Another Taylor Swift album has arrived and put the music world in a chokehold once again. While Taylor does most of the heavy lifting on her massive, 31-track album The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, one of the only guest appearances on the project is Post Malone, who also opened the album with the song “Fortnight.” Despite Posty’s pivot into a more country-infused sound in recent months, his inclusion on Taylor’s latest album serves as a reminder of how beloved (or even feared) the pop star is in hip-hop circles.
Taylor Swift Is Well-Respected in Hip-Hop
In his 2023 song “Red Button,” Drake acknowledged that T-Swift is the only artist who would make him delay a project if she planned to drop the same day. “Taylor Swift the only n***a that I ever rated/Only one could make me drop the album just a little later/Rest of y’all, I treat you like you never made it,” Drizzy raps.
During Taylor’s acceptance speech for winning a Shorty Award for Best Singer back in 2015, the Swifties leader accepted the award by rapping a few bars from Young Buck‘s “Shorty Wanna Ride.” Buck has continued to push for a record with the singer ever since. Swift also gave Drake and Future’s hit “Jumpman” the same treatment in 2017, rapping the track’s hook while running on a treadmill in an ad for Apple Music.
Read More: Lupe Fiasco Thinks Drake is a Better Rapper Than Kendrick Lamar
Taylor Swift Has Worked With Numerous Rappers
But Taylor Swift’s love of hip-hop goes deeper than just mutual respect and the occasional shout-out. Taylor most notably took Ice Spice under her wing in a big way over the past year, linking with her for the song “Karma (Remix)” back in 2022, and inviting her out to the Grammy’s, the 2024 Super Bowl and other events. Ice Spice proceeded to call Taylor her “sis” in an interview with Variety.
The pop star has even spit a few bars of her own. Back in 2009, Taylor Swift transformed into T-Swizzle and dropped some braggadocious heat alongside T-Pain for “Thug Story.” The video premiered during the CMT Awards ironically enough, and apparently came together because of Taylor’s love of rap.
“I’m so gangsta you can find me baking cookies at night/You out clubbing, well I just baked Caramel Delights/T-Swift and T-Pain rappin’ on the same track/It’s a thug story/Tell me can you get with that,” she raps.
T-Pain later clarified in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that Taylor’s respect for the genre was genuine and that he didn’t even help her write any of the lyrics.
“She wrote all of that… I didn’t help at all,” T-Pain said in 2015. “She wrote my parts, too. She did all of that. She was ready.”
Taylor Swift has gotten even more looks from notable rappers in recent years. Kendrick Lamar hopped on a remix of “Bad Blood,” which was included on the singer’s 1989 album in 2015. Taylor praised K-Dot multiple times for taking the time to work with her, and Kendrick spoke highly about what it was like to work with T-Swift.
“I didn’t want to get into her head too crazy. I just wanted to have my own inspiration and see where it took it,” Kendrick told veteran radio show host Howard Stern in 2017. “Fortunately, the vibe was right and it didn’t take too many takes and we was really locked in on the chemistry and we really felt what was going on when I was in the booth.”
Taylor then reiterated her love for Kendrick on Instagram when she released Taylor’s Version of 1989 last year.
“Watching @kendricklamar create and record his verses on the Bad Blood remix was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life,” Taylor wrote on Instagram at the time. “I still look back on this collaboration with so much pride and gratitude, for the ways Kendrick elevated the song and the way he treats everyone around him.”
By 2024, numerous other rappers have come out in support of T-Swift. Flavor Flav deemed himself “King Swiftie” after attending one Taylor’s Eras Tours and linking with the singer at the 2024 Grammy Awards. With this many rappers supporting Taylor out loud, it begs the question: how many are blasting her tunes behind closed doors? Probably more than anyone might think.