The 20 Best Hip-Hop/Rock Collaborations
Last week, Big Boi unexpectedly revealed that he’s been working together with Modest Mouse on the band’s forthcoming record. This will add the heralded Atlantan rapper to the list of recent hip-hop artists like Kanye West, The Roots and Kid Cudi who’ve collaborated with rock groups. But the cross-genre collaboration trend dates back to the early ‘80s. Here’s a look back at some of our favorite hip-hop/rock collaborations throughout the past several decades.
20. “Right On”
Rappers: The Roots
Rocker: Joanna Newsom
Since joining Jimmy Fallon’s show as his house band back in 2009, The Roots have accompanied countless artists on the late-night TV set. That’s carried over into their own studio work, including this effort with Joanna Newsom from their 2010 record How I Got Over.
19. ”Numb/Encore”
Rapper: Jay-Z
Rock9kLjwcZxers: Linkin Park
While we rarely vouch for rap-rockers Linkin Park, their partnership with Jay-Z is one cut that’s worth a listen.
18. “Flyentology”
Rapper: El-P
Rocker: Trent Reznor
The Nine Inch Nail frontman makes a compelling appearance on former Def Jux founder El-P’s masterful 2007 album I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead.
17. “Who Knows Who”
Rappers: The Streets
Rockers: Muse
British rap meets British arena rock on this surprising single.
16. “The Drop I Hold”
Rapper: GZA
Rockers: The Black Lips
Long before the Lips were drinking champagne out of Mark Ronson’s Grammy, they worked with Wu-Tang member GZA for a track off their 2009 record 200 Million Thousand.
15. “Real Thing”
Rappers: Cypress Hill
Rockers: Pearl Jam
Around the time that Pearl Jam rose to fame in the mid-’90s, the Seattle rockers recorded “Real Thing” with hard-hitting rap outfit Cypress Hill.
14. “Missing Link”
Rapper: Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Rockers: Dinosaur Jr.
These two influential acts in their own respective genres teamed up in the mid-’90s to record “Missing Link.”
13. “Bring The Noise”
Rappers: Public Enemy
Rockers: Anthrax
As one of the early prominent rap-rock collaborations, Public Enemy and Anthrax found common ground with their intensity despite coming from drastically different musical backgrounds.
12. “Pursuit of Happiness”
Rapper: Kid Cudi
Rockers: MGMT, Ratatat
Kid Cudi recruited MGMT on vocals and Ratatat as producers for his cut off of Man On The Moon: The End Of Day.
11. “Tightrope”
Rapper: Big Boi
Rocker: Janelle Monáe
While Monáe isn’t exactly a rocker in the purest sense of the word, we don’t know how else to classify her, and this track was too good to leave off the list list. Adding in Big Boi for a verse doesn’t hurt the cause either.