In some ways, the genres of rock and rap are born enemies. The two most dominant forms of music from the 20th and 21st centuries compete for dollars, ears and attention. Like two boxers coming out of their corners hoping for the championship belt, rock and rap shouldn’t ever be warm bedfellows.
However, rules are made to be broken, of course. And there are important instances where the two sounds, both of which have roots in the Black community and in the blues, have connected, intertwined and created something new and terrific. Indeed, here below we wanted to explore four such examples. Four times the two genres collided perfectly.
“Walk This Way” by Run-DMC featuring Aerosmith from Raising Hell (1986)
While Aerosmith may not quite qualify as alt-rock, it’s important to highlight this collaboration between the Boston-born rockers and the New York City-born rap group Run-DMC. For it was Run-DMC that first embraced rock samples and rock-related beats on their rap songs. Prior to the groundbreaking group, most rap songs featured disco samples. But in came Run-DMC and they changed the game, peaking with their hit track featuring Aerosmith. The song helped both groups’ careers and also showed many that genres (and races) could all get along.
“Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys from Ill Communication (1994)
Before the New York-born rap trio known as the Beastie Boys was everyone’s favorite rhymers, they were a punk rock group playing in the basements and the bowels of the Big Apple. But it was when they owned their hip-hop roots, the threesome took off. Crafted in the mold of Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys produced fast, clever tunes bursting with lyrics. But the trio’s most famous song might be “Sabotage.” Released in 1994, the offering is essentially just a punk rock track masquerading as a rap song. Big buzzy instrumentation meets shouted vocals—it’s totally a crossover hybrid. (For more examples of the Beasties as a rock group, check out their 2007 album, The Mix-Up.)
“Numb / Encore” by Jay-Z and Linkin Park from Collision Course (2004)
In the mid-aughts, music fans saw and heard perhaps the most unlikely collaboration, an EP made by rapper Jay-Z and rockers Linkin Park. Combining their songs in a mashup-sampling-type of musical experiment, the artists’ released Collision Course in 2004. The result is interesting and certainly of a time. The music is good, but it’s almost impossible to shed the wonderment that pops in your mind as soon as you hear the tracks. How did this come about? Is it good? Is it the best? Is it silly? Impossible to find answers, you just keep listening.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana featuring Post Malone (Live, 2025)
The rapper who became famous thanks to his sticky song “White Iverson,” Post Malone is one to always try new things, from movies to new musical genres. In 2025, he hooked up with the living members of the grunge band Nirvana in what might be an even more unlikely collab than the one above with Jay and Linkin Park. Nevertheless, genres and styles collided and provided grunge fans with a delightful moment that recalled—enough, at least—the late music icon, Kurt Cobain.
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