Anyone who has ever had to work on a team knows it can be hard to collaborate at work, especially with someone who has a difficult personality or where there’s a larger skill gap between collaborators. Now, you might think that people who make music for a living would have less trouble with this, but as Dreamville rapper JID recently pointed out on Twitter, it appears that they run into similar issues.
Earlier today, JID tweeted, then deleted, his thoughts in this respect, complaining that “none of my rap co-workers be tryna rap wit me dawg.” After noting the exceptions, since “only women and pop stars” have been calling to collaborate, he took a swing at explaining just why this is the case, positing, “I think y’all n****z is scared, I’m talking to bigger rap artists.”
It’s true that most of JID’s higher-profile collabs have come with artists outside the genre of hip-hop. Two of his biggest hits to date have been the Arcane theme song “Enemy” with Imagine Dragons and “Dope” with John Legend, whereas most of his rapper collaborations have come with his Dreamville labelmates, other members of Spillage Village, or close friends such as Denzel Curry and Mike Dimes.
There is one A-list exception though — emphasis on the “A” — with fellow Atlanta rapper 21 Savage on “Surround Sound,” but it does appear that JID has yet to rap alongside many non-J. Cole-signed lyricists. While it’s anyone’s guess whether they’re actually worried about being outrapped on a song (or being “renegaded” — named for Jay-Z’s 2001 collaboration with Eminem, on which many fans say Em rapped circles around his host), they shouldn’t worry too much about it. After all, JID’s presence could very well bring the sort of contemporary clout that can help keep a veteran rapper relevant, even if they do get smoked on their own song.