THINK PIECE: Strangest Features From Albums I've Reviewed

Features exist all around music. Artists work together in collaboration to make a really incredible song, it happens all the time. And while there are plenty of great features out there, some of them come off on paper as being so off-the-wall and strange that you wonder what kind of voodoo the artists’ record companies engaged in to get them together on a track.

This list will discuss twelve specific examples of strange features in songs. Each song here is one from an album I have reviewed, and that’s basically the only qualification. These features aren’t here based on how good or bad they are, they are here because they may seem strange at first glance. Whether or not they stick the landing is irrelevant to whether or not they make the list, this is just all about how much sense they make (though I will at least point out if the songs are good or not). With that said, let’s discuss.

KENDRICK LAMAR FT. U2 - XXX.

Kendrick Lamar, one of the biggest rappers out there today, collaborating with a rock band that’s been around since the 70s, and was popular when my Dad was a kid? Something felt really strange about that to me! Hell, even in my review, I mentioned that Kendrick collaborating with U2 was “a strange combo.” The fact that the song also feels so un-U2 to me only makes it an even stranger collab. Even so, the song is definitely one of my favorites off of “DAMN.,” so kudos to Kendrick and U2 for making it work.

THE WEEKND FT. ED SHEERAN - DARK TIMES

Okay, here’s the thing: The Weeknd and Ed Sheeran are pretty much my two favorite artists, so a pairing like this should be a match made in Heaven for me. And, to an extent, it is. However, the thing is, they’re two COMPLETELY different artists, which makes this strange for me. And, truth be told, I wasn’t all that crazy about the track. I felt like Ed and Abel’s vocals lifted the song entirely, as the track generally struggled as a result of some less-than-stellar sonic elements. Still, a part of me kinda wants to see them try again, and see if they can make something more interesting.

BRUNO MARS FT. CARDI B - FINESSE (REMIX)

Okay, I’m kind of cheating a little bit since this wasn’t included on the album, but that doesn’t make it any less of a crack pairing. Cardi B and Bruno Mars couldn’t be any more different as artists, so the idea of her jumping on one of my favorite tracks from “24K Magic” had me saying “what?” The fact that Bruno’s own work doesn’t often have features didn’t help me think differently of the track, either. And certainly, while Cardi B feels kind of tacked-on to the beginning and the end, and not used as well as she could be, I definitely think this is a great remix, and I’m glad it happened because, having loved the original track, it’s nice to see this finally doing well on the charts.

CHANCE THE RAPPER FT. TOWKIO & JUSTIN BIEBER - JUKE JAM

No, I’m not talking about Towkio here. I hardly know who he is, so I wouldn’t know if this is out of his comfort zone. I’m talking about Bieber here, and not because he’s working with a rapper, because he’s definitely had plenty of hip-hop collaborations before (remember “I’m The One?” That had Chance in it, too!). Hell, even in the days of “Baby,” he was collaborating with Ludacris! I’m not shocked he’s WITH a hip-hop artist here, I’m shocked that his appearance just feels like a cameo. You’d think he’d use his popularity and fame to get a little more out of his guest feature on this track. His cameo DOES work here, and I think it does show a willingness to take a backseat despite his heavy popularity, which is great, but part of me kind wishes he got a little more of a chance to prove himself here.

RAE SREMMURD FT. LIL JON - SET THE ROOF

It’s no secret that Rae Sremmurd has had plenty of big features before. Even going back to the days of the first “SremmLife,” the duo was able to get Nicki Minaj and Big Sean on tracks, and “SremmLife 2” saw them grab artists like Gucci Mane and Juicy J, and their recent song “Powerglide” off of the upcoming “SR3MM” also had Juicy J on it, so it’s not like the boys can’t get big features. It came as a shock to me, though, that they got the Party Man himself, Lil Jon. Being kind of “old-school” at this point, I wondered for a minute how they got a veteran like him on this track. However they did it, they should pat themselves on the back for it, because it’s one of the best tracks on “SremmLife 2,” and it’s absolutely infectious and fun. If anything, I just wish they’d released it as a single. I feel like it would’ve done great, but alas, they didn’t, so now we’re just stuck waiting for “SR3MM.” One of these days.

ED SHEERAN FT. BEYONCÉ - PERFECT DUET

Again, this is kind of a cheat because it wasn’t included on the album, but given that it’s a chart-topping single, I feel like I have things to say about it. Beyoncé has proven to me that she can handle several different styles, so she’s definitely not my real surprise here. The reason this came so far out of the blue for me is that none of Ed’s previous songs had any prominent features. While he has been a feature on songs from artists like Taylor Swift and the aforementioned The Weeknd, “+,” “X,” and “÷” all catapulted to success without the aid of features. For Ed to hook up one of his own songs with a prominent feature, and someone as big as Beyoncé, no less, is pretty incredible. And not only does the song totally stick the landing (and honestly sound even better with Beyoncé), but being a song I absolutely love (it’s my future wedding song), I’m happy that this remix helped catapult the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 because it deserved it (and also because I said back in my review that it needed to be a chart-topper).

LIL PUMP FT. 2 CHAINZ - ICED OUT

2 Chainz’s feature list reads like the telephone book, so it may not seem weird that he’s a feature on any song at this point. What made this appearance a shock to me is that 2 Chainz is one of the most popular rappers around, and he’s a pretty big name, so it was crazy to see him co-sign a young rapper like Lil Pump so early in his career. While it definitely wasn’t one of my favorite songs on the mixtape, it at least showed me that big rappers aren’t ready to count Lil Pump out just yet, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see him grab even bigger features later on. If he was able to land 2 Chainz before he had a hit, imagine what he can do now that he has “Gucci Gang” under his belt.

MAROON 5 FT. KENDRICK LAMAR - DON’T WANNA KNOW

You know, I could talk about more than a few Maroon 5 tracks with strange rap features. With Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, and Future having appeared on some of the group’s tracks, they are no strangers to having random rap features. I specifically zeroed in on this one because, by the time this was released, Kendrick Lamar was fresh off of “To Pimp A Butterfly.” Perhaps, after that album was so unconventional, this was his first attempt at getting back into more mainstream music before he expanded upon that effort (to an extent) with “DAMN.?” It’s hard to tell, but either way, I’ve admittedly gotten a little bit of longevity out of track even though it doesn’t use Kendrick or Maroon 5 to their fullest potential. Kendrick’s definitely had better features, though.

TAYLOR SWIFT FT. ED SHEERAN & FUTURE - END GAME

It should be obvious, but I’m not talking about Ed Sheeran here. The two of them are close friends, and Ed has been on one of Taylor’s songs before. You guys already know I’m talking about Future. This is the only song with any features on “Reputation,” and even though Kendrick Lamar helped catapult “Bad Blood” to success before, she doesn’t work often with features, and Future just seemed out of place, another attempt by Taylor to radically change her sound on this album. Admittedly, it worked; this song did grow on me quite a bit, and Future’s verse is one of his most listenable to me, so I have to give credit where credit is due.

EMINEM FT. X AMBASSADORS - BAD HUSBAND

Come on, was there any doubt something off of Eminem’s latest album would make this list? Everyone remembers the general reaction when Eminem released the tracklist for “Revival” and the features list included Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Kehlani, and X Ambassadors. It was, uhh, not very positive, to say the least. The X Ambassadors feature was the one that arguably received the most criticism (sure, Ed Sheeran did, but in his defense, he has rapped several times before, so for me personally, it wasn’t shocking), and for good reason, because the song itself is one of the album’s worst. Their hook in particular is pretty weak and, much like a lot of the other songs on the record, the production on this one is less than stellar. I’m not opposed to Eminem trying to add in some more unconventional features, but I just hope they stick the landing a bit better next time.

LORDE FT. KHALID, POST MALONE & SZA - HOMEMADE DYNAMITE (REMIX)

Lorde’s “Homemade Dynamite” is a song I absolutely adore but was anyone else just a little bit surprised that the remix featured Khalid, Post Malone, AND SZA? That’s some BIG star power right there, and it’s even more shocking given that Lorde’s “Melodrama” was incredible without any features! But hey, Lorde, Khalid, SZA, and Post Malone all on one track? I’ll take that any day of the week, and I honestly tend to gravitate towards the remix just a little bit more than the original version! Even if it was just a way to give the song a boost on the charts (which it deserved because it’s an amazing song that more people need to listen to), I think all four artists bring some really great performances to the table here to keep it extremely interesting. This could’ve ended up being a bloated, star-studded turkey, but instead, it’s a star-studded gem on an album that’s already chock-full of gems.

CAMILA CABELLO FT. YOUNG THUG - HAVANA

It doesn’t necessarily shock me that Camila collaborated with a rapper. After all, during her time with Fifth Harmony, the group collaborated with artists like Kid Ink, Ty Dolla $ign, and Fetty Wap, and even after her departure, 5H collaborated with Gucci Mane. Seeing her join forces with a rapper is no surprise, but this shocked me a bit more in the context of the rest of the album. “Havana” is one of the few dance-y tracks off of what was primarily a ballad-driven album, so seeing that Young Thug was her one feature was a bit of a shock, especially since she apparently worked with artists like Sia and Ed Sheeran on songs that didn’t end up making the cut. It’s still a great song, and luckily, the Young Thug feature does stick the landing, but I still think it feels a little bit out of place.

So, those are some of the strangest features to me. I ended up going with twelve instead of ten because there was quite a bit to talk about! What are some of the weirdest features you’ve heard in a song? Sound off in the comment section below!