Genre story · Rock
Rap Rock
Rap delivery and rock instrumentation meeting through collaborations, bands and independent scenes.
Rap Rock has multiple roots. Run-D.M.C. recorded rock-guitar parts before their famous 1986 collaboration with Aerosmith, while the Beastie Boys and other musicians connected punk and Hip-Hop networks in different ways. Rage Against the Machine made a full-band approach influential during the early 1990s. Guitars may carry a repeating riff beneath a rhythmic vocal verse, but some tracks remain closer to hip-hop production while others are unmistakably rock-band performances. Rap Metal emphasizes a heavier metallic guitar vocabulary, and Rapcore often indicates hardcore-related influences. Those labels overlap; a shared rapped verse is not enough to establish a strict hierarchy.
Listening examples
- 1986Run-D.M.C.Raising Hell
- 1986Beastie BoysLicensed to Ill
- 1992Rage Against the MachineRage Against the Machine