Behind the Mic: 2017 Songs You Didn’t Know Were Written by Ghostwriters

Ghostwriting is something that has existed in Hip Hop for a very long time. In 2015, the feud between Drake and Meek Mill propelled the topic into the spotlight. Meek Mill accused Drake of not writing his own raps on Twitter, prompting Drake to take several shots at Meek with his future releases. Drake had to defend himself from all of the speculation from the public. Many people in the music industry, particularly in the rap world, feel that ghost writers should not be allowed on songs because it’s disgraceful and a talentless thing to do. Someone else penning your lyrics isn’t as respectable as writing your own, yet Hip Hop artists still use ghost writers as a way to enhance their bars or simply due to a time crunch for songs.

Those who approve of ghostwriting argue that talent is talent and if you can rap it shouldn’t matter if you had help with your bars or not. Tyrese Gibson stopped by The Breakfast Club to discuss ghost writers and the fact that many of today’s favorite rappers use ghostwriting. He argued that fans still love the artist regardless if they wrote all their songs or not. He thinks people need to stop being so uptight.

The pay for ghostwriters is quite impressive depending on the success of the song and what the artist or record label is willing to spend. A couple years ago Forbes reported, “To this day, ghostwriters are typically paid between $10,000 and $20,000 upfront for their anonymous contributions, with occasional big-label projects soaring even higher. Though this may sound hefty, it pales in comparison to the $50,000-plus per verse popular rappers can charge.” With those numbers it’s easy for a ghost writer to make a living, while keeping their identity a secret to avoid damaging relationships with artists. A lot of the time, ghostwriters are artists themselves and don’t take credit for their input on songs publicly.

Recent Ghostwritten Songs:

1.  DJ Khaled – Shining (Feat. Jay-Z & Beyoncé) – PARTYNEXTDOOR

The past year has been big for PARTYNEXTDOOR. He lent his hand to DJ Khaled for the hit, “Shining”, featuring Beyoncé & Jay-Z. He’s co-wrote for several artists including having two songs on Rihanna’s 2016 Release, Anti, “Sex With Me” and “Work”.

2. Wale – Fashion Week (Feat. G-Eazy) – Chad Hugo

Chad Hugo is an American record producer. He is best known as one half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and as a member of N.E.R.D with Pharrell Williams. “Fashion Week” was one off Wale’s biggest songs of his recent album, Shine.

3. DJ Khaled – Wild Thoughts (Featuring Rihanna & Bryson Tiller) – PARTYNEXTDOOR

One of the biggest songs of the summer. PARTYNEXTDOOR assisted the artists in writing the song, with production handled by Khaled.