Though Gorillaz' fifth album Humanz isn't due out until the end of April, we already know it promises to be a very guest-heavy LP, with Damon Albarn sharing vocal duties with (or relinquishing them completely to) Benjamin Clementine, Popcaan, Vince Staples, Savages' Jehnny Beth, D.R.A.M., and most recently, Pusha T and Mavis Staples.It takes a certain kind of sensitivity as a songwriter to be able to step back from your work and say "I'm not the right person to sing this song." You can find much of that self-awareness in the British musician's output with the virtual group he and Jamie Hewlett created in 1998. Not only is Albarn skilled in recruiting vocalists with defined voices and personalities, he also knows just how to deploy them in his music to sustain particular moods, and to get across certain ideas or themes.
Whether it be grime, trip-hop, or soul, here's our ranking of the 20 best guest vocalists to appear on a Gorillaz song, and how they bring the cartoon band to life.
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1. Del The Funkee Homosapien - "Clint Eastwood," "Rock The House"
2. Shaun Ryder - "DARE"
3. De La Soul - "Feel Good Inc," "Superfast Jellyfish"
4. Bobby Womack - "Stylo," "Cloud of Unknowing," "Bobby In Phoenix"
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5. Little Dragon - "Empire Ants," "To Binge"
6. Bashy & Kano - "White Flag"
7. Tina Weymouth - "19-2000"
8. Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) - "Stylo," "Sweepstakes"
Before Bobby Womack could send out a shock in "Stylo," Yasiin Bey is there front-and-centre setting up the charge. On "Sweepstakes," the rapper weaves his words around the off-kilter beat, and funky drums and horns courtesy of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, which flatten like an oversized cheque. When Bey and the band connect it's a thing of beauty.
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9. Dennis Hopper - "Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head"
10. London Community Gospel Choir - "Don't Get Lost In Heaven," "Demon Days"
11. Martina Topley-Bird - "All Alone"
12. Vince Staples - "Ascension"
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13. Roots Manuva - "All Alone"
14. Ibrahim Ferrer - "Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)"
15. MF Doom - "November Has Come"
16. Mark E. Smith - "Glitter Freeze"
17. Neneh Cherry - "Kids With Guns"
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