Stop, Collaborate, And Listen

By Stacey Vanek Smith,

Cardiff Garcia

Published April 4, 2018 at 3:12 PM CDT

Musical collaborations between artists who normally do their own thing have been around for a long time. Back in the 80s collaborations were rare enough that when one did become a hit, it was a big deal.

The trend began gathering pace in the 1990s, and hasn't stopped. Today, about 35 percent of the Billboard Hot 100 songs are now collaborations, up from just 5 percent in 1990.

There are a number of reasons for this, but the biggest might be the rising popularity of hip hop.

Music: Camila Cabello (feat. Young Thug) " Havana ", RUN-DMC (feat. Aerosmith) " Walk This Way ", DJ Khaled (feat Justin Beiber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper, Lil Wayne " I'm The One ", Taylor Swift (feat Kendrick Lamar) " Bad Blood ", Bruno Mars (feat Cardi B) " Finesse (Remix) "

Stacey Vanek Smith

Stacey Vanek Smith is the co-host of NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money. She's also a correspondent for Planet Money, where she covers business and economics. In this role, Smith has followed economic stories down the muddy back roads of Oklahoma to buy 100 barrels of oil; she's traveled to Pune, India, to track down the man who pitched the country's dramatic currency devaluation to the prime minister; and she's spoken with a North Korean woman who made a small fortune smuggling artificial sweetener in from China.

See stories by Stacey Vanek Smith

Cardiff Garcia

Cardiff Garcia is a co-host of NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money podcast, along with Stacey Vanek Smith. He joined NPR in November 2017.

See stories by Cardiff Garcia