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Hip-hop and metal seem like they couldn't be farther apart on the musical spectrum. However, if you look closely, they're more similar than you'd think. Both genres are often driven by a certain percussive intensity--the sonic foundation of many songs is the chest-thumping formidable synergy between the bass and the drums. Both genres explore anger, internal conflict, feelings of superiority and dominance--in general, the pains of being a man. Finally, both genres are known for their balls-out aggressiveness. Most songs in both worlds seem to be mixed and mastered with illegal doses of horse testosterone.
To the seasoned listener, rap-metal collaborations make sense. They're hardly the marriage of two distant, disparate musical styles, but rather, two aural juggernauts capitalizing on their inherent commonalities. To prove it, we have collected five awesome rap-metal collaborations that everyone can appreciate.
5. Limp Bizkit ft. Snoop Dogg - 'Red Light-Green Light'
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This cut is from Limp Bizkit's 2003 album Results May Vary, and it's a slight change of pace from the rest of the songs on this list. Instead of Snoop Dogg rapping over chugging guitar riffs and pummeling snare hits, he and Fred Durst lend their respective chill flows to a relatively subdued beat. The song isn't terrible, however, we were surprised that a timeless MC like Snoop would do a track with a post-Chocolate Starfish Limp Bizkit.
4. Living Colour and Run-D.M.C - 'Me, Myself, & My Microphone'
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Run-D.M.C. has always been at the forefront of the rap-rock/metal fusion movement. They essentially blazed the trail by covering Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" in 1986, and here they stepped up their game and partnered with jam metal dynamo Living Colour. This was one of the 11 rap-rock/metal joints that comprised the soundtrack for "Judgment Night", a 1993 action movie starring Emilio Estévez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeremy Piven and Denis Leary. We know what we're watching this weekend.
3. Ice Cube ft. KoRn - 'F*** Dying'
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Ice Cube unleashed this beast on his 1998 album War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc). Cube's signature abrasive vocals couldn't have meshed better with KoRn's perfectly creepy and indomitable aggrofunk.
2. Anthrax ft. Public Enemy - 'Bring the Noise'
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Originally written and recorded by Public Enemy, this particular version is from Anthrax's 1991 b-side album Attack of the Killer B's. "Bring the Noise" was a groundbreaking jam, as it was one of the first rap-metal collaborations and still one of the most well-known of all time. Also, with Public Enemy hailing from Long Island and Anthrax hailing from New York City, this song is some serious East Coast representation. Flavor Flav!
1. Jay-Z and Linkin Park - 'Numb/Encore'
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At first, this collaboration seemed to be nothing more than a lame exercise in corporate music puppetry--mashing together two highly successful titans of industry in order to turn a profit. However, in the end, Jay-Z and Linkin Park turned in one of the most overwhelmingly and righteously explosive projects of all time. The parent EP, Collision Course, dominated the charts and is certified platinum in several countries.
Listen to the song here
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