Rappers Who Are Surprisingly Great Singers

Lauryn Hill has an impressive career as a singer, songwriter, and rapper. Her first solo album, 1998's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, was the first hip hop record to win the Grammy for Album of the Year in '99, on top of several other awards. She is a legendary artist in the rap world, and in 2015, she contributed to the compilation cover album Nina Revisited... A Tribute To Nina Simone along with 12 other artists. 

The album contains 16 tracks from several acclaimed musical artists like Usher and Mary J. Blige. Hill sang six Simone tracks, including an impressive rendition of "Feeling Good." Simone's own version is a cover as well; it was originally recorded for the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint. Simone recorded "Feeling Good" for her 1965 studio album I Put a Spell on You.

Post Malone is more than just a rapper. He has produced several songs that blend musical genres like rock and R&B. The singer/songwriter/record producer has a long history of covering popular artists, including Sublime, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, and Metallica.

One of his more impressive covers came in 2017 at the House of Blues in Boston when the artist sang an acoustic version of Nirvana's hit single "All Apologies." The song is off of the trio's 1993 third and final studio album, In Utero.

Mos Def showed off his funky, bluesy side with "Blue Black Jack" off his 2004 sophomore studio album The New Danger. Mos Def displays his vocal range on "Blue Black Jack" alongside singer-songwriter Johnny Shuggie Otis. 

Mos Def also recorded "Blue Black Jack" for a benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall that took place on February 7, 2003. The entire concert was recorded and released on the soundtrack for Lightning in a Bottle. Several renowned musical artists also performed at the benefit, including B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, and Steven Tyler. 

Eminem displays his own version of rap-rock in "Mockingbird," the 2004 love letter to his daughters, Hailie and Alaina. Though "Mockingbird" is first and foremost a rap number, he samples a singsong lullaby, "Hush Little Baby, Don't Say a Word," during the chorus. 

Most of Eminem's songs are deeply personal, but "Mockingbird" - which peaked at 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 2005 - is special because it describes his troubled relationship with his ex-wife Kim and the difficulty of having to be apart from his daughters because of his music career. 

In 2004, he told Rolling Stone:

When Mom was on the run [Hallie and Alaina] didn't understand it, and I'm not the greatest talker in the world, especially when I'm trying to explain to two little girls what's goin' on with someone who's always been a part of their life and just disappeared. So ["Mockingbird"] was my song to explain to them what was goin' on, probably the most emotional song I ever wrote. 

Missy Elliot is one of the original queens of rap, with several notable awards under her belt and a lengthy discography. On top of that, she has one of the most impressive singing voices in the genre. In her 2005 ballad, "Teary Eyed," off her fifth album, The Cookbook, Elliot showcases her vocal talents at their best. 

The devastating breakup song is set to a hip hop beat as Elliot sings, "And I became so unkind/'cause you brought the worst out of me."

Chance the Rapper, who won three Grammys, including Best New Artist in 2016, performed an emotional rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You" during a show in Syracuse, New York.

Chance was on his 2013 Social Experiment Tour when he covered the British band's 2005 hit single, written by Chris Martin for his then-wife Gwyneth Paltrow following the loss of her father, Bruce. "Fix You" appeared on Coldplay's 2005 third studio album, X&Y.