
Hip-Hop Songs You Probably Didn’t Know Were Written by Another Rapper
Ghostwriting has been in hip-hop for decades. Over the years, some of the biggest records have been written by other rappers. Sauce Money penned Diddy's lyrics on his hit "I'll Be Missing You" and Jay Z helped out Memphis Bleek for his verse on "Coming of Age." While the public has been well aware of these songs for quite some time, there are even more tracks that go under the radar when it comes to ghostwriting. One of the many ways the news surfaces is through reference tracks written by other artists that have leaked.
If you're not familiar with what a reference track is then here's a quick rundown. It's basically an unfinished song that features hooks and verses created by an artist so that another artist can use it as a guide. Typically in hip-hop, it's frowned upon to have others write your verses, but it's not uncommon. Diddy and Dr. Dre, two of hip-hop's most powerful and richest faces in hip-hop, have had much of their work ghostwritten. To be considered a true MC, most fans believe you must write your own rhymes.
It's a fiery debate that has been brought back to the spotlight last year after Meek Mill's allegations that Drake doesn’t write his own raps. Since the news, multiple reference tracks of Drake's recent songs like "Know Yourself," "Legend" and more have been leaked. In the past, there's been a handful of other reference tracks that have found their way onto the Internet too. Here's a collection of them below.
"Queen Bitch"
Lil' KimReference track by Notorious B.I.G.
"RICO"
Meek Mill Featuring DrakeReference track by Quentin Miller.
"Jesus Walk"
Kanye WestReference track by Rhymefest.
"Work"
RihannaReference track by PartyNextDoor.
"Company" and "Legend"
DrakeReference track by PartyNextDoor.
"Know Yourself" and "10 Bands"
DrakeReference track by Quentin Miller.
"Proof"
Chris BrownReference track by Bryson Tiller.
More From XXL








