Eastwood” is one of Gorillaz’ most recognized hits. It’s the song that really put them on the map as more than just a side project from Blur frontman Damon Albarn. Del was given few instructions for his verses. He was just told that he was to be rapping from the perspective of a ghost that lives in the kick drum of drummer Russell Hobbs. Somehow, with that little of a nudge from the primary artist of the project, he crafted the perfect verses that became biblically canonical to the Gorillaz universe, which is heavily filled with stories and lore. While this song is the primary example of these two working together, “Rock the House” can’t be forgotten. That song is quintessential Gorillaz in its light-hearted approach to hip-hop that consequently led the group to explore more pop music. From listening only to the singles off of Gorillaz, one might mistake Del as an official group member of Gorillaz due to his contributions. If that doesn’t make this one of the best collaborations of all time, I don’t know what else could.
JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown - Scaring the Hoes, Vol. 1
This one is a real heavy hitter, particularly because it's a full album. Danny Brown, a driving force in experimental hip-hop from the early 2010’s, and JPEGMAFIA, a driving force in experimental hip-hop from the late 2010’s, somehow found time to come together and make an entire album together. What’s even more marvelous is that the album is among the best either have ever made. If you’ve read my article about my favorite 2023 albums, you’d know this was my favorite album that dropped last year. This, much like the last collaborations I’ve discussed, feels like a perfect blend of the styles of the two artists. Particularly hearing Danny Brown rap on JPEGMAFIA beats for 36 minutes is such a treat. While I think JPEG’s biggest strength is his production, I think rapping alongside Danny Brown somehow made him stronger as a rapper. The two rappers complement each other so well, bringing out the best of their own personalities and influencing each other to try rapping in ways that they haven’t before. This dynamic between the two rappers brings so much life and longevity to the album. It’s the collaborative album that the world never knew it needed until we got it. There will never be another Scaring the Hoes until the two decide to drop Volume 2.
Soundgarden & Pearl Jam - Temple of the Dog
This technically isn’t the collaboration that I’m listing it as: Temple of the Dog was a band that consisted of members of both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Formed in 1990, before Pearl Jam and after Soundgarden, the band’s only album Temple of the Dog was released in April 1991. This was only months before Pearl Jam dropped Ten and Soundgarden dropped Badmotorfinger, albums which sent both bands into superstardom. The point I’m trying to make: Temple of the Dog, unlike many of the other collaborations I’ll be speaking of, was conceived before either of the bands it’s made of saw major success. While the context of the collaboration is different, the music is largely what you would expect if Soundgarden and Pearl Jam made an album together. It’s tender, it’s crunchy, it’s rough, it’s beautiful. The raw intensity of Soundgarden and emotional depth of Pearl Jam meet forces in an incredible way on this album. The big hit from the album “Hunger Strike” also boasts an incredible duet between Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder where both are sounding stronger than ever. It’s incredible to think that Temple of the Dog predates the influence of both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam because it sounds like a piece of work that both bands would have to work their way up to. Give this album a spin if you haven't before. RIP Chris Cornell :’(
Death Grips & Björk: N****s on the Moon
This is another unorthodox example of a collaboration, but truly this is one of the most remarkable colliding of minds in the world of experimental music. Death Grips’ fourth studio album The Powers That B is a double album split into two discs: N****s on the Moon and Jenny Death. The second disc Jenny Death I would consider a more traditional collection of Death Grips songs, while the first disc, whose name I can probably stop saying now (I think you get the point), is potentially the group’s most groundbreaking release. Not only is this because the music was entirely (or almost entirely) made by Zach Hill loading samples on an electronic drum kit and going crazy, but also because all of the vocal samples were recorded specifically for the album by Björk. The album, which consists of eight songs, features Björk’s voice chopped up and reconfigured in crazy ways across the entire thing. Her voice typically serves as the primary melody used for the instrumentals in which MC Ride raps over. The songs are hectic, danceable, heavy, disorienting, and entirely unique. The album is groundbreaking in sound and is one of the most creative examples of a collaboration I could possibly bring to this article. Death Grips is the modern apex of experimental music while Björk was that of her time. The fact that the two came together to create this masterpiece… well we just don’t deserve it. I don’t even know what else to say.
Run the Jewels & Zack de la Rocha (of Rage Against the Machine) - “Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck),” “A Report to the Shareholders / Kill Your Masters,” and “JU$T”
Run the Jewels feels like the modern Rage Against the Machine to me in a lot of ways. First of all, their music is pure angst. While it doesn’t feature rock instrumentation too frequently, the spirit of it really feels like it’s cut from the same cloth as rap metal. This is largely due to the industrial-inspired production, which is handled solely by El-P. Second of all, their music is super political thanks to the intellect of the one and only Killer Mike. It only makes sense that they would befriend Zack de la Rocha and feature him on almost all of their albums. Zack’s rapping fits like a glove in the catalog of RTJ. The most notable of his features was his first one on “Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)” off of Run the Jewels 2, where he not only delivers a verse but lends his voice to the beat of the whole song. This song remains one of RTJ’s most popular songs. He has been featured on every album since Run the Jewels 2, making him a bit of an unofficial third member of the group in my eyes. “A Report to the Shareholder / Kill Your Masters” from Run the Jewels 3 sees him return on the song’s second half and bookend the album with a fierce verse about political rebellion that resembles Rage Against the Machine more than any of his other guest appearances. His third song with the group “JU$T” is off of RTJ4 and also features Pharrell Williams on the hook. This song continues the trajectory set by Zack’s first two RTJ appearances, with Zack delivering another angry and politically-inspired verse to match those of El-P and Killer Mike. All three of these songs are among the group’s best, proving the combination of Run the Jewels and Zack de la Rocha is a match made in heaven. Also, I had tickets to see Rage Against the Machine and Run the Jewels in 2020. Then Covid happened. So they postponed the tour. Then Zack broke his leg on the second tour date. Then they canceled the rest of the tour. I just wanted to share that because it helps to talk about it sometimes.
Iggy Pop & David Bowie - The Idiot and Lust for Life
It was very surprising to me when I was maybe 20 years and learned that Iggy Pop and David Bowie were longtime friends and collaborators. It surprised me because I hadn’t heard much of Iggy Pop’s music at the time and figured he would have been too punk to work with someone like David Bowie from what I knew about him. If all I knew today was the early work of The Stooges, I would likely still be somewhat surprised. But when you hear all the work that they’ve done together, it seems like the most obvious and fitting collaboration ever. I think this speaks to the level of genius that these two achieved throughout their years of working together. While their professional relationship began when Bowie mixed The Stooges’ Raw Power in 1973, they became much closer when the two moved to Berlin together in 1976 to run away from their drug problems they faced at home. This was where the recording of Iggy Pop’s first two solo albums took place. The Idiot and Lust for Life both came out in 1977 and showed Iggy Pop in a whole new light. While his voice and personality were still very much rooted in punk rock, the music that he was singing on was much more akin to what David Bowie’s music sounded like. Well, that’s because David Bowie helped write, perform on, and produce both albums; in fact, he did a majority of all of those things. This resulted in a sound that leaned more into glam rock and pop than anything Iggy Pop had done before. Fortunately, Iggy sounds absolutely phenomenal over these songs, earning him more commercial success than he ever had gotten before. These albums are so fun and weird, and I consider them creative high points for both Iggy and Bowie.
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice
This one reminds me a lot of Scaring the Hoes because these are two titans in their culture that people could only have dreamt of coming together and making an album. Kurt Vile was still hot from his hit song “Pretty Pimpin’,” which is still probably his most popular song, and Courtney Barnett was riding the coattails of success from her previous album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. People were so excited when the two of them went on tour. They had no idea what was coming for them in the future. Lotta Sea Lice dropped in 2017 and pretty much dominated the indie world, and for good reason. The two artists have very similar songwriting sensibilities to the point where it’s hard to pinpoint whose influence is more prevalent in the project, but that’s kind of what makes this project so great. Both of them have thrived in their lanes of whimsical and charismatic slacker-rock separately. When they come together on Lotta Sea Lice those vibes compound effortlessly as the two bounce off of one another like they share a brain. Kurt and Courtney being so similar really makes them a match made in heaven (that’s the second time in history that’s been the case). Not only was this album successful, but it helped both Courtney and Kurt gain more traction as solo artists. I consider Lotta Sea Lice an absolutely quintessential album from two artists who are helping keep classic indie music alive and strong.
The Avalanches, MGMT, & Johnny Marr (of the Smiths) - “The Divine Chord”
This song stumbled into my life in a time where I was A) becoming enamored by electronic music and diving deep into its many genres and B) learning that MGMT is one of my top 5 favorite artists of all time. The circumstances for discovering this song couldn’t be more ideal, which might be why I’m so in love with it. “The Divine Chord” truly feels equal parts Avalanche and MGMT. The instrumental is largely sample-based and would serve great as a companion piece to an instrumental Avalanches song like “Since I Left You,” but it’s structured with infectious pop vocals courteous of MGMT, which help make it feel equally like a cut off of Oracular Spectacular. On top of all of that, we got The Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr playing his signature jangle guitar on it. While Marr’s role feels secondary in comparison, after a while you won’t be able to imagine the song without it. It’s seriously impressive how all of these artists were able to bring their own trademark sounds to this song and create something so cohesive considering these artists all come from completely different musical eras and backgrounds. And like I said, being an extreme MGMT fan and a growing fan of The Avalanches makes this song an easy shoe-in for this list.
Björk & Rosalía: “Oral”
I looooove this song so much. “Oral” is a standalone single that was released in 2023 in an effort to raise funds to protest the opening of an open-net fish farm in Iceland. This kind of fish farming has numerous negative impacts on the surrounding environment as it operates in natural waters and utilizes chemicals that can easily spread past the netting’s supposedly enclosed environment through the natural current and fishes that escape. It’s a great cause for two monster pop vocalists to collaborate on. What’s really awesome about this song is that Björk began writing it in 1998; she even used her vocals from that time on the final cut. So, as Björk pointed out upon its release, the two singers were roughly the same age when they each recorded their parts despite them having a 27 year age difference. It checks out when you hear the song too, as Björk sounds so youthful and unhinged on it. While it’s Björk whose influence shines predominantly on the song, it’s Rosalía whose voice captures my attention the most. She has one of the most astounding singing voices of any modern artist and it’s so awesome to see her use it in this capacity with an all-time legendary experimental pop icon. Her contributions to the track continue to cement her own legacy as an experimental pop icon as well as her voice stands tall next to that of such a generational talent. The song is absolutely lush and viscerally beautiful, and the two of them donating all income from the song towards nonprofit AEGIS to help fight industrial fishing makes the song even more beautiful.
Danny Brown, Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, & Earl Sweatshirt - “Really Doe”
Considering how frequently rappers lend their voices to each other's projects, I didn’t include many typical rap features on this list. I was more drawn by finding unusual and unexpected collaborations. But sometimes the posse cuts are just too good. And this is honestly a pretty unexpected list of rappers for a posse cut. In fact, this is probably the weirdest yet most robust posse cut that the world has ever seen. As the story goes, Danny was looking to collaborate with all these rappers individually on different tracks. Ab-Soul got the track first under the impression he’d be the only feature on it, which is supposedly why he kind of borrows Danny Brown flow in the song. For that reason I can understand why his verse might not be as strong as everyone else’s. It’s really hearing Danny, Kendrick, and Earl all on one song that feels like an unbelievable experience. Everyone rapping with their trademark flows and delivery over a creepy beat that sounds like it’s straight out of a nightmare, “Really Doe” really feels like a marvel that brings together three of the most skilled lyricists of the 2010’s and gives them equal opportunity to shine in their own ways. It may be the only time we get Kendrick on a song with an Odd Future alumni (don’t quote me on that). But really, these are literally like my 3 favorite rappers all on a song together where they all give 110%. It’s an all time hip-hop classic.
Grizzly Bear & Victoria Legrand (of Beach House) - “Two Weeks”
This could be one of the more underwhelming collaborations I write about here in terms of the amount contributed by the guest. I did choose to write about it though because even though it’s a small contribution, it really does add a lot to the song and it is pretty awesome that these two did come together. While the song “Two Weeks” is a Grizzly Bear song through and through, with almost everything in the song being done by members of the band, Beach House frontwoman Victoria Legrand appears in the choruses to sing a single phrase that repeats every bar. Her parts don’t even have lyrics; like I said, it’s a small contribution. But if you know the song, you know it wouldn’t be complete without her in it. What makes her irreplaceable in the song is her distinct voice that sores majestically over the soothing voices of Grizzly Bear singers Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen. What makes this a very fitting collaboration as well is that this of all Grizzly Bear songs contains a strong dreamy and whimsical element to it that is very present in most of Beach House’s music. It makes the presence of Legrand feel like a very deliberate and strategic move on the band’s part as she really helps bring the song into a different thematic landscape. I’m happy I went in with discussing this song because I was debating whether to do it or not. But writing all this out really solidified the excellence of this collaboration in my mind.
Daft Punk & Julian Casablancas (of the Strokes and the Voidz) - “Instant Crush” and “Infinity Repeating”
Hearing these two make music together felt for the first time felt like witnessing a childbirth. The creation of life, ya dig? Who would’ve thought the Strokes singer with his raspy voice and too-cool-for-school attitude would mesh so well with house legends on a song that attempts to capture the essence of the 80's funk and disco scene? Nowadays he might seem like an obvious choice for something like this. In 2013 when “Instant Crush” was released, Julian was still known as the singer of the Strokes. While he still is predominantly known for that, his new project the Voidz has started to take on a life of its own. That band formed in 2013, the same year “Instant Crush” released. Is it a coincidence that right after this song dropped Julian started a band that made pretty similar sounding music? “Instant Crush,” while it is more radio friendly, feels a lot like proto-Voidz music. From the futuristic-funk instrumentation to the autotune and vocoder on Julian’s voice, this song represents a new beginning for Julian in my eyes. He began to use his higher singing range range more frequently and confidently, singing over music that was much more experimental than anything he had done before. Who better to usher Julian onto a new creative path than Daft Punk? Arguably the most inspirational electronic group of all time and one of the first artists anyone would consider when discussing futuristic music, they were the perfect artist to help Julian discover his musical second wind. “Instant Crush” has become such a classic song for fans of both artists; so much so that Daft Punk decided to release a second song recorded by them ten years later called “Infinity Repeating”, this one also featuring Julian’s band the Voidz. Both songs demonstrate Julian and Daft Punk’s unexpected chemistry to be more than a chance occurrence. Here’s to praying Daft Punk will come out of retirement one day to collaborate with Julian one last time.
Kanye West & Daft Punk - “Stronger” and “On Sight”
Okay okay okay. Yes, “Stronger” is a sample and does not count as a collaboration TECHNICALLY. But I do think the song is important to mention for a lot of reasons. First of all, their voices are so prevalent on the song and kind of set the tone for the whole vibe of the song. Second of all, the song introduced a whole new demographic to Daft Punk. They were always an important group in the world of electronic music, but “Stronger” made them and their robot personas recognizable on a much wider scale. This likely could be attributed to the music video in which the duo’s likeness makes a cameo (although the people behind the mask weren’t actually Daft Punk, you would never know unless you were reading about this shit way too much…). Lastly, this song is absolutely marvelous. It’s one of Kanye’s most remarkable singles, and while it is mostly Kanye that is responsible for creating this masterpiece it wouldn’t be complete without the influence and performance/songwriting contributions from Daft Punk. Fast forward six years to 2013. Now we have a proper collaboration to talk about between the rapper and the robot duo; in fact, we have four. Kanye’s sixth album Yeezus has four songs co-produced by Daft Punk on it. Of them all, I think “On Sight” is the most significant to discuss. It opens the album up and sets the tone with insane distorted synths that are unmistakably a contribution from Daft Punk. Ye spits fire over the beat and even throws in a classic Kanye West sample break to cut between the chaos of the distortion. This song brings the best qualities of two larger than life artists while continuing to be innovative for both of them. They certainly feel like an iconic collaboration to me.
Gorillaz, James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem), & André 3000 - “DoYaThing”
This is the last collaboration I’ll be writing about, I wanted to save a crazy one for last. If I wanted to, I could probably write like fifteen more of these things about Gorillaz songs. Most of my favorite collaborations come from them considering they collaborate so frequently and cover so many genres in their catalog. I would consider their work with Del the Funky Homosapien to be their most iconic and significant collaboration perhaps (either him or De La Soul), but if I had to pick one collaboration that is their most ambitious, legendary, and satisfying collaboration of them all… it just might be this one. My opinion of that could change at any moment because there are literally so many classic ones. But this song really checks all of the boxes that all three artists have. This is a thirteen minute long song that integrates elements of all three musicians’ styles flawlessly. The first leg of the song feels like classic Gorillaz with the instrumental choices, 2D rapping, and a natural blend of funk and hip-hop. Plus we get an insane rap verse from André 3000 that is reminiscent of past rap performances on Gorillaz songs as well as some of André’s more high-energy performances (think B.O.B.). James Murphy also lends his weird ass falsetto vocals to the hook of the song (it sounds perfect). It all feels like classic Gorillaz up until the 4:25 mark of the song, where the vibes quickly turn fully LCD Soundsystem. We are now in the midst of a fully improvised punk-rock/electronic synth-heavy jam with Damon on guitar, James on bass, and André on vocals. This epic crescendo is likely thanks to James Murphy, who insisted the three meet up in person to create the song together rather than send tracks to each other and collaborate remotely. This chaotic jam and the three’s overall musical chemistry likely wouldn’t be the same if they weren’t jamming together in person, and you can feel that strong in-person chemistry all over the place in this song. The beginning of the song is textbook Gorillaz, the extended jam is textbook LCD Soundsystem, and while André 3000’s rap verse is very traditional to his style, his vocals over the extended jam are a single fully-improvised take of him yelling and screaming in full punk-mode how he’s the shit. It's marvelous. This is one of Gorillaz most overlooked songs, likely because it’s a standalone single that never made it to streaming services. I think it’s because the song’s rights are owned by Converse who commissioned the song from Gorillaz in the first place for some kind of promotion. But this was during an era where Gorillaz, in the words of my brother, couldn’t miss if they tried. And of all the collaborations they’ve done, I think this truly might be their best.
If you’ve made it all the way to the end, congratulations. I ended up writing way more than I thought and I’d be surprised if anyone actually made it this far. If you did, text me at 707-508-6144 and say “poopman” to demonstrate your allegiance to me and my craft. Hopefully my future lists won’t be too long and crazy. I just couldn’t help myself this time. But anyways here’s a list of honorable mentions that are still awesome but I didn’t wanna write about.
R.E.M. & Kate Pierson (of the B-52’s) - “Shiny Happy People”
Queens of the Stone Age & Julian Casablancas - “Sick, Sick, Sick”
A Tribe Called Quest & Kendrick Lamar - “Conrad Tokyo”
Dire Straits & Sting (of the Police) - “Money for Nothing”
White Zombie & Iggy Pop - “Black Sunshine”
Modest Mouse & The Flaming Lips - “The Good Times Are Killing Me”
Gorillaz & Snoop Dogg - “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach”
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young & Jerry Garcia (of Grateful Dead) - “Teach Your Children”
Sonic Youth & Chuck D (of Public Enemy)- “Kool Thing”
Whitechapel & Chino Moreno (of Deftones) - “Reprogrammed to Hate”
Rage Against the Machine & Maynard James Keenan - “Know Your Enemy”
Deftones & Jerry Cantrell (of Alice in Chains) - “Phantom Bride”
Blur & Lætitia Sadier (of Stereolab)- “To the End”
Bleachers & Bruce Springsteen - “Chinatown”