Which Hip-hop Verses Were Ghostwritten By Someone Else?

Ghostwriters have written some of the best hip-hop songs of the last thirty years – from “Mo Money, Mo Problems” to “Still D.R.E.” – but because of their agreements, which are usually shrouded in secrecy, the writers are often not credited, receiving just one-off payments for their efforts. Which, I guess, is the rap game version of zero hour contracts at Sports Direct.

Earlier this week, in an interview with Complex, Talib Kweli talked about how being a ghostwriter is usually every aspiring rapper’s first job; a time when they can hone their skills by writing rhymes for others, before moving on to writing their own material. “There was dudes in the neighbourhood that would rap, my friends, and I would write rhymes, like, ‘try this out’.” He then went on to say that although most MCs grow out of writing for others, for some, the anonymity and easy money suits them better.

It’s a murky world; with most writers keeping quiet about their input into other’s output in order to maintain their client’s reputations. When Kendrick Lamar and Freddie Gibbs appeared on MTV’s Rapfix, the show’s host, Sway, asked them about their reputation as the industry’s rising ghostwriters. The pair met Sway with a stony silence, looked at each other and then Gibbs said, “shhh, don’t tell nobody.” He later revealed that he’d lent his talents to five big name artists, none of whom he’d name.

Which is what made Skillz’s “Ghostwriter”, released in 2000, all the more explosive. With lines like “I'm a ghostwriter, I'm the cat that you don't see, I write hits for rappers you like and charge 'em a fee” and “You thought your single was hot? I wrote that shit five minutes in a parking lot.” Skillz pulled no punches naming names of the people who he’d written for, all because they hadn’t been forthcoming with payment for his work. The song was eventually censored by Skillz’s record label Rawkus – boo! But Skillz made sure to perform the uncensored version of the song live, if only once, with a packed out crowd at the show. The names that emerged from the song surprised many in the hip hop world including Mase, Foxy Brown, Will Smith and one man Sean “I’m going to talk all over your song” Diddy Combs.

This prompted Diddy to address this issue with just one line in his song “Bad Boy For Life”, “don't worry if I write rhymes, I write cheques”, without a hint of irony. It later emerged that Diddy didn’t even write that song.

Another famous example of your favourite rapper not actually being your favourite rapper comes from N.W.A. It was allegedly mostly up to Ice Cube to provide the group with its political voice and nearly all the verses (credit goes to MC Ren for writing his own bars though). “Straight Outta Compton” was said to be written solely by Ice Cube, handing lyric sheets to Dre and Eazy E. Eazy had the flow, he just needed direction, so Cube even wrote his early solo material.

And as for Dre, this whole article could be devoted to the pretence that Dr Dre is a rapper as well as a producer. I mean, every fallible soul who has ever spent an evening watching MTV Base knows that “Still D.R.E.” was written by Jay Z. But, under the surface, the truth is that Dre can’t write raps at all, and he never could. The song where it’s most purportedly obvious is “Forget About Dre” in which Eminem provides everyone’s favourite doctor with the words. The end result meant that Dre’s verses ended up matching Eminem’s usual delivery in all but subject matter. Aside from selling headphones, Dre is the true rap-game chameleon, mimicking his style to whomever he’s partnering up with. It’s a testament to the perception that everyone has to be good at everything, all the time, always. The truth is that he’s just a great producer who’s made some admittedly bad life decisions. Dre’s now realised this and has a fully functioning ghostwriting production team behind him, crafting his well worn persona of the reformed gangsta who’s made it big.

Then there’s the case of Nas supposedly needing a ghostwriter. Yes, even God’s son isn’t immune to a spot of help now and then, which is ironic because in his heyday he used to write verses for Will Smith and Pharrell. Upon the release of his 2008 album Untitled, many commented how great it was that Nas gave Jay Electronica a chance to produce opening track “Queens Get The Money”. Except, he didn’t just produce it, apparently, according to insider info from journalist Dream Hampton, Nas had drafted Jay in as a ghostwriter. Surprisingly, the backlash was subdued, with many giving Nas the goodwill of his previous efforts. But, seriously though, how long can dude ride on the acclaim of the greatest rap debut ever released?

We all know that Kanye produced a bunch of tracks and essentially allowed Jay Z a new lease of life. But, he first gained a great deal of experience from being mentored by D.Dot during his time at Bad Boy Records. Though the pupil soon surpassed his master by producing hits for him. These songs were often un-credited, but there is definitely a genesis of Kanye’s sound in them. Notorious B.I.G’s “Let Me Get Down” is perhaps the most audibly apparent example of a track that Yeezy was left uncredited on. The tables were later turned on Yeezy, when industry rumours began circulating that he had enlisted Consequence to ghostwrite lyrics for him while he was busy producing for others. You can imagine Kanye rapping the first verse of this Consequence song and it fitting his style, but there’s not confirmation.

Ghostwriting is often a profitable business for those who haven’t managed to become breakout stars in their own right. Joe Budden is just one of the many anonymous success stories, helping support himself through rumoured high profile work whilst his own career flounders. It's been said he counts Dipset and Eminem amongst its clients. The temporary cash helps create the illusion of wealth in Budden’s own faltering career.

Big Pun and Triple Seis were two well-known ghostwriters for Fat Joe during his Don Cartagina period, when Pun died people noticed a significant slump in the quality of Fat Joe’s lyrics, though he has since countered this by enlisting a team of ghostwriters to work round the clock so that he can express who he truly is.

Ghostwriting is and has always been an integral part of hip-hop. It's the hip-hop apprenticeship, a way for young talent to learn their craft and bring new life to fading stars. And when Dre finally releases Detox in 2019, I'm fine with the fact he might not have scribbled all the lyrics himself.

Follow Dan on Twitter @keendang

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