The 50 Best Rap Remixes Since 2000

50.Cash Cobain Feat. Ice Spice and Bay Swag, “Fisherrr (Remix)” (2024)

Label: Giant Music/Ten Thousand

Producer: Cash Cobain, FckBwoy! and WhoIsJiggi

When Cash Cobain’s “sexy drill” sound became a sensation in New York, a guest verse from another Bronx star with her own feminine take on drill music was the tipping point that helped Cash break into radio playlists outside the five boroughs.

And Ice Spice, who’d been accused of using the same flow a little too often, sounded revitalized by adopting the “Fisherrr” flow, with a verse that featured a couple callbacks to her own breakthrough single, “Munch.”

49.YG Feat. G-Eazy and Macklemore, “FDT – Pt. 2” (2016)

Label: Def Jam

Producer: DJ Swish

YG and Nipsey Hussle started screaming “fuck Donald Trump” in March 2016, before Trump had even clinched the Republican presidential primary. And while his protest song didn't stop Trump from winning the White House that November, YG stayed on-message all year, launching the Fuck Donald Trump Tour over the summer and dropping a remix with two of the most popular white rappers in the game to tell the real estate magnate-turned-politician that “your own kind don’t even like you.”

G-Eazy doesn’t mince words, rapping that “a Trump rally sounds like Hitler in Berlin,” while Macklemore is, as ever, well-intentioned but clumsy with his wordplay: “Your politics are like a Starburst pack / Nobody fucks with the orange one.”

48.The Game Feat. Jim Jones, Snoop Dogg, Nas, T.I., Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, N.O.R.E., Jadakiss, Styles P., Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross, Twista, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, WC, E-40, Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Young Dro, Pusha T, Malice, and Ja Rule, “One Blood (Remix)” (2006)

Label: Geffen

Producer: Reefa and Danny “D-Roc” Collington

After the Game was kicked out of G-Unit and ousted from the Aftermath roster amidst his contentious beef with 50 Cent, the Compton rapper stood alone and defiant on “It’s Okay (One Blood),” the lead single from his sophomore album Doctor’s Advocate. Then he demonstrated that he still had plenty of friends in the industry with an 11-minute remix with two dozen guest MCs from every region.

“One Blood (Remix)” is far longer than any posse cut should ever be, and, at a couple points, more distinctive rappers like Twista and E-40 struggle to find a comfortable flow on the track. But there’s still a wealth of great bars in the epic remix, with Bun B as the track’s MVP, and Rick Ross getting off one of the best one-liners (“Keep white in the office, call it Jerry Heller.”)

47.Clipse Feat. N.O.R.E., Birdman and Lil Wayne, "Grindin' (Remix)" (2002)

Label: Star Trak/Arista

Producer: The Neptunes

A decade before Lil Wayne was declaring "Fuck Pusha T and anybody that love him," things were all good between Clipse and Cash Money. Back in 2002, they linked up for "What Happened To That Boy" and Weezy and Birdman even appeared on one of the two “Grindin’” remixes on Lord Willin’. N.O.R.E. makes an interesting case for what the song could've sounded like if the Neptunes had given the track to one of their other favorite artists, while Pusha rearranged the chorus in a fresh new way.

46.Bankroll Fresh Feat. Juvenile, Lil Wayne, and Turk, “Hot Boy (Remix)” (2015)

Label: Street Money Worldwide

Producer: Cassius Jay

The Hot Boys reunited onstage at Lil Wayne’s Lil Weezyana Fest in 2024, but we still haven’t heard all four members of the iconic Cash Money crew on a new studio track in decades. The last time three quarters of the group rapped together on record, however, was the remix to Atlanta rapper Bankroll Fresh’s hit named after the Hot Boys, which came together while B.G. was in federal prison for a gun charge. Turk, always the most underestimated Hot Boy, raps like he has something to prove on the remix. It was a career high point for Bankroll Fresh, who was unfortunately shot and killed less than a year later.

45.DJ E-Feezy Feat. Young Dolph, Juicy J, Project Pat, 8 Ball, La Chat and Gangsta Boo, “Get Paid (Remix)” (2016)

Label: Paper Route Empire

Producer: Reazy Renegade

Young Dolph released King of Memphis in 2016 and cemented his status as Tennessee rap royalty when he remixed the album’s biggest hit with a few Memphis hall of famers. 8Ball gives sound advice to his protégé Dolph with a snarling verse, while the late great Gangsta Boo steals the spotlight at the end of the track: “Get out of bed, brush my teeth, hit the bank, bitch what’s next?”

44.Terror Squad Feat. Eminem, Ma$e, Remy Ma, and Lil Jon, "Lean Back (Lil Jon Remix)" (2005)

Label: Terror Squad/Atlantic

Producer: Lil Jon and Scott Storch

Of all the 21st century's most revered mainstream MCs, none has withheld themselves from the remix circuit more studiously than Eminem, who rarely ventured outside his Shady/Aftermath bubble for collaborations in the years initially following his rise to superstardom.

But, as Fat Joe revealed to Complex, when he called Slim, his response was simply, "I owe you one favor. Is this it?" Scott Storch's original "Lean Back" was the hottest beat of 2004,so Joey Crack let Jon take a crack at it, and made the whole thing feel like even more of an event by pulling Pastor Ma$e out of retirement.

43.Fabolous Feat. Drake and The-Dream, "Throw It In The Bag (Remix)" (2009)

Label: Desert Storm/Def Jam

Producer: Shatek

"Throw It In The Bag" may not be the greatest of Fab's many rap and R&B hits, but the official remix was an inspired one. The new beat, produced by Shatek, combined The-Dream's vocals from the original hook with one of his own album cuts, the Love Vs. Money fan favorite "Fancy." Then, Drake took the reins for a narrative-heavy verse about an affair with an older woman that revealed that the new rising star from Canada was good for something other than hashtag punchlines and singsong hooks.

42.ScHoolboy Q Feat. Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul, “THat Part (Black Hippy Remix)” (2016)

Label: TDE/Interscope

Producer: Sounwave, Cardo Got Wings, CuBeatz & Yung Exclusive

Throughout Top Dawg Entertainment’s rise, the first four rappers that signed to the label—Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q—would occasionally form like Voltron into a west coast supergroup known as Black Hippy.

It’s been a while since we heard all four members of Black Happy on a track, though, and their last collaboration was on the remix to the lead single from ScHoolboy Q’s Blank Face LP. As always, there’s a “steel sharpens steel” dynamic when the four L.A. rappers try to outshine each other, and Jay Rock’s opening verse on the “THat Part” remix is one of his finest moments.

Eight years later, on “heart Pt. 6,” K-Dot took the blame for the crew never making an album: “Black Hippy didn’t work because of me, creatively I moved on.”

41.Moneybagg Yo Feat. Lil Wayne and Ashanti, “Wockesha (Remix)” (2021)

Label: N-Less/CMG/Interscope

Producer: Real Red, YC, Rockamore

In 2021, Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo created an ode to lean addiction, kicking the song off with a sample of Lil Wayne speaking about his own double cup habit. With “Wockesha,” Bagg became the third artist to score one of their biggest hits with a sample of DeBarge’s “Stay With Me,” following in the footsteps of the Notorious B.I.G. and Ashanti.

And the nostalgic “Wockesha” remix calls back to both of those previous smashes, with an appearance from Ashanti herself, and a Wayne verse that flips a couple Biggie bars from the “One More Chance” remix.

40.Nardo Wick Feat. Lil Durk, 21 Savage, and G Herbo, “Who Want Smoke?? (Remix)” (2021)

Label: Flawless/RCA

Producer: Emkay

Lil Durk’s legal team recently scored a victory for the drill rap icon—and for free speech rights for rappers everywhere—when a judge ruled that the Chicago rapper's lyrics couldn’t be used as evidence against him in a case alleging a murder-for-hire plot to avenge the 2020 death of his friend and collaborator King Von.

Still, it’s hard not to think back to Durk’s standout verse on the remix to Nardo Wick’s 2021 breakthrough single, where the Chicago rap veteran directly addressed taunting fans on social media: “They be on my page like ‘slide for Von,’ I know they trollin’ me.”

39.Chief Keef Feat. Kanye West, Pusha T, Big Sean and Jadakiss, "I Don't Like (G.O.O.D. Music Remix)" (2012)

Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam

Producer: Young Chop, Kanye West (co.), The Twilite Zone (add.), Noah Goldstein (add.)

Remixes often expose the divide between where a hit song can begin, with a relatively unknown young rapper and producer knocking out a track in a home studio, and where it can end up, with some of the biggest stars in the game rapping over the same song. And no remix revealed that rift more than the G.O.O.D. Music remix of Chief Keef's "I Don't Like," which found Chicago's most famous MC, Kanye West, co-signing the city's controversial new rising star.

In typical Kanye fashion, the track was loaded up with verses from Pusha-T, Big Sean and Jadakiss, as well as all sorts of musical bells and whistles. And as it turns out, that's the shit that the original track's producer Young Chop don't like. But later on, the two generations of Chi-town rap got back on the same page, with both Keef and Chop contributing to West's album Yeezus.

38.Chris Brown Feat. Drake, T.I., Kanye West, Fabolous, Rick Ross, and André 3000, "Deuces (Remix)" (2010)

Label: Jive

Producer: Kevin McCall

Chris Brown made the original “Deuces” with frequent collaborators Tyga and singer/producer Kevin McCall, but after the mixtape track blew up and became Brown’s chart comeback, a parade of superstars lined up to appear on the 7-minute remix.

Drake and Kanye West, who’ve made plenty of bitter breakup songs of their own, both sound eager to vent on “Deuces,” and even the usually unbothered André 3000 has a lot to get off his chest in a 20-bar verse.

37.Rich Boy Feat. Andre 3000, Game, Jim Jones, Murphy Lee and Nelly, “Throw Some D’s (Remix)” (2007)

Label: Zone 4/Interscope

Producer: Lil Jon and Polow da Don

Rich Boy's breakthrough hit was also a coming-out party for his buddy Polow Da Don, who penned a standout verse in addition to co-producing the track's irresistible loop of Switch's '70s R&B chestnut "I Call Your Name."

For the remix, however, the track took on an entirely different tone, with Lil Jon's crunk 808s and synths dominating the mix and a strange mix of superstars parading through the verses, all of them invariably overshadowed by André 3000 in the thick of his surprise attack on the remix circuit in 2007. Nelly sounded particularly at home on the track, paying tribute to Polow's singsong flow in his verse, while Jim Jones won no points for imagination for rhyming "Rich Boy" with "we all wanna be rich, boy."

36.SahBabii Feat. Young Thug, "Pull Up Wit Ah Stick (Remix)" (2017)

Label: Casting Bait/Warner

Producer: Lil Voe

Young Thug is one of the most influential rappers in the game, but the more that new MCs echo his style, the more he experiments with his voice to remain a one-of-a-kind innovator. That’s illustrated most plainly on the remix of SahBabii’s breakout hit “Pull Up Wit Ah Stick,” which was widely compared to Thugger even before they collaborated. Rising to the challenge, Thug throws himself into intricate triplet flows and unpredictable melodic twists and turns that are nothing like SahBabii’s flow on the original.

35.Meek Mill Feat. Rick Ross, T.I., Lil Wayne, Birdman, Swizz Beatz and DJ Khaled, "Ima Boss (Remix)" (2011)

Label: Maybach Music/Warner Bros.

Producer: Jahlil Beats

Rick Ross was right at his career pinnacle in 2011 when a pair of seizures put The Bawse in the hospital and had the whole hip-hop world concerned for his health. But instead of scheduling an interview with Oprah to talk about his close shave with death, he jumped on the star-filled remix of his big summer hit with Meek Mill and cleared the air with a typically carefree outlook: "Had a couple seizures, call 'em minor setbacks/Everybody prayin' for me, I respect that/Woke up in the hospital, where my checks at?/Then I put eight chains where my neck's at."

34.Lil Nas X Feat. Young Thug, Mason Ramsey, and Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road (Remix)" (2019)

Label: Columbia

Producer: YoungKio, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross

Lil Nas X’s country rap experiment, “Old Town Road,” turned into a chart-topping Billboard behemoth when Billy Ray Cyrus jumped on a remix of the song. And Lil Nas prolonged the song’s record-breaking 19-week run at the top of the Hot 100 in part by dropping several more remixes with Diplo, BTS rapper RM, Young Thug, and viral child star Mason Ramsey.

Thugger kicks off the best “Old Town Road” remix with a “Yeehaw!” much like his first flirtation with country music on 2017’s “Family Don’t Matter.” Ramsey, a 12-year-old Illinois kid who got a record deal after singing a Hank Williams cover in a Walmart, provides the track’s best line: “If you ain’t got no giddy up, then giddy out my way.”

33.Jadakiss Feat. Styles P., Common and Nas "Why (Remix)" (2004)

Label: Ruff Ryders/Interscope

Producer: Elite

Jadakiss's relentlessly questioning catalog of punchlines and conspiracy theories was an unlikely mainstream hit. And so he just went harder on the remix, with a beefed up version of Havoc's beat from the original, courtesy of Ruff Ryders producer Elite, Nas and Styles put a thoughtful new twists on the concept, while Anthony Hamilton goes ham with a revised chorus.

Common's verse is notable for a winking reference to those "Baduizm" theories surrounding his changing music and dress sense, and for what was probably the first rap lyric suggesting that we "elect Obama," way back in 2004.

32.Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em Feat. Gucci Mane, "Pretty Boy Swag (Remix)" (2010)

Label: SODMG/Interscope

Producer: G5 Kids

Gucci Mane’s laconic drawl was often unfairly maligned in the “mumble rap” wars. When the Trap God appeared on the remix to “Pretty Boy Swag,” though, instead of mimicking Soulja Boy’s slow, halting flow, Gucci shifted into a rare doubletime cadence, still doling out colorful boasts about his jewelry like “Earrings flashing bright like a blinker/ when I hold my wrist up, it’s a turn signal.”

31.Moneybagg Yo Feat. City Girls and DaBaby, "Said Sum (Remix)" (2020)

Label: N-Less/Interscope

Producer: YC

For a few years City Girls were the hottest duo in rap, and JT and Yung Miami’s friendship and musical chemistry was a big part of the group’s appeal. JT was always clearly the more gifted MC of the two of them, though, and after her scene-stealing first verse on the “Said Sum” remix, the calls for her to go solo got louder and louder, and the group’s eventual breakup started to seem inevitable.

30.Beanie Sigel and Freeway Feat. Nelly and Murphy Lee, "Roc the Mic (Remix)" (2002)

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam

Producer: Just Blaze

Back when the only dudes movin’ units were Em, Pimp Juice, and Roc-A-Fella, Nelly’s Midwest swing didn’t seem to have much musical common ground with Jay-Z’s stable of East coast street rappers.

After hip-hop elder KRS-One took some shots at Nelly’s crossover sound on “Clear ‘Em Out,” the St. Lunatics responded with an unexpected appearance on State Property’s Just Blaze-produced banger “Roc the Mic.” “I strike a nerve in old MCs wantin’ a comeback/ I got the strength that he’s lost and that’s a fact,” Nelly rapped on the remix, which appeared on the deluxe edition of Nellyville, scoring a surprise victory against the legend who’d once done battle with the Juice Crew and PM Dawn.

29.50 Cent Feat. Mobb Deep, "Outta Control (Remix)" (2005)

Label: G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope

Producer: Dr. Dre, Mike Elizondo

In the mid-2000s, when albums were still selling millions upon millions, but often needed a deluxe reissue with new singles after a few months to keep shifting units, remixes became a whole new promotional tool. So when The Massacre was ready to cruise to its fourth big hit single, 50 Cent decided to retool one of the album's most intense club bangers, "Outta Control," as a decidedly more laid back remix.

But what really made the song an event was the inclusion of 50's latest signings, Mobb Deep, who were so influential on the whole G-Unit sound that it seemed like a match made in gangsta rap heaven. That proved not to be the case when Blood Money dropped with a thud a year later, but for a moment "Outta Control" was a Top 10 coup for the veteran group who'd never even had a Top 40 hit.

28.Yo Gotti Feat. Nicki Minaj, "Down in the DM (Remix)" (2015)

Label: CMG/Epic

Producer: Ben Billions, Schife

The remix to Yo Gotti’s 2009 hit “5 Star” was a breakthrough moment for Nicki Minaj. A half decade later, the Queens superstar reunited with the Memphis vet for another remix, and this time, she was the only guest, taking over the track with two 16-bar verses about flirting and hooking up in the social media age.

On his new bars for the remix, Gotti speaks out against anyone who leaks his direct messages to the public for clout: “If you screenshottin’, you the police.”

27.Lil Wayne Feat. Kanye West, "Lollipop (Remix)" (2008)

Label: Cash Money/Universal Motown

Producer: Jim Jonsin

"Lollipop" may not have been the kind of song that established Lil Wayne's reputation for upstaging other rappers, but that's clearly what was on Kanye West's mind when he appeared on the track's remix. "This a song with Lil Wayne so you know it's gon' melt/But you ain't finna murder me like everybody else, I'ma rap like I got some type respect for myself."

Wayne still killed him on it, though. The remix also marks West's first full-blown use of AutoTune on a verse, before Jeezy's "Put On" and a mere six months before his album-length commitment to the sound on 808s & Heartbreak.

26.SZA Feat. Doja Cat, "Kill Bill (Remix)" (2023)

Label: TDE/RCA

Producer: Rob Bisel, Carter Lang

In 2023, Doja Cat released her first full album as a rapper, Scarlet, but her best verse that year was for a reunion with her “Kiss Me More” collaborator SZA. With vivid storytelling bars, Doja adds some writerly detail to the darkly comic tale of heartbreak and murder that became SZA’s unlikely first No. 1 single: “I tried to be discreet and told her ‘Calm your tits’/ She grabbed the kitchen knife, so I pulled out the blick.”

25.Latto Feat. Cardi B, "Put It On Da Floor Again" (2023)

Label: Streamcut

Producer: Go Grizzly, Squat, and Pooh Beatz

In the 2020s, few rappers can elevate a song from buzzing to a bona fide hit like Cardi B. And when she jumped on “Put It On Da Floor,” she took the “Mixtape Weezy” approach of rewriting Latto’s first verse from the original track, bar by bar, adding hilarious, timely lines like “I’m sexy dancin’ in the house, I feel like Britney Spears.”

24.Young Jeezy Feat. Jay-Z, "My President Is Black (Remix)" (2008)

Label: CTE/Def Jam

Producer: Tha Bizness

Dozens, if not hundreds of Barack Obama rap anthems sprang up during the prez’s 2008 campaign, with Jeezy and Nas scoring the most successful and memorable one of it all.

So it only made sense for Nasir’s foe turned friend, the rapper with the most buddy-buddy relationship with the prez-elect himself, to grab the guest spot on the remix that dropped the week of the inauguration. Never one to stay too politically correct, though, Hov opened his verse with the irreverent couplet, “My president is Black, in fact he’s half-white/ So even in a racist mind, he’s half-right.”

23.Future Feat. Kendrick Lamar, "Mask Off (Remix)" (2017)

Label: A1/Freebandz/Epic

Producer: Metro Boomin

Years before they topped the charts together with “Like That,” there was a persistent narrative circulating on social media that Future and Kendrick Lamar were too different to sound good on a track together, or that their first pairing on the “Mask Off” remix was awkward and forced.

K-Dot sounds great on that iconic Metro Boomin flute loop, though, boasting about making platinum conscious albums and calling himself the reincarnation of Prince, while switching flows over and over in his verbose 28-bar verse.

22.Jermaine Dupri Feat. Snoop Dogg, Murphy Lee and P. Diddy, "Welcome To Atlanta (Coast 2 Coast Remix)" (2002)

Label: So So Def/Columbia

Producer: Jermaine Dupri

Atlanta was just beginning to become the new epicenter of the rap universe when Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris dropped a hometown anthem that the whole country showed love for.

So when it came time for a remix, J.D. decided to show the love back, heading to the North, West, and Midwest to find superstar representatives from each region (or one of their friends—I guess Nelly wasn't available).

But nobody relished the moment more than Diddy, who, less than a year after 9/11, stood proudly atop the Madison Square Garden entrance in the video, defiantly declaring "We're still here...and we're building four more towers!"

21.Huey Feat. T-Pain and Bow Wow, "Pop, Lock & Drop It (Remix)" (2007)

Label: Polo Grounds/Jive

Producer: D’Andre “Po Po” Smith and Calvin Miller

St. Louis teen rapper Huey’s breakout hit “Pop, Lock & Drop It” was already ascending the charts when a red-hot T-Pain and one of rap’s biggest teen idols, Bow Wow, appeared on the remix that helped push the song into the top 10 of the Hot 100.

While many artists were drafting T-Pain to sing AutoTuned hooks, his appearances on remixes like “Pop, Lock & Drop It” and DJ Unk’s “2 Step” helped display Teddy Pain’s ability to steal the spotlight for 16 bears. Sadly, Lawrence “Huey” Franks died of a gunshot wound in 2020.

20.Ludacris Feat. Trina, Shawnna and Foxy Brown, "What's Your Fantasy (Remix)" (2000)

Label: Disturbing tha Peace/Def Jam

Producer: Bangladesh

The original "What's Your Fantasy," while one of the greatest sex raps to ever hit the mainstream, was light on a female perspective, with Shawnna merely repeating Luda's own words for half the hook.

So when it came time to do a remix, not only did Shawnna get a verse, but so did two female legends of the explicit rap game, Foxy Brown and Trina, get things real nasty. A decade later, Luda attempted a similar female rapper all-star approach to the remix of "My Chick Bad," but it just wasn't the same.

19.Dead Prez Feat. Jay-Z "Hell Yeah (Pimp the System) (Remix)" (2004)

Label: Columbia/Sony Urban Music

Producer: Downbeat Production Collective, stic.man

From its initial release, on the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack, “Hell Yeah" was dead prez's biggest power play to get their anti-establishment message to the largest audience possible and pimp the system from the inside out. And while that may not have changed the world with revolutionary sales figures, they seized an impressive bit of the spotlight by getting the biggest rapper in the world on the track's remix.

Jay's own case for the subversive element of his success with white audiences ("You don't want your little ones actin' like this/Lil Amy told Becky, Beck told Jenny") has echoes of his comments on Miley Cyrus twerking.

But it's on the song's outro that he makes explicit the message sent by collaborating with dead prez: "We broke those boxes y'all try to put us in to separate us, y'know what I mean! We together on the same track now, baby! What you gon' call us now?"

18.ILOVEMAKONNEN Feat. Drake "Tuesday (Remix)" (2014)

Label: OVO/Warner Bros.

Producer: Sonny Digital, Metro Boomin

ILOVEMAKONNEN’s eccentric melodic style of trap music was still an underground sensation in Atlanta when Drake reached out to remix his track “Club Going Up on a Tuesday.” And while Drake’s verse is the reason the remixed version of “Tuesday” shot up the charts, MAKONNEN’s bridge from the original track still stakes his claim to his originality: “I made it on my own, I made my own style.”

Unlike the many other up-and-coming artists who’ve made remixes with Drake, ILOVEMAKONNEN actually signed to October’s Very Own. And while his relationship with the label ultimately went south before he ever released an album with OVO, MAKONNEN and Drake will always have the definitive song for clubbing on a weeknight.

17.Kendrick Lamar Feat. Jay-Z, "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe (Remix)" (2013)

Label: Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope

Producer: Sounwave

If a rising rap star never crosses paths with Jay-Z on their way up, on friendly terms or otherwise, then odds are they will when they get to the top. Just as K. Dot's good kid, m.A.A.d city was going platinum for the first time, Shawn Carter finally decided to acknowledge the TDE breakout star's existence, laying a verse to the album's third single. There’s an endearing video of Kendrick’s label surprising him with the Jay-Z verse during a studio session, a huge smile slowly appearing on his face as he realizes what he’s hearing.

Afterwards, though, Kendrick went back into the booth, adding one more dazzling verse to the song, rhyming circles around one of his heroes with a competitive fire that was summed up by the remix’s cover art, a picture of Kobe Bryant standing next to Michael Jordan.

16.Swizz Beatz Feat. Lil Wayne, R. Kelly and Jadakiss, "It's Me, Bitches (Remix)" (2007)

Label: Full Surface/Universal Motown

Producer: Swizz Beatz

The original "It's Me, Bitches" was a deeply odd song to begin with, and the only way to make the song more over-the-top was to kick off the remix with two of music's biggest weirdos at the top of their respective games. Weezy, in perhaps the finest remix performance out of a hall of fame run, slips in and out of French and coins the phrase that would later inspire his biggest solo hit: "She's so sweet, make her wanna lick the wrapper...so I let her lick the rapper."

And then, when it couldn't get any crazier, Swizz pulls a beat switch and cues his track for Beyonce's "Get Me Bodied" while he boasts about his art collection, and then ties together the Wu Tang reference in the original hook by ending with eight bars of Jadakiss rapping over Wu-Tang Clan’s "C.R.E.A.M." beat.

15.Cam'ron Feat. Ludacris, Juelz Santana, Trina and UGK "What Means The World To You (Trackmasters Remix)" (2000)

Label: Untertainment/Epic

Producer: Trackmasters

It would be a few years before the Diplomats revealed themselves to be uniquely in touch with southern rap for a New York crew, but already in 2000 Cam'ron was loading up the remix to S.D.E.'s biggest hit with up-and-coming talent from Atlanta and Miami, along with the Texas boys that had recently gotten a big boost from "Big Pimpin'" and "Sippin' On Some Syrup."

The Trackmasters chopped up the Police riff from "Roxanne" in a beautiful new way, a teenaged Juelz Santana was heard still finding his voice, and Trina stole the track with the boast, "I'm bad as hell, even my pussy smell like Chanel."

14.G. Dep Feat. P. Diddy, Ghostface Killah, Keith Murray and Craig Mack, "Special Delivery (Remix)" (2002)

Label: Bad Boy

Producer: EZ Elpee

Many remixes have attempted to recapture the magic of “Flava In Ya Ear,” sometimes even paying homage to the video (this being one of at least three examples, alongside Maino’s “Hi Hater” and Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire’s “The Last Huzzah,” that open with Warriors-style taunts).

But 2002 was the time when Bad Boy was intent on reclaiming their remix crown, with the humbly titled We Invented The Remix compilation, headlined by this posse cut version of the label’s latest street anthem. Keith Murray was fresh out of jail, Ghostface was fresh off of the Supreme Clientele/Bulletproof Wallets run, and Craig Mack was fresh off of the milk carton before fading back into obscurity.

13.Jeezy Feat. Jay-Z, "Go Crazy (Remix)" (2011)

Label: CTE/Def Jam

Producer: Don Cannon

Jeezy had the entire south locked down after Trap Or Die, but his campaign needed some up-north support before Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 was ready to dominate the whole country.

And he got it when Def Jam president Jay-Z decided to give the label's newest star the big co-sign at the last minute, hopping on a remix of the soulful horn-driven track (produced by Philadelphia native Don Cannon) that was appended to the album just before it went to the pressing plant.

The only loser in the arrangement was Fat Joe, whose verse riffing on Prince's "Pop Life" was quietly swept under the rug as the track became known as a Jeezy/Jay-Z duet.

12.David Banner Feat. Twista and Busta Rhymes "Like A Pimp (Remix)" (2003)

Label: SRC/Universal

Producer: David Banner

"Like A Pimp" was David Banner's breakthrough solo hit, but it was also the feature that made Lil Flip briefly seem like Southern rap's next superstar.

Making a remix that doesn't include the rapper with the original song's most popular and quotable verse is always a tall order, but Banner took the shrewd route of swapping out Flip's laid back Texas energy for the vicious and energized doubletime flows of two of rap's greatest fast talkers: Twista and Busta Rhymes. The song came mere months before Kanye West’s "Slow Jamz" became Twista's own big crossover moment.

11.Talib Kweli Feat. Busta Rhymes, Mos Def, Kanye West and Jay-Z "Get By (Remix)" (2003)

Label: Rawkus/UMVD

Producer: Kanye West

Kanye West has dedicated much of his career to collapsing, or at least confusing, the divide between "conscious" hip-hop and "mainstream" hip-hop. But before his solo career started tearing that old wall down, he was putting dents in it by producing an unlikely radio hit for Talib Kweli.

But while it was one thing for a Roc-A-Fella producer to work with a Rawkus alumnus, it was quite enough for the remix to feature Jay-Z spitting alongside both members of Black Star. Later that year, Jay was shouting out Kweli and Common on The Black Album as rappers he'd aspire to write like if sales weren't a concern, which was a little surprising that it would've otherwise been in light of this remix. As Yasiin Bey says, Brooklyn wins again.

10.DJ Khaled Feat. Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Birdman and Rick Ross "I'm So Hood (Remix)" (2007)

Label: Terror Squad/Koch

Producer: The Runners

DJ Khaled songs tend to arrive as readymade remixes, with several superstars taking turns with verse after verse after verse. But sometimes, the original track doesn't quite hit the spot, as was the case with the verses Plies, Rick Ross, and Trick Daddy contributed to "I'm So Hood" in its initial single release. So Khaled, knowing the track's major potential, had no choice but to go even bigger, stacking eight superstars onto the remix (including Rozay, back with a better new verse).

The lineup is undoubtedly frontloaded, with an uncharacteristically hyped up Young Jeezy leading the charge and Ludacris making a case that he "should've been on the original version" with one of his hottest verses in years.

9.GloRilla Feat. Cardi B "Tomorrow 2" (2022)

Label: CMG/Interscope

Producer: Macaroni Toni

“Tomorrow” was the first song GloRila released after “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” launched the Memphis rapper into the national spotlight, but the original version on Collective Music Group’s Gangsta Art compilation was just a quick 113-second morsel with the memorable inspirational hook “Every day the sun won’t shine, but that’s why I love tomorrow.”

Cardi B’s addition of a third verse really made it feel like a complete song, and her infectious enthusiasm for “Tomorrow 2” came through when she even learned some choreography for a performance of the remix at the 2022 American Music Awards.

8.Bone Crusher Feat. Busta Rhymes, Cam'ron and Jadakiss, "Never Scared (The Takeover Remix)" (2003)

Label: So So Def/Arista
Producer: Avery Johnson

Bone Crusher demolished the summer of 2003 with the help of two of Atlanta's best up-and-coming lyricists, T.I. and Killer Mike, so for the remix he turned to three New York institutions who paid tribute to that huge, ominous beat.

Cam'ron's knotty internal rhyme style was at its peak, ending his verse with "We got guns and coupes, in case I sun the roof, no basketball when we talkin' 'run and shoot.'" Meanwhile, Jada gets his cackle on, and Busta Rhymes manages to say as little as possible in as many flows as he can manage.

7.Migos Feat. Drake, "Versace (Remix)" (2013)

Label: Quality Control

Producer: Zaytoven

Drake has demonstrated a shrewd eye for jumping on songs by rising stars like Future, Summer Walker, Wizkid, and 4Batz just as they were ready to hit the big time. And the Drake effect was probably never more powerful than when he adopted the Migos triplet style for a verse on the “Versace” remix, a track that almost singlehandedly changed how rappers flowed in the 2010s.

6.DJ Unk Feat. OutKast and Jim Jones "Walk It Out (Remix)" (2007)

Label: Big Oomp/Koch

Producer: DJ Unk

By now, we're used to André 3000's semi-annual sneak attacks on the rap game to remind us what he's capable of.

But in the summer of 2007, a year after Idlewild demonstrated that his passion for rhyming was still MIA, the last place anyone expected to hear was on the remix to one of young Atlanta's biggest ringtone rap anthems.

But there he was, critiquing mainstream hip-hop culture from the inside as astutely as ever, taking potshots at white tees and offering the bon mot, "If you say real talk, I probably won't trust ya." Then, he signed off a humblebragging promise that he'd be doing this again: "Not sayin' I'm the best, but til they find something better, I am here, no fear." Arguably, we still haven't.

5.Megan Thee Stallion Feat. Beyoncé, "Savage (Remix)" (2020)

Label: 1501 Certified/300

Producer: J. White Did It

When Megan Thee Stallion became the first female rapper from Houston to hit the mainstream, Beyoncé fans almost immediately began to wonder if and when the H-town icon would give Meg her endorsement.

After “Savage” broke out as the viral TikTok hit from Meg’s Suga EP, Queen Bey made her move, and the remix shot to number one on the Hot 100. With her husband Jay-Z and a trio of hitmaking songwriters in her corner (The-Dream, Starrah, and Pardison Fontaine), Beyoncé delivers two verses full of punchlines about demon time and OnlyFans like a seasoned MC while repping her Third Ward upbringing.

4.Shawty Lo Feat. Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Plies and Lil Wayne, "Dey Know (Remix)" (2007)

Label: D4L/Asylum

Producer: Balis Beats, Born Immaculate

After "Laffy Taffy" stereotyped D4L as poster boys of snap music, the late Shawty Lo jumped out decisively on the trap music side of Atlanta rap with "Dey Know," an anthem so hot that pretty much every dope boy in the industry had to jump on the remix.

From Luda's over-the-top delivery to Jeezy's catchy twist on Shawty Lo's flow, Lil Wayne's early experiment with AutoTune, and even Plies in good form, the track ended up sounding like a tour through what Southern rap sounded like in 2008.

3.Kanye West Feat. Jay-Z "Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)" (2005)

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam

Producer: Kanye West, Jon Brion, and Devo Springsteen

On the original "Diamonds," Roc-A-Fella's newest breakout star pledged his continued loyalty to the Roc, shrugging off questions like, "What's up with you and Jay, are y'all okay, man?"

On the remix, Hov himself cut through Kanye's verse to leave no ambiguity, "Yup! I got this from here, Ye, damn." Then, Jay ran through the 32 greatest bars of his three year "retirement," including some of his greatest quotables of all time. Seriously, how many times has "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man" been reprinted?

2.M.O.P. Feat. Busta Rhymes and Remy Ma, "Ante Up (Remix)" (2000)

Label: Loud

Producer: DR Period

The "Ante Up" remix, a single from Funkmaster Flex's gold-selling retail album The Mix Tape, Vol. IV, also served as the public introduction to the young lady known as Remi Martin (later Remy Ma), who paid tribute to her recently fallen mentor by screaming "Wish I could bring Pun back" just as the beat from Big Punisher's swan song "It's So Hard" cuts in for a moment.

"Ante Up" was already the mightiest hit from the loudest group in hip-hop to begin with. And just about the only way it could've sounded more intense is if, say, Busta Rhymes showed up to announce, "Attention please, attention please...this shit here feels like a whole entire world collapsed!"

1.Nas Feat. Jadakiss and Ludacris "Made You Look (Remix)" (2003)

Label: Ill Will/Columbia

Producer: Salaam Remi

"Top 5 dead or alive, and that's just off one LP."

The memorably ballsy claim that Jadakiss made on the remix to Nasir's hardest single of the 21st century. Jada's still standing by those words—even making that the title of one of his albums.

The revelation of the remix, however, may have been Nas's seemingly unlikely alliance with Ludacris, who turns in an uncharacteristically high concept verse that cleverly works the names of several newspapers into his rhymes. And then Nas, not to be upstaged, ends with an a cappella finish that echoes the original, but with much more amped up energy.