Why are featured artists such a staple in Hip Hop while in other genres they seem to be much less common?

Question

With the exception of more recent Contemporary R&B (as opposed to 50s and 60s R&B/Soul) and mainstream pop, Hip Hop seems to thrive on features in comparison with other genres, even other traditionally African American genres (which, by way of community, was my initial hypothesis on why it visibly features other artists, as opposed to just casually employing them in the more general liner note credits)

In: Other

Answer 1

The “feature” is usually an established artist, while the performer is a “rising talent”. Not always, but a good portion of the time. Seems like a way for an established artist to promote someone they may have an interest (financially) in with only a small amount of time and effort.