He’s the DJ, I’m The Rapper

Ok, so we've established that the era of super producers is pretty much done and buried. 15 producers contributing to an album in an effort to a create a hodge podge of different sounds is what may have contributed to hip-hop's eminent demise, at least from a musical standpoint. And singles can come from anywhere.

So it's back to one producer working with one rapper to make one incredible project. He's the DJ, I'm the rapper. I substitute DJ for producer in this case. In some respects, this concept has never really been abandoned. There's 9th Wonder and Murs, Cee Lo and Dangermouse and Kanye and Common

Thing is, this idea generally hits or misses. It's either the producer comes to the table and supplies a whole bunch of incredible beats that allow the rapper to create one consistent theme, or they make a whole album of beats that you would never want to hear the artist on, and you're praying for just one big swizz beats single to come on at some point. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too.

But what are some dope pairings that you'd like to see as far as rappers and producers go. Here's 5 off the top of my head that, if they actually occur at some point during my lifetime, will put a smile on my face.

1) Young Jeezy/Don Cannon- "Go Crazy" and "Circulate." Need I say more?

2) Nas/Polow Da Don- I know nobody will agree with me on this, cause well, nobody likes "Hero." But I do. I think Polow can give Nas the new, more musical sound he needs, so that he sounds like a rapper from 2008 instead of 1998

3) Ludacris/DJ Premier- When you hear "MVP," the Premier-produced track off Ludacris new LP, Theater of the Mind, you'll understand (probably leaked already, who knows). A down south rapper who rhymes like a New Yorker? This is a no brainer.

4) Lil Wayne/Dr. Dre- really, nobody wants to hear Dre rap. But we do wanna hear his beats. Why not link with the best rapper alive until Eminem's revived?

5) 50 Cent/DJ Toomp- 50's needs a new sound, preferably one that can get him some radio pay outside of the tri-state area. I suggest calling up Toomp. If it can work for TI (who's really just a southern version of 50), and Kanye, then it can work for him.

Who do you think should link and why?