Just wondering, what does everyone think of guest rap verses in songs (pop songs mainly)? Which ones do you like and what in your opinion is the ratio of good verses to bad verses overall?

One guest rap that seems to have not been so well-received is that of former X Factor USA rapper Astro on Cher Lloyd's Want U Back. Even a lot of fans don't like it much, though I could understand if they preferred the non-Astro album version. LA Reid probably wanted to use it as a way of introducing Astro to the UK, but it doesn't seem to have worked out too well in that regard.

Personally I tend to like Busta Rhymes' features, and Rizzle Kicks' verse in Olly Murs' Heart Skips A Beat is better than most imo.

Also, I think a lot of people will buy a song that they like and if they don't like the rap verse they'll just forward through it. That can't be much fun to do every time though?

Well, it depends

First of all, it depends on whether the solo version of the song can stand in its own merits. When the song is weak, a rap verse could help make it a bit better. Of course there are some songs that don't suit the rap element. For example, Christina's 'Dirrty' sounds much better with Redman to me, it just flows well. Katy Perry's remixes on the other hand sound so random. You just know the rap verse was added just for radio airplay

Secondly, it depends on whether the verse is good or not. A good verse can take the song to a whole new level, while a bad verse can totally ruin a song...

And thirdly, it depends on the production/ mixing of the song. The verse has to be placed carefully in the song so that the whole track sounds cohesive. I actually don't like it when the rap verse is in the beginning of the song, I'd rather have the rap verse after the bridge or something, but that's down to personal preference, I guess.

At one point it was cool. Now it is not. ie. Jay-Z in crazy in love worked. But Pitbull in All Night Long was not at all. Same for Nicki Minaj and MIA in Give me all your luvin'. It has to flow with the song and be an actual organic part of it, not just tacked on to seem cool.

Agreed. IMO Billboard should've disallowed Katy's remixes. They were so clearly used for boosting the song's chart position.

The Alone Again rap is terrible, I listen to part 2 which doesn't have a rap.

The version of ET with Kanye is terrible, I listen to the one without him.

I like his version actually. It fits the song lyrically.

Gorrilaz have been one of the only recent acts i can think of that effectivly used quest rappers on their albums, the two tracks they did with De la Soul were great. Then again the point of Gorrilaz was to make good music and not a cheap buck.