I'm pretty sure Patrick Stump wasn't credited on either of the Gym Class Heroes' top 10 hits

 

He was credited on 'Cupid's Chokehold / Breakfast In America'

 

I wonder why no one ever refers to it as that? The second half of the title seems to have been lost to history... (well, the single was released as just Cupid's Chokehold to be fair)

 

Oh and GCH have 3 top 10 hits but I assume you're ignoring Cookie Jar :P

Edited February 7, 201114 yr by ★BlindFaithBray★

I would guess the number started rising in the mid-1990s as hip hop became more and more mainstream with Puff Daddy, The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Warren G, Coolio etc. And then more R&B artists like Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Brandy etc. were also regularly using featured artists/rappers on their singles by that point (and even some pop acts like Texas were already getting on board!) And then of course dance acts like Sash!, N-Trance etc. were also using lots of featured vocalists but that had been going on before the mid-90s anyway, so nothing really changed there.

 

But it's definitely reached a new high in the last few years. I would imagine there was another hike around 2003 when hip hop/urban became more and more prevalent in the upper reaches of the charts, too. And then going back even further there was probably a rise in the late 1980s/early 1990s when dance as we know it became more mainstream, plus hip hop was starting to infiltrate into the charts too in very small quantities.

 

By the way, this is just purely guessing on my part, of course, based on my knowledge of standard UK chart history, though I might work on some stats to back it up if I can be arsed and see if that's accurate :lol:

Edited February 7, 201114 yr by superbossanova

Number of collaborations to chart per year compared to total number of songs since 2006

(Top 100 from 2008 to 2010, top 75 only from 2006, about half and half from 2007 as determined from the point Chartstats.com started using a top 100)

 

2010 190/818 = 23.23%

2009 123/740 = 16.62%

2008 123/764 = 16.1%

2007 122/844 = 14.45%

2006 139/790 = 17.59%

 

So there was a massive increase last year, but before that it'd been very stable from 2007-2009 (although the total entries were falling so it was still proportionally increasing) after a bit of a dropoff from 2006 to 2007.

 

[/uselessgeekery]

 

2011 so far is 54/183 = 29.51% (!)

 

Thanks for that. :)

 

I wonder why it is especially common amongst rap/hip-hop artists though?

 

I'm guessing there must be a reason less egotistical than merely maximising their number of chart entries?

 

Thanks for that. :)

 

I wonder why it is especially common amongst rap/hip-hop artists though?

 

I'm guessing there must be a reason less egotistical than merely maximising their number of chart entries?

Well, the main reason is that rappers tend not to be able to sing, so they need someone to sing the hook. This acts as a way to give the song more mainstream appeal, helps it to get played on the radio, or simply helps to break the song up. Another big reason is that, frankly, listening to the same person rap throughout the whole song or album would get a little boring for some people, so bringing in another rapper with a different style helps to keep things interesting. This mostly refers to stuff that doesn't have the hook sung, as that naturally breaks it up, anyway. So yeah, the main reason is simply to break things up musically. That isn't necessarily needed in pop music because the verses are always subordinate to the chorus, which sells the song, so it doesn't really matter if the same person sings everything. Although some pop and R&B acts have taken to adding rappers into their songs nowadays to add a bit of variety and try to attract a different audience, but a lot of pop fans don't seem to appreciate that, in my experience.

 

And certain rappers move in similar circles, so are good friends, or maybe label mates, or come from the same local music scene. This is why there are certain rap collaborations that seem to happen often, like Dr. Dre and Eminem often collaborate because he was Eminem's mentor, and actually signed him to his label back in the day. And the Young Money crew collaborate with each other because they're label mates, and by the same extension, friends. It's simply fun for them to contribute a verse on their friend's track, and gets them a little bit of money, too. Plus, it obviously helps to open them up to different people, as someone who isn't necessarily a fan or knows of x rapper might listen to the song if their favourite rapper z is on it, whereas they may have ignored or missed it otherwise.

 

Coming on to a similar point, it also helps to break through new acts, as those who don't know that particular rapper on the track may become a fan of his/her style, and thus they've gained a new audience. This is why someone like Nicki Minaj featured on SO many songs before she even released her debut album. Not just rappers either - some singers broke in like that, on rap songs or otherwise.

 

Then there's also the fact that it's simply easier for rappers to collaborate, as their only instrument is their voice. So they can just go in, put their verse down, and that's it. Compared to, say, two bands who would have to worry about instruments, lead vocals and all, and frankly it gets a little messy. And even two singers have to split the song up, and then you have the idea of how much their voices go together, whether one of them outsings the other (which is never a good idea), and little stuff like that. Most bands don't need to collaborate because they already have everything they need in their own set up. In rap music none of that is an issue, and they have to find certain people to do certain things that they're unable to do.

The thing with the Young Money/Cash Money crew is that it's a little bit boring to keep seeing collaborations of any combination of Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay Sean, Birdman and Drake climbing up the charts (mostly in the USA as the YM guys and girl are not anywhere near as popular here)

 

In the US iTunes top 100 there are all of the following:

Jay Sean feat. Lil Wayne - Hit The Lights

Nicki Minaj feat. Drake - Moment 4 Life

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

 

Lil Wayne feat. Drake - Right Above It is at #102 and 6 Foot 7 Foot feat. Cory Gunz (another Young Money signing, albeit a less prominent one) is #23.

Edited February 8, 201114 yr by ★BlindFaithBray★

The thing with the Young Money/Cash Money crew is that it's a little bit boring to keep seeing collaborations of any combination of Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay Sean, Birdman and Drake climbing up the charts (mostly in the USA as the YM guys and girl are not anywhere near as popular here)

 

In the US iTunes top 100 there are all of the following:

Jay Sean feat. Lil Wayne - Hit The Lights

Nicki Minaj feat. Drake - Moment 4 Life

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

 

Lil Wayne feat. Drake - Right Above It is at #102 and 6 Foot 7 Foot feat. Cory Gunz (another Young Money signing, albeit a less prominent one) is #23.

Indeed, but it's easier to just collaborate with people from your label then get into complicated politics with others, so it's understandable :lol:

 

I wouldn't mind so much if I actually enjoyed that group of rappers/singers, but frankly they tend to bore me regardless.

I think it's just that the hip hop community is more united. Like I heard 50 Cent and Eminem live together, sometimes, for example. And it's more like "I've got a really good beat, anybody want to use it?", or "I've written a good rap verse on a similar subject matter to one of your songs, do you want it?", I would imagine.

 

And even then, it seems a lot of famous rappers just make rap verses for other people's songs, just for the fun of it. Like J Cole has made a rap verse for S&M, Nicki Minaj made one for In My Head, 50 Cent has made some for Forget You and Boom Boom Pow, Tinie Tempah has made one for E.T., and so on. Most of these don't go up for sale, they're just made, for the fun of it I guess.

Well, the main reason is that rappers tend not to be able to sing, so they need someone to sing the hook. This acts as a way to give the song more mainstream appeal, helps it to get played on the radio, or simply helps to break the song up. Another big reason is that, frankly, listening to the same person rap throughout the whole song or album would get a little boring for some people, so bringing in another rapper with a different style helps to keep things interesting. This mostly refers to stuff that doesn't have the hook sung, as that naturally breaks it up, anyway. So yeah, the main reason is simply to break things up musically. That isn't necessarily needed in pop music because the verses are always subordinate to the chorus, which sells the song, so it doesn't really matter if the same person sings everything. Although some pop and R&B acts have taken to adding rappers into their songs nowadays to add a bit of variety and try to attract a different audience, but a lot of pop fans don't seem to appreciate that, in my experience.

 

Did you have particular pop fan in mind? :P

 

And certain rappers move in similar circles, so are good friends, or maybe label mates, or come from the same local music scene. This is why there are certain rap collaborations that seem to happen often, like Dr. Dre and Eminem often collaborate because he was Eminem's mentor, and actually signed him to his label back in the day. And the Young Money crew collaborate with each other because they're label mates, and by the same extension, friends. It's simply fun for them to contribute a verse on their friend's track, and gets them a little bit of money, too. Plus, it obviously helps to open them up to different people, as someone who isn't necessarily a fan or knows of x rapper might listen to the song if their favourite rapper z is on it, whereas they may have ignored or missed it otherwise.

 

Coming on to a similar point, it also helps to break through new acts, as those who don't know that particular rapper on the track may become a fan of his/her style, and thus they've gained a new audience. This is why someone like Nicki Minaj featured on SO many songs before she even released her debut album. Not just rappers either - some singers broke in like that, on rap songs or otherwise.

 

Then there's also the fact that it's simply easier for rappers to collaborate, as their only instrument is their voice. So they can just go in, put their verse down, and that's it. Compared to, say, two bands who would have to worry about instruments, lead vocals and all, and frankly it gets a little messy. And even two singers have to split the song up, and then you have the idea of how much their voices go together, whether one of them outsings the other (which is never a good idea), and little stuff like that. Most bands don't need to collaborate because they already have everything they need in their own set up. In rap music none of that is an issue, and they have to find certain people to do certain things that they're unable to do.

 

Wow - that is quite an essay! :)

 

Personally, the technicalities of music, song structure, speed etc., mean little to me - I either like a song or I don't.

Did you have particular pop fan in mind? :P

Haha, not really - I was just thinking back to Katy Perry fans and their moaning about Snoop Dogg's supposed "non-rap" in California Gurls (despite it easily being the best part of the song, IMO, but oh well!)