“Me and Mariah go back like babies and pacifiers”- Ol’ Dirty Bastard
When Mariah Carey released her collaboration with Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan yesterday, many fans were left scratching their heads.
Although the song isn’t terrible, we just thought it was seriously random. As we started thinking about Mariah Carey’s career, we realized her collaboration with Rich Homie Quan may be the most random, but it’s not the oddest collaboration she’s ever done.
Back in 1995, the cookie cutter pop star shocked her core fan base when she began working with hip-hop producer/mogul Puff Daddy. Through their work together, Mariah ended up releasing “Fantasy,” which featured a remix by Wu-Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
Of course, Mariah’s label Columbia Records was apprehensive about releasing the collaboration, but with a little convincing from Puffy, the label agreed. Thankfully, Diddy has the ear for hits, and Mariah’s “Fantasy (Remix)” topped the charts.
In honor of MiMi, we took a look back at her oddest collabos. Check them out down under.
Mariah Carey & Rich Homie Quan – “Thirsty”
We don’t know how or why this collaboration happened (no shade to Quan), and neither does Mariah, hence why she also released a solo version of her latest urban radio single “Thirsty.” We love XXL Freshman Rich Homie Quan, but we like the solo version of “Thirsty” better. And to be clear, the solo version of “Thirsty” does feature Quan on the hook, he just doesn’t have a verse.
Mariah Carey & Ol’ Dirty Bastard – “Fantasy”
Before she had complete creative control over her music, Mariah Carey scared her label in 1995 when she was working with Diddy on her fifth studio album Daydream. In an effort to transition to a more hip-hop market, Bad Boy CEO Diddy suggested getting colorful, yet controversial Wu-Tang Clan member Ol’ Dirty Bastard for the remix of “Fantasy.” Thankfully, Diddy has the eye and ear for greatness and the collaboration turned out to be phenomenal.
Mariah Carey & Gucci Mane – “Obsessed (Remix)”
Mariah has collaborated with her fair share of hip-hop artists, but we have to admit, we didn’t think the pop diva was up on Atlanta’s heat maker Gucci Mane. During the summer of 2009, Gucci Mane was one of the hottest rappers in the south, and with the help of the now deceased Chris Lighty, Mariah received one of her last big hits with Guwop.
Mariah Carey & Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – “Breakdown”
Continuing to cultivate her hip-hop fan base, Mariah linked up with Bad Boy CEO Diddy once again for her album Butterfly in 1998. Wanting to achieve the same success as her collaborations with Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Ma$e, Diddy linked MiMi with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Again, Columbia Records wasn’t too excited about their odd pairing. To this day, Mariah admits the single didn’t get the proper promotion due to Columbia’s reluctance to accept the record.
Mariah Carey & Justin Bieber – “All I Want For Christmas”
This collaboration isn’t actually odd, but the video is. We know Mariah is the queen of Christmas, but her posing as a sexy Mrs. Claus while a then-teenage Justin Bieber lustfully looks at her is plain old weird.
Mariah Carey Featuring Joe & 98 Degrees – “Thank God I Found You”
Mariah collaborating with R&B singer Joe or boy band 98 Degrees isn’t odd exactly, but putting the two vastly different artists together on the same track is what makes this collaboration a little strange. “Thank God I Found You” ended up sounding like Mariah Carey with a fleet of awesome sounding background singers.
