Hit & Miss: Not-So Super Rap Supergroups
Andrew Hickey profiles the hits and misses of rap supergroup history
Words Andrew Hickey
HIT: JAY-Z & KANYE WEST //
While you could argue that two men can’t make a supergroup, as typically they consist of around four people, Watch The Throne is the perfect example of the concept. Jigga and Yeezy have enough talent and ego between the two of them for an entire crew and then some. The recording of the album was born out of the chemistry they discovered over time rather than a forced concept. Once the album dropped they rightfully milked the shit out of it.
MISS: THE FIRM //
This one was a tough call as I have been a big fan of all these artists involved at one point or another. Their sole album, produced by Dr. Dre, also happens to contain at least two classic tracks. As The Firm proved, some supergroups aren’t necessarily terrible they just lack a cohesive vision or chemistry and it ultimately just doesn’t quite work. From Foxy Brown to Nature, The curse of The Firm seemed to plague all the rappers involved afterwards, even guest Canibus. All expect for Nas, that self-righteous bastard.
HIT: DITC //
From a hip-hop purist standpoint few, if any, could argue with the inclusion of the Diggin’ in the Crates crew in any mention of great supergroups. For their level of collective influence on today’s hip-hop scene alone (both mainstream and indie) they are deserving of a top spot. Originally founded as a loose collective in the early 90s with the likes of Lord Finesse and Diamond D it became a tightly-knit crew featuring the likes of Showbiz & AG, OC and the late Big L. They produced one great, if slightly underwhelming, album and a whole load of great solo records. The unfortunate passing of Big L seemed to put everything on hold.
MISS: ST. LUNATICS //
Unlike Ludacris and his efforts with Disturbin’ Tha Peace there is no light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the St. Lunatics. While Luda helped introduce 2 Chainz to the world the band-aid wearing Nelly gave us Murphy Lee and Ali. Their sole group project, Free City, may have been catchy at the time but hasn’t aged well. Subsequent solo projects just further cemented their status as glorified weed carriers.
HIT: DISTURBING THA PEACE //
You may be thinking one of two things (who? or why?). After Diddy and his ‘shiny suit’ brigade paved the way, hip-hop continued to prosper in the mainstream well into the 2000s. This success gave rappers the opportunity to exert their authority over record labels and the public by unleashing their own supergroups. Ludacris did just that and even got his own vanity label. Disturbing Tha Peace was the prototypical supergroup of faceless rappers built around a star. Their sole reason for being listed on here is because the crew gave birth to 2 Chainz, who was going by the unfortunately hilarious moniker of Tity Boi. That on its own makes the whole exercise a success.
MISS: CRS (LUPE FIASCO, KANYE WEST, PHARRELL WILLIAMS) //
Another case of what should have been (see The Firm), this collective performed possibly the biggest cardinal sin of any supergroup mentioned here. They promised so much and delivered nothing beyond one track. That one track (Us Players) may have been amazing so I can’t complain entirely. That’s where the problem comes in though. They delivered the goods and then held out. Maybe it’s like that long lost girl you met at the party. Having one great night (or in this case track) might have made the union more memorable and is better than nothing at all. But I’m a hip-hop head, so I’ll stick with my original judgment.
HIT: NATIVE TONGUES //
After the Juice Crew there was the Native Tongues. Setting the standard for future supergroups to follow these pioneers created their own community of passionate artists all feeding off each other. It was like a Caligula-style orgy but with music. The issue with such an unwieldy group, which didn’t seem to put a limit on their membership, is that a group album was never a reality. They made up for this by appearing on each other’s albums and producing everything in-house. Among their members were A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers. That’s a hall of fame on its own.
MISS: MURDER INC. //
You have to feel for Ja Rule. At least just a little bit. The gruff voiced rapper, who concocted some of hip-hop’s best pieces of fluff in the early 2000s, was essentially castrated when 50 Cent came into the game. Murder Inc. is like a slap in the face as the originally promised supergroup of Ja, DMX and Jay-Z never progressed. Instead we got Caddillac Tah and Black Child. When Ja Rule is the best member of the crew you have a problem. Listening to their two group releases is a dire experience. Even fire-crotch femcee Charli Baltimore couldn’t help the cause.
HIT: SOUTH CENTRAL CARTEL //
You can’t go wrong with a hip-hop crew that is comfortable enough to flaunt guns on the front cover of their album. The fact that South Central Cartel did this a few months before the east/west feud heated up almost makes them prophets. The self-explanatory N Gatz We Truss is 18 tracks of blood-soaked, posturing brilliance. The pure ignorance and unashamed lack of political correctness on display makes up for the fact that this ‘supergroup’ includes no actual stars among its ranks, unless you count Havoc & Prodeje (no, not Mobb Deep).
MISS: ANALOG BROTHERS //
A supergroup consisting of legends Kool Keith and Ice-T, what could be wrong with that? The Analog Brothers was an exercise in taking away what was unique about each artist and overreaching. The quirky nut-job angle has paid off well for Keith over the years but did nothing for Ice-T as he tried to keep up with the weirdness. Throw in underwhelming contributions from lesser-knowns Marc Live, Black Silver and Pimp Rex and you’re left with something flat and unmemorable.
Thanks to talent-packed labels like Shady Records and G.O.O.D. Music, rap supergroups seem to be the in-thing again. Hip-hop has always been about power-in-numbers and there was a time when people were clamouring to hear a combination of talented MCs together. But for every Slaughterhouse you’ve had the St. Lunatics or an underwhelming offshoot of a popular group (Wu-Tang, Dip Set).
In some cases the term supergroup is thrown around a little too liberally. Groups like A$AP Mob and the Black Hippy crew while not short on talent are built around one central figure flanked by others who have yet to prove themselves. There are tough expectations to live up to considering that the term supergroup was once bestowed to the likes of the Juice Crew, with members who were all titans in their own right (Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap).
Over time the role of the supergroup has changed from a collective of established artists to using the talent and popularity of one artist to benefit the lesser artists in the crew. Then you have the Dip Set effect where all three members are on similar talent levels despite one member (Cam’ron) being the only established artist in the crew at the time. The supergroup concept works best when the formation is a natural process, based on chemistry and shared passion. While it’s an admirable trait, the idea of putting your homies on doesn’t work most of the time. Have a look at some of the best and worst rap supergroups to grace the history of music above and let us know if you agree….
HIT: JAY-Z & KANYE WEST //
While you could argue that two men can’t make a supergroup, as typically they consist of around four people, Watch The Throne is the perfect example of the concept. Jigga and Yeezy have enough talent and ego between the two of them for an entire crew and then some. The recording of the album was born out of the chemistry they discovered over time rather than a forced concept. Once the album dropped they rightfully milked the shit out of it.
MISS: THE FIRM //
This one was a tough call as I have been a big fan of all these artists involved at one point or another. Their sole album, produced by Dr. Dre, also happens to contain at least two classic tracks. As The Firm proved, some supergroups aren’t necessarily terrible they just lack a cohesive vision or chemistry and it ultimately just doesn’t quite work. From Foxy Brown to Nature, The curse of The Firm seemed to plague all the rappers involved afterwards, even guest Canibus. All expect for Nas, that self-righteous bastard.
HIT: DITC //
From a hip-hop purist standpoint few, if any, could argue with the inclusion of the Diggin’ in the Crates crew in any mention of great supergroups. For their level of collective influence on today’s hip-hop scene alone (both mainstream and indie) they are deserving of a top spot. Originally founded as a loose collective in the early 90s with the likes of Lord Finesse and Diamond D it became a tightly-knit crew featuring the likes of Showbiz & AG, OC and the late Big L. They produced one great, if slightly underwhelming, album and a whole load of great solo records. The unfortunate passing of Big L seemed to put everything on hold.
MISS: ST. LUNATICS //
Unlike Ludacris and his efforts with Disturbin’ Tha Peace there is no light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the St. Lunatics. While Luda helped introduce 2 Chainz to the world the band-aid wearing Nelly gave us Murphy Lee and Ali. Their sole group project, Free City, may have been catchy at the time but hasn’t aged well. Subsequent solo projects just further cemented their status as glorified weed carriers.
HIT: DISTURBING THA PEACE //
You may be thinking one of two things (who? or why?). After Diddy and his ‘shiny suit’ brigade paved the way, hip-hop continued to prosper in the mainstream well into the 2000s. This success gave rappers the opportunity to exert their authority over record labels and the public by unleashing their own supergroups. Ludacris did just that and even got his own vanity label. Disturbing Tha Peace was the prototypical supergroup of faceless rappers built around a star. Their sole reason for being listed on here is because the crew gave birth to 2 Chainz, who was going by the unfortunately hilarious moniker of Tity Boi. That on its own makes the whole exercise a success.
MISS: CRS (LUPE FIASCO, KANYE WEST, PHARRELL WILLIAMS) //
Another case of what should have been (see The Firm), this collective performed possibly the biggest cardinal sin of any supergroup mentioned here. They promised so much and delivered nothing beyond one track. That one track (Us Players) may have been amazing so I can’t complain entirely. That’s where the problem comes in though. They delivered the goods and then held out. Maybe it’s like that long lost girl you met at the party. Having one great night (or in this case track) might have made the union more memorable and is better than nothing at all. But I’m a hip-hop head, so I’ll stick with my original judgment.
HIT: NATIVE TONGUES //
After the Juice Crew there was the Native Tongues. Setting the standard for future supergroups to follow these pioneers created their own community of passionate artists all feeding off each other. It was like a Caligula-style orgy but with music. The issue with such an unwieldy group, which didn’t seem to put a limit on their membership, is that a group album was never a reality. They made up for this by appearing on each other’s albums and producing everything in-house. Among their members were A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers. That’s a hall of fame on its own.
MISS: MURDER INC. //
You have to feel for Ja Rule. At least just a little bit. The gruff voiced rapper, who concocted some of hip-hop’s best pieces of fluff in the early 2000s, was essentially castrated when 50 Cent came into the game. Murder Inc. is like a slap in the face as the originally promised supergroup of Ja, DMX and Jay-Z never progressed. Instead we got Caddillac Tah and Black Child. When Ja Rule is the best member of the crew you have a problem. Listening to their two group releases is a dire experience. Even fire-crotch femcee Charli Baltimore couldn’t help the cause.
HIT: SOUTH CENTRAL CARTEL //
You can’t go wrong with a hip-hop crew that is comfortable enough to flaunt guns on the front cover of their album. The fact that South Central Cartel did this a few months before the east/west feud heated up almost makes them prophets. The self-explanatory N Gatz We Truss is 18 tracks of blood-soaked, posturing brilliance. The pure ignorance and unashamed lack of political correctness on display makes up for the fact that this ‘supergroup’ includes no actual stars among its ranks, unless you count Havoc & Prodeje (no, not Mobb Deep).
MISS: ANALOG BROTHERS //
A supergroup consisting of legends Kool Keith and Ice-T, what could be wrong with that? The Analog Brothers was an exercise in taking away what was unique about each artist and overreaching. The quirky nut-job angle has paid off well for Keith over the years but did nothing for Ice-T as he tried to keep up with the weirdness. Throw in underwhelming contributions from lesser-knowns Marc Live, Black Silver and Pimp Rex and you’re left with something flat and unmemorable.
Thanks to talent-packed labels like Shady Records and G.O.O.D. Music, rap supergroups seem to be the in-thing again. Hip-hop has always been about power-in-numbers and there was a time when people were clamouring to hear a combination of talented MCs together. But for every Slaughterhouse you’ve had the St. Lunatics or an underwhelming offshoot of a popular group (Wu-Tang, Dip Set).
In some cases the term supergroup is thrown around a little too liberally. Groups like A$AP Mob and the Black Hippy crew while not short on talent are built around one central figure flanked by others who have yet to prove themselves. There are tough expectations to live up to considering that the term supergroup was once bestowed to the likes of the Juice Crew, with members who were all titans in their own right (Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap).
Over time the role of the supergroup has changed from a collective of established artists to using the talent and popularity of one artist to benefit the lesser artists in the crew. Then you have the Dip Set effect where all three members are on similar talent levels despite one member (Cam’ron) being the only established artist in the crew at the time. The supergroup concept works best when the formation is a natural process, based on chemistry and shared passion. While it’s an admirable trait, the idea of putting your homies on doesn’t work most of the time. Have a look at some of the best and worst rap supergroups to grace the history of music above and let us know if you agree….
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