22 Twos: Ranking the Best Hip-Hop Duos of All Time
We ranked the best hip-hop duos of all time, from Black Star to Clipse to Mobb Deep to Gang Starr to UGK to OutKast.
The chemistry of a great hip-hop duo is the magic that helps both artists do far more than they’d be able to accomplish as individuals. So on the special date, 2/22/2022, we’re looking back at the greatest tandems in the history of hip-hop, based on the quality of their music and overall impact.
In recent decades, with solo artists dominating the hip-hop landscape, the biggest duos have often been one-off collaborative albums from a pair of established stars, like Drake and Future or Jay-Z and Kanye West. This list is not about those kinds of duos, or about trios that are named after the two rappers in the group (shout out to Run-DMC and Salt-N-Pepa). Instead, we’re only considering tandems who are (or were) actually formal duos. These two-artist groups can either be made up of two MCs or a rapper and a DJ.
Without further ado, here are our rankings of the 22 Best Hip-Hop Duos of All Time.
22.Black Sheep
Members: Dres, Mista Lawnge
Black Sheep were the fourth group to emerge from Native Tongues, after the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and Tribe, and became known as one of the most playful and entertaining acts in the influential hip-hop collective. After making their debut guest spot on De La Soul Is Dead in 1991, Black Sheep released their first album A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing later that year, quickly scoring a classic single with the anthemic “The Choice Is Yours (Revisted).” But Dres and Mista Lawnge split up for a decade after their second album, and Black Sheep never quite regained the momentum to reach the same stature as Tribe and De La.
21.L’Trimm
Members: Bunny D, Lady Tigra
At a time when few women besides Salt-N-Pepa were on the hip-hop charts, and New York was still the genre’s uncontested epicenter, L’Trimm were outliers on both fronts: two young women from Miami, making club hits like “Grab It!” and “Cars With the Boom” that could hold their own with 2 Live Crew’s best. Bunny D and Lady Tigra disbanded after their third album, 1991’s Groovy, but they inarguably paved the way for future Sunshine State stars like Trina and City Girls.
20.Tha Dogg Pound
Members: Kurupt, Daz Dillinger
Kurupt and Daz Dillinger were among the first artists to join Dr. Dre’s nascent Death Row Records stable, making key contributions to The Chronic and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle. Though Snoop’s Long Beach pals Nate Dogg and Warren G were also in the mix and became solo stars, it was Kurupt and Daz that Death Row decided to brand as The Dogg Pound to capitalize on Snoop’s stardom. 1995’s Dogg Food topped the Billboard 200 chart, one of the last blockbusters from Death Row’s imperial phase, with the single “New York, New York” helping ignite media hysteria about East Coast/West Coast rap wars. Kurupt had a successful solo career while Daz became a top producer, but the pair never stopped collaborating, recently uniting with members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony to form a new supergroup called Thug Pound.
19.City Girls
Members: Yung Miami, JT
At a time when women are flourishing in hip-hop like never before, City Girls are the biggest group, making hits by themselves or alongside peers like Cardi B and Doja Cat. JT is the standout MC in City Girls, with scene-stealing verses on features like Moneybagg Yo’s “Said Sum” remix. But when JT went to prison in 2018, Yung Miami held her down and kept the City Girls’ hit parade going until JT came home in 2020.
18.Heltah Skeltah
Members: Jahmal “Rock” Bush, Sean “Ruck” Price
Rock and Ruck of Heltah Skeltah made one of Boot Camp Clik’s greatest albums with their 1996 debut Nocturnal, featuring production from Buckshot and Da Beatminerz and the Hot 100 hit “Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka.” But after the group’s decline, Ruck rose to greater fame under his government name, Sean Price, becoming a celebrated solo artist before his death in 2015.
17.Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Members: Pete Rock, CL Smooth
Pete Rock became one of the greatest producers of hip-hop’s golden age, working with everyone from Nas to Run-DMC. But his two albums as a duo with rapper CL Smooth retain a special place in the Pete Rock discography, especially their 1992 instant classic “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.).”
16.Blackalicious
Members: Gift of Gab, Chief Xcel
One of the West Coast’s most important groups during the rise of conscious rap in the late ‘90s, Sacramento’s Blackalicious rose to fame with Chief Xcel’s warm, soulful production and Gift of Gab’s flashy alliteration experiments “A to G” and “Alphabet Aerobics.” After a decade of inactivity, Blackalicious returned with 2015’s Imani Vol. 1, the first volume of a proposed trilogy. Sadly, Gift of Gab struggled with kidney failure and died in 2021 at the age of 50.
15.Run the Jewels
Members: El-P, Killer Mike
El-P and Killer Mike both had long, acclaimed careers before they worked together as a duo—El-P as a solo artist and a member of the Rawkus Records group Company Flow, and Killer Mike as a solo artist and frequent OutKast collaborator. But when they got together for the first time as Run the Jewels in 2013, the chemistry was so instantaneous that the group quickly became the biggest thing either had ever done, with their fourth album RTJ4 becoming a top 10 hit in 2020.
14.Camp Lo
Members: Geechi Suede, Sonny Cheeba
The Bronx’s Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede burst on the scene with the hits “Coolie High” and “Luchini AKA This Is It,” with a retro Blaxploitation aesthetic and sticky lyrics full of unique slang. The producer Ski, fresh off of working on Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt, filled the duo’s 1997 debut Uptown Saturday Night with beautifully jazzy beats that Jay and Biggie had expressed interest in. And though Camp Lo never retained the commercial momentum of their debut, they’ve built a strong discography over the years, reuniting with Ski on 2007’s Black Hollywood and teaming up with Pete Rock on 2013’s 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s.
13.DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
Members: DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Fresh Prince (Will Smith)
They may not have courted street cred with kid-friendly hits like “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” and their lasting pop culture legacy is being known as the launching pad for Will Smith’s enormous career as a movie star. But DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were bona fide stars and trailblazers, bursting out of Philadelphia as one of rap’s most inventive DJ/producers and one of the most charismatic MCs the genre had ever seen. They won the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance, and “Summertime” remains one of rap’s most undeniable warm weather jams.
12.The Beatnuts
Members: JuJu, Psycho Les
For fans of crate-digging, sample-driven hip-hop, it gets no better than the Native Tongues-affiliated Queens duo The Beatnuts. JuJu and Psycho Les have produced and remixed artists ranging from Mos Def to Fat Joe, and The Beatnuts have released six albums of their own, spinning off a string of club bangers like “Off the Books” featuring Big Punisher and “Watch Out Now.” [Editor’s note: The Beatnuts began as a trio with Fashion aka Al’ Tariq, but released the bulk of their catalog as a duo.]
11.Black Star
Members: Mos Def, Talib Kweli
Mos Def and Talib Kweli were both rising stars on the Rawkus Records roster when they decided to team up for a group album before either had released a solo full-length. 1998’s Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star was an instant classic that launched both Brooklyn rappers’ careers, contrasting Mos’ smooth, charismatic delivery with Kweli’s wordy, complex bars. A long-promised second Black Star album has yet to materialize, but the duo has linked up on over a dozen more tracks over the last couple of decades even as they pursued successful solo careers.
10.Dead Prez
Members: stic.man, M-1
Dead Prez were the most militant and confrontational group of conscious rap’s turn of the century resurgence, coming off like a new-school Public Enemy. After building their buzz with features on Big Punisher and Beatnuts albums in the late ’90s, Dead Prez released their largely self-produced 2000 debut Let’s Get Free. Jay-Z appeared on the remix to the group’s 2004 single “Hell Yeah (Pimp the System),” and M1 and stic.man teamed up with the group formerly led by 2Pac, The Outlawz, for the 2006 collaborative album Can’t Sell Dope Forever.
9.Clipse
Members: Pusha T, Malice
When Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were taking over the charts with their bright and eclectic production work as The Neptunes, they had an ace up their sleeves: two Virginia Beach friends they grew up with, Malice and Pusha-T. The first Clipse album Exclusive Audio Footage was shelved in the late ’90s, but in 2002, The Neptunes launched their Star Trak label with the classic Lord Willin’. The combination of Clipse’s dark tales of dope dealing and razor-sharp wordplay over The Neptunes’ crisp, pop-savvy production was unique and influential. And on the freestyle-heavy We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape series, Malice and Pusha proved they could sound just as good on anyone else’s beats.
8.EPMD
Members: Erick Sermon, PMD
Perhaps no hip-hop group bridged the ’80s and ’90s, or laid the groundwork for where the genre was headed at the time, better than Erick and Parrish Making Dollars. Their tough but laid-back sound and business-minded image was a template for the dominant attitude of ’90s East Coast rap. And after their classic quartet of early albums, from 1988’s Strictly Business to 1992’s Business Never Personal, Erick Sermon became a highly sought after producer, mentoring Redman and Keith Murray.
7.M.O.P.
Members: Lil Fame, Billy Danze
In terms of sheer energy and volume, nobody’s music burst out of the speakers quite like M.O.P. at their peak. Billy Danze and Lil Fame’s shouted delivery, over DR Period and DJ Premier’s hard beats, made the Brownsville duo an underground sensation in the ’90s. The 2000 anthem “Ante Up (Robbin-Hoodz Theory)” broke Mash Out Posse through to the mainstream, but they were never quite able to capitalize on it when subsequent deals with both Roc-A-Fella and G-Unit failed to produce albums.
6.8Ball & MJG
Members: 8Ball, MJG
While Three 6 Mafia made Memphis the spiritual home of crunk music, the city’s other greatest group 8Ball & MJG specialized in a more relaxed and lyrical sound. Between 8Ball’s raspy voice and easygoing charisma and MJG’s sharp, animated flow, the Orange Mound duo put Suave House Records on the map with 1993’s Comin’ Out Hard. And they made great music consistently for over a decade, becoming one of the first acts on Bad Boy South with their highest charting album, 2004’s Living Legends.
5.Eric B. & Rakim
Members: Eric B., Rakim
Rakim is hands-down one of the most influential rappers of all time, an absolute game-changer in the late ‘80s. And though he did most of his best work on his four albums with Eric B., the DJ’s production credits on those albums have been heavily disputed, with Marley Marl, The 45 King, and Large Professor claiming to have made uncredited contributions. In any event, the duo’s catalog is undeniable, and they’ve remained friends over the years, reuniting to tour together in 2018.
4.UGK
Members: Bun B, Pimp C
Bun B and Pimp C were still teenagers when they became UGK and released their first classic, 1992’s Too Hard to Swallow. Over the following decade, the Port Arthur, Texas duo perfected their “country rap tunes” with songs like “One Day” and “Front, Back, Side To Side,” while upstaging Jay-Z and Three 6 Mafia on mainstream hits. When Pimp C was incarcerated from 2002 to 2005, Bun B kept the UGK name alive with a legendary run of features. And the reunited duo’s fifth album Underground Kingz topped the charts in 2007, though their triumph was short-lived, with Pimp C passing away just 4 months later.
3.Gang Starr
Members: DJ Premier, Guru
Though DJ Premier grew up in Texas and rapper Guru hailed from Boston, together their group Gang Starr managed to epitomize the sound of New York hip-hop in the mid-’90s. Premo would be a candidate for hip-hop’s greatest producer just for his freelance work for stars like Nas, Jay-Z, and Biggie. But he did much of his best work on his seven albums with Gang Starr, serving up incredible tracks like “Mass Appeal” and “Take It Personal” to back Guru’s terse, wizened lyrics. Sadly, the duo became estranged after 2003’s The Ownerz, and never reunited before Guru’s death in 2010. But Premo created one last Gang Starr album, 2019’s One of the Best Yet, with unreleased Guru vocals.
2.Mobb Deep
Members: Havoc, Prodigy
At his best, Prodigy was one of the greatest rappers in the world. And his partner in Mobb Deep, Havoc, had a sharp flow of his own, and produced the duo’s cold-blooded anthems like “Shook Ones (Part II)” and “Quiet Storm.” Outside producers like Q-Tip and The Alchemist also contributed to their classic albums The Infamous and Murda Muzik, and the Queensbridge group worked with or feuded with nearly every legend of their time, briefly splitting and then reuniting before Prodigy’s death in 2017.
1.OutKast
Members: André 3000, Big Boi
Over six albums from 1994 to 2006, André “André 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton helped build Atlanta into the capital city of Southern hip-hop, while creating one of the funkiest and most exciting catalogs in the genre’s history. Big Boi always remained the duo’s more stoic half, grounded but still capable of furiously tangled flows. And André 3000’s boundless charisma, outré fashion, and increasingly eclectic influences helped push OutKast into outer space on 1996’s ATLiens and 2000’s Stankonia. Instead of breaking up, the two MCs packaged their debut solo albums as 2003’s double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, becoming bigger than ever in the process. And though they’ve mostly worked apart since 2006’s Idlewild, André’s frequent virtuoso guest verses and the group’s 2014 festival tour have helped keep OutKast’s legacy front and center.
