Metal Band to Release Song Recorded With DMX – Plus 9 Rap x Rock Collabs You Have to Hear
The heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch have revealed that the upcoming digital deluxe edition of their album Afterlife will include a song called “This is The Way” featuring the late DMX. The collaboration between the artists took place before DMX’s death in 2021 and will finally see the light of day February 9th.
The band’s guitarist, Zoltan Bathory, explained that, “We have always embraced the mixing of genres, whether it be the remake of LL Cool J’s ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ featuring Tech N9ne or our collaboration with country star Brantley Gilbert. The idea of collaborating with DMX had been in discussion for years, and it was a long and winding road to turn this particular item on our wish list into reality.”
Bathory continued, “He was a lyrical warrior, a true original who spoke his mind incorruptibly. We have always viewed DMX as ‘the metalhead of hip-hop’ because of his aggressive, raw, and untamed style. He growled and snarled, aiming to rattle some cages – an attitude we share, as Five Finger Death Punch has always been drawn to the fearless and the real. It made all the sense in the world, but today this is more than just a song; it’s a salute to a legend, a way to honor DMX’s memory.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the worlds of rap and rock collided. Let’s take a look at some standout tracks that featured the hip-hop elite and rock n’ roll royalty.
Run DMC and Aerosmith – “Walk This Way”
The O.G. of rap/rock collabs. Released in 1986, this is basically a cover of the 1975 Aerosmith tune. It was featured on Run DMC’s album Raising Hell and helped propel them into the mainstream and popularize the idea of rap and rock merging. The memorable video saw Run DMC and vocalist Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry from Aerosmith playing up the two genres of music being at odds with each other and eventually joining forces in a joint performance. The music video was in heavy rotation on MTV back in the day and not only helped Run DMC’s star rise, but it marked a major comeback for Aerosmith, who had been largely out of mainstream pop culture for several years.
Public Enemy and Anthrax – “Bring The Noise”
“Bring The Noise” was a Public Enemy track that first appeared on the soundtrack of the 1987 film, Less Than Zero and later on their landmark 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. New York thrash metal band Anthrax were big-time Public Enemy fans. In fact guitarist Scott Ian frequently wore a P.E. shirt onstage. The rockers went about recording the song for their 1991 album Attack of the Killer B’s, a collection of b-sides and cover songs. Anthrax’s version sampled Chuck D.’s bars from the original and the video featured both Chuck D. and Flavor Flav. Public Enemy then included Anthrax’s remake on their 1991 album Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black. The song was a hit for the metal band and even led to an Anthrax/Public Enemy joint concert tour. Talking about Anthrax’s cover, Chuck D. said that he “Didn’t take them wholehearted seriously”, but after the collaboration was done, “It made too much sense”.
KRS-One and R.E.M. – “Radio Song”
Athens, Georgia alternative rock band R.E.M. found themselves with massive success on their hands in 1991 when they released the album Out of Time. The album featured two of the iconic rock band’s biggest hits, “Losing My Religion” and “Shiny Happy People”, sold 18-million copies world wide, and earned them their only Grammy awards. When the band was recording the song that would eventually open the album, “Radio Song”, it was a little folky, a little funky, but was missing something. Enter then-leader of the hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One. R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe was acquainted with KRS-One from a public service announcement the two filmed together and suggested bringing the rapper in to add some flavor. The result was a song that was nominated for a Grammy.
House of Pain and Helmet – “Just Another Victim”
In 1993, a moderately successful film called Judgement Night starring Emilio Estevez and Cuba Gooding Jr. hit theaters. Although the movie itself didn’t break any new ground, the soundtrack became an underground favorite for both hip-hop and hard rock fans. The Judgment Night soundtrack featured 11 tracks, each one a collaboration between hip-hop artists and rock artists. The pairings included Cypress Hill & Pearl Jam, Run DMC & Living Colour, Slayer & Ice T., Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. & Faith No More, and De La Soul & Teenage Fanclub among others. With pairings like that, the entire soundtrack is a fantastic listen. But the collab between the Cali hip-hop trio House of Pain and New York metal band Helmet probably goes the hardest.
Ice Cube and Korn – “Children of the Korn”
Korn was on top of the heavy metal world in 1998. The follow-up to their 1996 album Life is Peachy was highly anticipated. When Follow The Leader dropped, it featured the song “Children of the Korn” which included a guest spot from the legendary Ice Cube. Cube even joined Korn on their rock-heavy Family Values Tour that year.
Method Man and Limp Bizkit – “N 2 Gether Now”
Limp Bizkit hit the scene in the late 1990s in a genre known as Nu Metal. It was heavy rock music with a lot of vocals that were rapped. Method Man had heard about the band and wanted to work with them because he’d never worked with a rock band. To further give it hip-hop cred, the song was produced by DJ Premiere of Gang Starr. The result was this track that was one of the standouts on Limp Bizkit’s second album, 1999’s Significant Other.
Wu Tang Clan and System of a Down – “Shame”
In the year 2000 and rap-rock compilations called Loud Rocks was released by the hip-hop label Loud Records. It featured some of the bigger rock bands of the era paired with hip-hop artists like Mobb Deep, Xzibit, Big Pun, and Wu Tang Clan, who were featured on no less than three of the 13 album tracks. Wu Tang collaborated with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Red Hot Chili Pepper’s drummer Chad Smith, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, and on this song, “Shame” with metal band System of a Down.
Jay-Z and Linkin Park – “Numb/Encore”
We never had it here i the U.S., but back in the day, MTV Europe had a short-lived show called “MTV Mash” where they’d do mashups of videos from different artists. It’s popularity went international and MTV decided to start hooking up popular artists for a series of albums. When they approached Jay-Z about being part of it, they let him pick the artist he wanted to work with and he chose the rock band Linkin Park. The result was the 2004 6-song album Collison Course, which mashed up three Jay-Z songs and three Linkin Park songs. The single “Numb/Encore” became such a huge hit for the rock band that it even won a Grammy award.
Lil Wayne and Limp Bizkit – “Ready To Go”
Limp Bizkit makes the list again with a trivia nugget you may not know. In 2013 the band found themselves without a record label. They planned to release music independently, but before they did, they recorded and released the single “Ready To Go” on Cash Money Records. Hence, the feature from Lil Wayne who opens the track. Wayne, Cash Money founders Birdman and Slim Williams and DJ Stevie J all appeared in the subsequent music video.
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