Top 5 Collaborative Albums That Have Impacted Pop Culture
While the audience is still waiting for a sequel to Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne, we'll take a step back to list all those duo albums that have impacted this decade!
Indeed, knowing that collaboration between two artists is often perceived as a sign of a degrading career, some American artists have managed to make the concept innovative and authentic. Whether rappers or singers, the following artists have fully understood that unity is strength. You only have to see their performances in the charts to understand that this simple idea can be truly very lucrative. Here are below, the most impactful collaborative album.
Jay Z x Kanye West - Watch The Thrones
Recorded between 2010 and 2011 all around the world (United States, France, United Kingdom, Australia), Watch the Throne still serves as reference in terms of collaborative album. Unveiled in the summer of 2011, the album is worn by the hit singles "H • A • M", "Otis", "Lift Off", "Niggas in Paris" but also "Why I Love You", "Gotta Have It" and "No Church in the Wild". Thanks to the posthumous appearances of Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield, Watch the Throne has quickly found a place in the hearts of pure hip-hop lovers. Moreover, the participations of Frank Ocean, The-Dream, Beyoncé and Mr. Hudson really helped with the sales of million of copies only in the United States. Doubly named at the 2012 Grammy Awards, Watch the Throne is streamable limitlessly - only if you have a Tidal membership!
DRAKE & FUTURE - WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE
For their collaborative mixtape, Canadian rapper/singer Drake and the American rapper Future didn’t do things half-way. Thanks to the meticulous production job done by Metro Boomin, the project was a 40-minute record that topped the charts in 2015. Placed Number one of the Billboard 200 with 375,000 copies sold the first week, « What a Time to Be Alive » was loaded with amazing track like the hit "Jumpman" - counting about 571 million streams on Spotify. Validated by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Complex, the record has passed more than a million copies sold in the United States. What to allow Drake to be featured in the list of popstars that rock on Spotify.
BEYONCE X JAYZ - EVERYTHING IS LOVE
Recorded in Nanterre, Los Angeles and London, « Everything Is Love » is the project that the Beyoncé/Jay-Z couple’s fans have been waiting for years. Although quite short (with only 9 tracks), the project is a monument paying homage to black American culture. From the first single, "Apeshit", the tone was also set. In the video, the Carters impose themselves in the middle of the Louvre with one goal: to integrate black culture in the lots of classical or at least Western culture — quite a successful gamble since the Louvre has had a considerable increase in attendance while Beyoncé and Jay-Z were breaking records on internet for a weekend. In the meantime, ‘Everything Is Love’ has been crowned best contemporary music album at the last Grammy Awards!
Kanye West x Kid Cudi - Kids See Ghosts
Completely focused on the struggles of its two main interpreters, mostly against depression and various mental disorders, ‘Kids See Ghosts’ is precisely the kind of project that hardly appeal to the general public but delighted critics unanimously. As a key part of Kanye West's grand return to production in the summer of 2018, the album features notable appearances by Pusha T, Yasiin Bey and Ty Dolla Sign. Ranked number 2 of the Billboard 200 at the time of its release, this album of 7 tracks only has rehabilitated Kanye West and Kid Cudi in the eyes of the public. As a reminder, the extraordinary cover art is signed Takashi Murakami!
Tony Bennett x Lady Gaga - Cheek To Cheek
After the semi-failure of Artpop, Lady Gaga wanted to return to her jazz and New York roots by intermingling with the living legend of that genre Tony Bennett. Aware of the innate talent of the popstar, Tony Bennett had previously recorded with Lady Gaga a new version of his hit "The Lady Is a Tramp" which was proven to be extremely conclusive. The public and the critics rushed on the project in 2014, allowing him to start its exploitation at the top of the Billboard 200 with no less than 131,000 copies sold. On the sidelines of a 36-date tour, “Cheek to Cheek” received congratulations from Rolling Stone, The Guardian and Billboard. All this goes before winning the Grammy Awards 2015 for the best traditional pop album!
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Whisper it from the rooftops or shout it in the underground clubs: hip hop, once a symphony of street-smart lyricism and beats that spoke to the soul, now dances perilously on the edge of an artistic abyss…