10 Essential Collabs
Celebrate TIDAL Collabs with these must-hear matchups spanning genres and generations.
by Ryan Reed
No one can neatly summarize the creative dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney — not even the musicians themselves. In a 1980 interview with Playboy, Lennon tried to detail their collaborative balance, which, at its best, was symbiotic going on telepathic. “You could say that he provided a lightness, an optimism,” he said of McCartney, “while I would always go for the sadness, the discords, a certain bluesy edge.”
But that description wasn’t always true to life, and in the best Beatles songs, it’s hard to delineate where the joy ends and the melancholy begins. Lennon wrote some of the band’s sweetest hits, including the flower-power paean “All You Need Is Love,” and McCartney led some of their most aggressive rockers, like the metallic tantrum “Helter Skelter.” Ultimately, musical collaboration is a mysterious, elusive thing.
Enter TIDAL Collabs, the new product for artists that allows them to easily discover and connect with recommended collaborators — leaving the mysterious, elusive beauty of the creative process for the rehearsal studio. To celebrate this entirely free new platform, here are 10 of music’s most intriguing and distinctive pairings: from genre mash-ups to cross-cultural breakthroughs to serendipitous tag-teams.
Miles Davis
“Shhh/Peaceful” (1969)
“Shhh/Peaceful,” the opening track from Miles Davis’ jazz-fusion classic In a Silent Way, is a testament to tension, a masterpiece in mood. As the title suggests, the groove creeps gently: Even the most aggressive gestures (John McLaughlin’s bent-note guitar flourishes, Joe Zawinul’s whirring organ) are delivered with a sort of delicacy, as if to never disturb the motor of Dave Holland’s double bass and Tony Williams’ swooshing hi-hats. Every instrument is balanced under Davis’ laconic trumpet, and three of the world’s most accomplished keyboardists — Zawinul, plus both Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on electric piano — are here, stretching out like the limbs of one organism.
Queen & David Bowie
“Under Pressure” (1981)
David Bowie was one of music’s most malleable collaborators: Very few artists could, with equal conviction, produce Lou Reed, co-write with John Lennon and duet with Cher. But in his most iconic studio partnership, the singer teamed up with Queen — who, as one of rock’s most flamboyant bands, pushed the star power way into overdrive. During one wild, impromptu session in July 1981, the two parties fleshed out John Deacon’s unforgettable seven-note bass riff into “Under Pressure,” a sprawling, scat-filled epic about the “terror” and madness of modern life.
Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (1981)
Stevie Nicks was so musically enamored with Tom Petty that, when pitching her first solo LP to Atlantic Records, the Fleetwood Mac singer initially quipped, “What I’d really like to do is be in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers band.” That, of course, didn’t happen, but the pair did link up for “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” the lead single from 1981’s Bella Donna. The bluesy rocker, co-written by Petty and bandmate Mike Campbell, is signature Heartbreakers — but also signature Nicks, achieving a kind of all-for-one equilibrium where the edges of each personality start to pleasantly blur.
Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
“Islands in the Stream” (1983)
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, two country-music hall-of-famers, seemed destined to record a big-ticket duet ballad at some point. The not-so-obvious part: that the Bee Gees, the pop hitmakers most renowned for their era of disco dominance, would write it. But “Islands in the Stream” was — and remains — a moment of crossover chart perfection, allowing the two easygoing singers to season the chorus’ soulful melody with just the right amount of twang.
Peter Gabriel with Youssou N’Dour
“In Your Eyes” (1986)
Peter Gabriel experimented with African elements at various points in the early ’80s (see “Biko”), but he took that infatuation to a more profound level on “In Your Eyes,” a romantic and deeply spiritual fan-favorite featuring Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour. Powered by David Rhodes’ chiming, glassy guitars and the signature low-end thump of bassist Tony Levin, the song concludes with a direct cultural fusion between Gabriel and N’Dour — the former ascending into a wordless falsetto, a bit of heaven to contrast the latter’s earthy Wolof mantra.
RUN-DMC with Aerosmith
“Walk This Way” (1986)
There had already been several rap-rock crossovers prior to 1986, including LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells” and Beastie Boys’ AC/DC-sampling “Rock Hard.” But none were as forceful — or influential — as RUN-DMC’s “Walk This Way,” a revamp of Aerosmith’s funky, lewd hit from 1975. With Steven Tyler’s rhythmic, lyric-heavy flow and Joey Kramer’s heavy drumming, the decade-old track was practically begging for a hip-hop makeover — and rappers Rev Run and DMC delivered, infusing the song with a hard-edged swagger that matched the intensity of Tyler’s chorus shrieks.
JAY-Z & Linkin Park
“Numb/Encore” (2004)
Two-thousand-four was a big year for JAY-Z mash-ups. First there was Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album, which blended the emcee’s The Black Album with the Beatles’ “The White Album”; then, nine months later, JAY-Z teamed with alt-metal band Linkin Park for the Collision Course EP, mingling beats, riffs and verses from throughout their respective catalogs. The centerpiece is “Numb/Encore,” the rare kind of rap-rock mash-up where the hallmarks of both ingredients feel amplified: In the context of the distortion and skittering drums, Jay’s high-class bravado feels like a pep talk to Chester Bennington’s thrashing angst.
Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee
“Despacito” (2017)
This reggaeton-pop anthem, both carnal and unrelentingly catchy, marked a milestone in Latin-pop history, reaching diamond certification in the U.S. An unsurprising commercial feat, given the effortless chemistry between vocalist Luis Fonsi and rapper-singer Daddy Yankee. The duo seem to attack their steamy subject matter using complementary strategies, with Fonsi playing the role of romantic belter and Daddy Yankee the smooth-talking charmer. (They even play up that dynamic in the colorful music video.) Without both vibes, “Despacito” wouldn’t feel quite as electric.
Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
“Old Town Road (Remix)” (2019)
Lil Nas X’s remix of “Old Town Road” is one of popular music’s biggest hits — and it could be one of the most inconceivable. Look at the unlikely combination of talents that fueled its creation: an unknown country-rap artist; a one-time country star, Billy Ray Cyrus (best known for his 1992 line-dance smash “Achy Breaky Heart”); and the industrial/alt-rock act Nine Inch Nails, whose scrappy, dust-blown riff in deep cut “34 Ghosts IV” was sampled into the song’s skeleton. That random sonic collision makes it so distinct — but a good hook’s a good hook, and this one was strong enough to top the Hot 100 for 19 weeks.
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion
“WAP” (2020)
In the summer of 2020, this minimalist rap smash broke both the internet and the brains of some prominent social conservatives, spreading sex positivity and controversy as it scaled the Billboard charts. And it’s all down to an unflappable force of flow: Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion present line after tough-to-censor line, alternating between giddy, often dizzying rhythmic turns. They also play off each other brilliantly: The transition at :57, moving from Cardi’s more measured verse to Megan’s rapid-fire attack, is enough to make you sweat.
