It’s been the game for years and we have been letting it slide. Earlier today, Busta Rhymes dropped his new visuals for “Thank You” featuring Q-Tip with honorable mentions to Lil Wayne and Kanye West who have minimal contributions on the track. Then there’s Timbaland who dropped his new single, ” Know Bout Me,” off his upcoming album Textbook Timbo with Drake, Jay Z and James Fauntleroy. Before hitting play, one would expect a track featuring the rappers that made “Pound Cake” a hit would be able to live up to or surpass that kind of success once again. The piano in the intro is enticing with Jay talking about selling dreams like Walt Disney, yet it would be the only time we’d hear Hov on the track. Though Drake’s verse is decent and James Fauntleroy handled the outro, Jay’s absence from the rest of the song is another example of the ghost feature.
Over the years, hip-hop artists have put out tracks with a wide range of features from their own alias’, family or even slew of artists who only lay out a few words or a short length of harmonized vocals. How many times have you been promised a major artist on a new track to be thrown off by the few words they contribute?
Take a look back at the ghost features of the past and present.
Lil Wayne & Kanye West on Busta Rhymes’ “Thank You”
With E.L.E 2 on the way, it’s understandable for Busta Rhymes to drop a great collaboration between Q-Tip, Lil Wayne & Kanye West. However, we only hear Busta & Q-Tip unleash the serious verses. Lil Wayne simply introduces the track with the Cash Money tag while Kanye West provides the interlude before Q-Tip’s last verse. Weezy and Yeezy’s lines remain invisible compared to the rest of the track, but at least they reappear for the visual.
