British Sirens and the Rappers Who Love Them
When U.S. rap meets Union Jack.
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The British Invasion - Adele holding the #1 spot with “Hello” isn’t the first time we’ve been obsessed with a lady from across the pond. Rappers can be just as taken by that famous British wit and lovely accent. Thankfully for us, admiration comes in the forms of collaborations and remixes that go just hard as the originals. Check out a few. —Jon Reyes(Photos from left: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images for NARAS, Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Anheuser-Busch, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Amy Winehouse and Jay Z - In the Summer of 2007 at the heels of Amy’s album release in the U.S., Hov jumped on the official “Rehab” remix and added delightful and hilarious commentary that name-dropped Whitney, Bobby and Britney. “More money, more checks, I'm addicted to fresh, 6 pair of kicks is my definition of 12 steps...” was definitely a bar highlight. Jay may have been an Amy fan, but let's not forget her adoration of Nas, aka Mr. Jones.(Photos from left: HAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty Images, Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Live Nation)
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Adele and Rick Ross - Adele’s latest single, “Hello,” wasn’t even out a week before the Teflon Don inserted some bars into this nostalgic track for a remix. Over some simple piano backing, Rozay laments a love lost with subdued tone. Even Rick got the feels from this one.(Photos from left: Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIDAL)
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Duffy and Game - The '60s-classic sounding “Mercy” was a hit in 2008 and not that many know, but it got the remix treatment from Cool and Dre. Naturally, a Cool and Dre remix means Game was all on board.(Photos from left: Vincent Sandoval/WireImage, Carlos R. Alvarez/WireImage)
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Emeli Sande and Kendrick Lamar - This pair went for a twofer. Kendrick lent some bars to Emeli for “Next to Me,” a track off her debut album. But the real star of the show was the remix to Kendrick’s “B**ch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” which has a stellar intro from the Brit songstress. (Photos from left: by Angelo Merendino/Getty Images, Vallery Jean/FilmMagic)
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Amy Winehouse and Ghostface Killah - Before Jay co-signed Amy, the Wu-Tang native was all over darling Amy. He completely remixed the original version of the Mark Ronson produced “You Know I’m No Good,” added it to his own album More Fish, and then lent himself to the official remix on Winehouse’s album. Even he knew what was good.(Photos from left: Dave Bjerke/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella)
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Adele and Big K.R.I.T. - While this pair never jumped on a track together, the rapper's love for Adele goes back to her debut album, 19. Big KRIT took “Hometown Glory” and sampled it (and Adele’s vocals) for his own track, “Hometown Hero,” a tribute to his hometown in Mississippi.(Photos from left: Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Joey Foley/Getty Images)
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Jessie Ware and A$AP Rocky - Jessie Ware’s “Wildest Moments” were all about cheating on bae and being sad about it. Lord Flacko was down and added a rap on the official remix that gave the original version the perspective of the jilted lover.(Photos from left: by Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Rob Ball/WireImage)
Photo By Photos from left: by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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Ellie Goulding and Big Sean - Big Sean enlisted the “Love Me Like You Do” singer for the hook on “You Don’t Know” off his Hall of Fame album. While she didn’t have the massive hit under her belt, at the time she was still sought after. The airy and punchy hook on “You Don’t Know” makes this an emo-must on Big Sean’s album.(Photos from left: by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images for FF 2 Def Touring, Venturelli/WireImage)
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Estelle and Kanye West - Estelle already had a debut album under her belt before John Legend scooped her into his then record label, Homeschool Records. Yeezy came right after and threw his very Kanye-style raps into the disco-sounding “American Boy.”(Photos from left: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for ESSENCE, Prince Williams/WireImage)