My Favorite Hip Hop Feature Performances

It used to be that a feature spot on a song had a few different connotations for an MC. Many times it was a throwaway spot to spice up a pop or R&B song. Nobodys and neverwouldbes would hit a track for 16 bars and then fade back into relative obscurity. It was like its own genre of one-hit wonderdom. Or, if an established rapper took a feature spot on a song, it would be a rare, usually successful, foray for a single or, many times, a soundtrack song or the like.

Anymore, it seems to be its own end goal. You have your Ludacris's and your Pitbull's making it to a place of individual success only to take that fame and recognition and seemingly backslide into a career of hip hop freelancing. Maybe if you feature you get to fill out a 1099 for your appearance and you save money in the long run. (Boom! Tax joke). Either way, I find it silly and backwards, and I, like the ornery old man I seem to be quickly becoming, wish it was like it was back in my day. Below our 3 of my favorite feature performances of all time (back when they used to do it the right way!).

Paula Abdul - Opposites Attract (Featuring MC Skat Kat)

The 90's was a sweet time to be animated. Sure you could do cartoons, but with the Roger Rabits and Space Jam crews of the world mixing it up with real celebrities, there was no boundary to what you could do with your animated self. MC Skat Kat, in the "Opposites Attract" video was actually voiced by two MCs--The Wild Pair, Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn. Besides the hot fire spit by The Wild Pair, the video itself actually had some talent behind it too. The video was directed by Michael Patterson who did the animation work on A-Ha's "Take On Me" video. (You can see that song hilariously used in a SAGAttack video.) Patterson apparently believed that all women in the 90's wanted to hook-up with cartoons--bestiality optional. MC Skat Kat went on to get his own crew, The Stray Mob, and an album, The Adventures of MC Skat Kat and the Stray Mob. For that album he was voiced by Derrick "Delite" Stevens. Their single, Skat Strut (with Abdul now in the feature role), got solid video play on MTV, but the record and single ultimately flopped.


Salt-N-Peppa - Shoop (Featuring Otwane Roberts, or "Big Twan Love-Her")

Salt and Peppa were in need of "shooping." They recruited Otwane Roberts to fill that position. He was apparently the "cutest brotha in the room," so why not? Otwane never went on to record any other songs. But, for me, the idea of sexing someone to the point of them being mentally disabled--with the line, "12 inches to a yard, have ya soundin' like a retard"--is a lyric that will go down in hip hop history. However, with math like that, you have to wonder who is really leaving the sex session with a diminished mental capacity.

Aaliyah - Back In One Piece (Featuring DMX)

Here's my favorite example of a quality artist venturing into the feature game without becoming a full time 1099 MC. And also, DMX's allusions to dogs make this a better, fully live action "Opposites Attract" if you ask me. A DMX/MC Skat Kat duet in the future? One can only hope. The duo's name, Kats and Dogs. The album title, It's Raining. You're welcome music.