The 30 Greatest Guest Verses in Rap History

Sixteen bars, someone else's song, and a reputation on the line. Half of these guests walked off with the record; the rest just made sure nobody skipped their part.

1. 1
   Eminem – Renegade

   Eminem's 2001 verse on Jay-Z's The Blueprint, the guest spot rap fans have argued about ever since.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Nicki Minaj – Monster

   Nicki's verse on Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, alongside Jay-Z and Rick Ross.
   814pts
3. 3
   Busta Rhymes – Look at Me Now

   Busta Rhymes ends Chris Brown's 2011 single, also featuring Lil Wayne, with a rapid-fire verse; the song reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
   745pts
4. 4
   Drake – Sicko Mode

   Drake's sections on Travis Scott's 2018 track from Astroworld, which switches beats three times, helped make it Scott's first US chart-topper.
   684pts
5. 5
   Big Pun – Off the Books

   Big Punisher made his recorded debut on the Beatnuts' 1997 single from Stone Crazy, alongside Cuban Link, a year before his platinum debut album.
   610pts
6. 6
   Kanye West – Run This Town

   Kanye West's closing verse on Jay-Z's 2009 single from The Blueprint 3, with Rihanna on the hook, was part of a track that won two Grammys.
   610pts
7. 7
   Andre 3000 – Int'l Players Anthem

   The opening verse on UGK's 2007 track, delivered before the beat even drops.
   610pts
8. 8
   Nas – Verbal Intercourse

   Nas opening Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, a verse Wu-Tang fans quote line for line.
   610pts
9. 9
   Chance the Rapper – Ultralight Beam

   Chance the Rapper's gospel-tinged verse on the opening track of Kanye West's 2016 album The Life of Pablo came months before his own Coloring Book.
   553pts
10. 10
    Ol' Dirty Bastard – Fantasy (Remix)

    Ol' Dirty Bastard's wild verse on the 1995 Bad Boy remix of Mariah Carey's 'Fantasy' made a pop single an early template for rap and R&B remixes.
    488pts
11. 11
    The Notorious B.I.G. – Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)

    Biggie opened Craig Mack's 1994 remix, which also featured LL Cool J, Rampage and Busta Rhymes, in one of his first big guest spots.
    488pts
12. 12
    Kendrick Lamar – Like That

    Kendrick's 2024 verse on Future and Metro Boomin's 'Like That' rejected the idea of a 'big three' with Drake and J. Cole and set off his feud with Drake.
    488pts
13. 13
    Busta Rhymes – Scenario

    Busta's 1992 verse on A Tribe Called Quest's Scenario, the launch of a career.
    413pts
14. 14
    Eminem – Forgot About Dre

    Eminem takes the long middle verse on this single from Dr. Dre's 1999 album 2001, which won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
    413pts
15. 15
    Snoop Dogg – Deep Cover

    Snoop's 1992 introduction on Dr. Dre's first solo single.
    413pts
16. 16
    Lil Wayne – We Takin' Over

    Lil Wayne closes DJ Khaled's 2007 posse cut with a long verse at the height of his mixtape run, after Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe and Birdman.
    413pts
17. 17
    Kendrick Lamar – Control

    The 2013 Big Sean track where Kendrick named his peers and restarted the competition.
    413pts
18. 18
    Jay-Z – Never Let Me Down

    Jay-Z's verse on Kanye West's The College Dropout debut.
    413pts
19. 19
    Jay-Z – Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)

    Jay-Z's verse on the remix from Kanye West's 2005 album Late Registration folds his new job as Def Jam president into his story as a businessman.
    413pts
20. 20
    Lil' Kim – Quiet Storm (Remix)

    Lil' Kim joined Mobb Deep on the 1999 remix of 'Quiet Storm', from the Murda Muzik album, rapping over Havoc's dark, minimal beat.
    413pts
21. 21
    Big Daddy Kane – The Symphony

    Big Daddy Kane closes Marley Marl's 1988 Juice Crew posse cut, after Masta Ace, Craig G and Kool G Rap, on one of rap's earliest all-star tracks.
    413pts
22. 22
    J. Cole – a lot

    J. Cole's closing verse on 21 Savage's 2018 song, from the album i am > i was, helped it win the Grammy for Best Rap Song.
    325pts
23. 23
    Q-Tip – Got Til It's Gone

    Q-Tip's verse on Janet Jackson's 1997 single, a rare rap-pop crossover that worked.
    325pts
24. 24
    Lil Wayne – Duffle Bag Boy

    Wayne at the peak of his mixtape run, when a feature could carry an entire single.
    325pts
25. 25
    AZ – Life's a Bitch

    AZ delivered the only guest verse on Nas' 1994 debut Illmatic, a smooth meditation on money and mortality that launched his own career.
    325pts
26. 26
    50 Cent – Hate It or Love It

    50 Cent's verse on The Game's The Documentary, released as the two were falling out.
    222pts
27. 27
    Snoop Dogg – Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang

    Snoop trades lines with Dr. Dre on the lead single from The Chronic, a 1992 G-funk hit that reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
    222pts
28. 28
    Ludacris – Yeah!

    Ludacris raps the verse on Usher's 2004 single 'Yeah!', with Lil Jon, which spent 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
    222pts
29. 29
    Nas – Live at the BBQ

    A teenage Nas made his recorded debut on Main Source's 1991 posse cut from Breaking Atoms, closing the track with dense, violent wordplay.
    0pts
30. 30
    André 3000 – Solo (Reprise)

    André 3000 fills this short interlude on Frank Ocean's 2016 album Blonde with a single fast verse about ghostwriting in rap.
    0pts

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