In the rap game, collaboration is often a business partnership as much as it is a true creative endeavor. When you’re on the come-up, securing the right co-sign can be vital in introducing you to new audiences or cementing your credibility.
When you’re already established, the artists you work with — particularly the emerging artists you chose to endorse — also influence how the public perceives you.
A guest verse from the right legend can put you over to a new audience; but if you’re that legend, it might be a way of putting yourself over by borrowing a younger artist’s clout and riding their coattails.
Few rappers have leveraged their clout as a valuable commodity in the same way as Drake, who frequently rides a thin line between transaction and collaboration, or inspiration and appropriation.
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