Hip-hop and reggae have always gone hand in hand. These 25 collaborations prove why.
Hip-hop and reggae have always been different branches on the same family tree. Think second or maybe third cousins.
Sure, they’ve grown into their own distinct genres, but they’ve been borrowing from each other for so long that it’s hard to imagine one without the other. Whether it’s Jamaican patois woven into rap verses, dancehall riddims finding their way onto hip-hop records or artists simply stepping into the studio together, the connection has always felt natural.
Maybe that’s because it is. From the Bronx to Kingston and everywhere in between, the two genres have spent decades inspiring one another. Sometimes that influence is obvious, other times, it’s nestled inside a beat, a melody or the way an artist flows on a record. Either way, the result has been some of Black music’s most memorable collaborations. Records that don’t sound like two worlds colliding, but like family joining forces in the best way..
That relationship stretches back to hip-hop’s earliest days. Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc is widely recognized as one of the genre’s founding figures, bringing sound system culture from Kingston to the Bronx and helping lay the groundwork for what would become hip-hop. Artists like Shinehead blurred the lines even more, moving effortlessly between reggae, dancehall and rap at a time when genre-blending was the furthest thing from normal. By the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s, collaborations between hip-hop and reggae artists weren’t exceptions, they were actually becoming a second nature. Super Cat linked with Heavy D, then Shabba Ranks traded verses with Queen Latifah.
Fast-forward a few decades and not much has changed, only the sound has evolved. Damian Marley and Nas gave us an entire collaborative album with Distant Relatives. Drake helped introduce dancehall influences to a new generation of mainstream rap fans. And Kendrick Lamar enlisted Agent Sasco for arguably one of the most powerful songs in his catalog. More recently, artists like Koffee, Byron Messia and Kranium have continued that exchange, proving this was never a passing trend. Hip-hop and reggae artists oftentimes speak the same language, both literally and figuratively.
These songs represent nearly four decades of hip-hop and reggae growing alongside one another. Check out 25 of the greatest hip-hop and reggae collaborations of all time.
The Fat Boys – “Hard Core Reggae” (1985)
Jay-Z featuring Damian Marley – “Bam” (2017)
Ini Kamoze – “Here Comes the Hotstepper” (1994)
Nas featuring Damian Marley – “As We Enter” (2010)
Kendrick Lamar featuring Agent Sasco – “The Blacker the Berry” (2015)
Super Cat and Heavy D – “Dem No Worry We” (1992)
FERG featuring A$AP Rocky – “Shabba” (2013)
Foxy Brown featuring Spragga Benz – “Oh Yeah” (2001)
Drake featuring Popcaan – “Controlla” (2016)
Super Cat featuring The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy and Third World – “Dolly My Baby (Remix)” (1992)
Shyne and Barrington Levy- “Bad Boyz” (2000)
Busta Rhymes featuring Sean Paul and Spliff Starr – “Make It Clap” (Remix)
(2002)
The Game featuring Junior Reid – “It’s Okay (One Blood)” (2006)
Koffee featuring Gunna – “W” (2019)
Stefflon Don featuring French Montana – “Hurtin’ Me” (2017)
Byron Messia featuring Lil Baby and Rvssian – “Choppa” (2024)
Gyptian featuring Nicki Minaj – “Hold Yuh (Remix)” (2010)
Wayne Wonder featuring C.N.N. and Lexxus – “Anything Goes” (2003)
Kranium featuring Tory Lanez – “We Can” (2016)
Beenie Man, Ms. Thing, Shawnna – “Dude (Remix)” (2004)
DMX, Sean Paul, Mr. Vegas – “Top Shotta” (2003)
Shinehead – “Who the Cap Fits” (1986)
Shabba Ranks feat Queen Latifah – “What’cha Gonna Do” (1992)
Capleton and Method Man – “Wings of the Morning” (1995)
Bounty Killer featuring The Fugees – “Hip-Hopera” (1997)
