B-Sides Rap Rock
Three Tracks That Sound Better Together
A distinct memory from my childhood comes from a trip down to the beach with some friends — a short but anxious bike ride away for a 12 year old. And while I smile in remembrance of kicking up sand as I tried to avoid a beach football tackle (unsuccessfully), and ducking into the hazy neon arcade to spend the few quarters I had left, the thing I remember most about this particular trip was the food.
We sat down at a southern food joint for lunch, sun glinting off the plastic coated menus and vinyl booth seats as our waiter dumped a stack on our table. Ryan, who would be in my English class next year, ordered chicken and waffles, which I had never seen before. The description sounded insane — I loved myself some fried chicken, having previously lived in Louisiana, but in what world did waffles go together with it? But by the time our waiter returned laden with plates, he convinced me to try a bite.
The church of chicken and waffles had an instant convert. The contrast between crispy and fluffy, soulful and sweet, spice and syrup was nothing short of incredible. Moral of the story? Don’t be afraid to try seemingly weird combinations, and chicken and waffles is delicious eats.
Far too many people treat rap rock with the same disdain I gave chicken and waffles. Fans of either separate genres tend to see crossing the streams as some sort of unholy matrimony. But done correctly, it can be a fantastic fusion of different styles.
So even though Ryan may not be here to convince you to try it, maybe the three tracks we’ve selected below can convince you that rap rock can be great.
Bring the Noise
Right from its beginning, rap employed rock as a source of musical material just as it used Motown and funk. Afrika Bambaataa was known to frequently use rock riffs in his DJed tracks. Run DMC’s 1985 album, King of Rock, made extensive use of rock choruses and riffs, as did the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill released the very next year. And, if one were to choose just one track to exemplify early rock/rap fusion, the obvious choice here would be the 1986 collaboration by Run DMC and Aerosmith on “Walk This Way”. A remake of a track Aerosmith had previously released in 1975, “Walk This Way” became the first hip hop song to ever hit the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 , exceeding the commercial success of Aerosmith’s 1975 single, and entirely attributable to the crossover appeal of the rock/rap collaboration. However, while “Walk this Way” was the first early rock/rap fusion success, better evidence of the appeal and contributions of rap might be the Public Enemy/Anthrax collaboration on Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise”.
“Bring the Noise” had previously appeared on P.E.’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back LP as the very first track (which itself was memorably preceded by an intro of live concert recordings of civil defense warnings and an MC yelling “London, England… Consider yourselves warned…”). Among other rhymes, “Bring the Noise” featured Chuck D’s: “Bass! How low can you go?” one of the best known and sampled rap lyrics of all-time. However, the collaboration with Anthrax on a re-make of this number was noteworthy because it created the first best commercial rock/rap crossover success based on material originated by the rap act. Moreover, the Anthrax version of P.E.’s “Bring the Noise” would lay the groundwork for dozens other rap/metal acts such as Ice-T’s Body Count, and much of the work of Limp Bizkit, to name just a couple.
Sabotage
There’s this twenty-one-year-old intern at work. He’s unnecessarily tall, a formidable dozens opponent, and has an affinity for blue camo pants and motorcycle boots. His most distinguishing feature, however, is his distaste for the Beastie Boys. I regretfully paraphrase:
“The Beastie Boys suck! They're just a bunch of talentless white guys that just scream a bunch of words! It’s not hip-hop!”
There are many faults you could blame on youth, but this is not one of them. The Beastie Boys do not suck, their prolific body of work is evidence of the enormous amount of talent they possess, and the music they make is most certainly hip-hop. What sets the trio apart is their ability to not only merge rap and rock — they've also consistently brought substance to their signature, fiery tracks.
“Sabotage” is the decided model of getting listeners amped up, but also having something to say to go along with it. Returning to their punk roots, the Beastie Boys employed a more traditional rock arrangement: Adrock on guitar, MCA on a distorted bass, Mike D on drums, and Mixmaster Mike on the turntables. The result is an intracardiac injection of compressed energy accompanying rancorous lyrics aimed at the music industry.
I can’t stand it, I know you planned it
I’m-a set it straight, this Watergate
I can’t stand rockin’ when I’m in here
Cause your crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear
But perhaps the most recognizable moment in this track is when Adrock screams “Whyyyyyyy?”
So why, young intern? Why should you pay more attention to the Beastie Boys? The truth is it’s “not hip-hop.” These guys are bigger than hip-hop. Their music transcends genres, cultures, and time. What remained at the core was their authenticity. They meant what they made.
And if you ever wanted confirmation on the realness of the Beastie Boys and their music, all you'd really have do is read about what Adam “MCA” Yauch did with his life. MCA persistently and furiously fought for what he believed in, whether it was for Tibetan independence, or the LGBT movement, or bum-rushing the stage at the MTV Music Awards to protest the “Sabotage” snubs (the Spike Jonze directed video should have totally won). He demonstrated rectitude and honesty through his life and his music.
Yauch would've turned 52 last Wednesday.
Testify
There was no reason for Rage Against The Machine to succeed. To set the scene, rock was dominated by more navel-gazing acts like Nirvana and R.E.M, and a new breed of gangsta rap was breeding on both coasts. But the timing for their debut album couldn’t have been more appropriate, dropping the same day that William Jefferson Clinton was sworn into the office of the President. “Killing In The Name” seared like a political brand, a banner for those of Generation X who had just voted for the first time. RATM was relentless in their sloganeering, and the ease of “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me” made it a rallying cry. But this fusion of politically-focused rap rock had its fair share of faults. Was the phrase used as a rejection of corporate control? Or just a simple rebellion against any and all order? By the time their second album, Evil Empire was released, fans embraced Rage wholeheartedly, while The Machine seemed all but forgotten.
That’s not to discount the explosive and unique sound they managed to create, a masterfully-produced assault of funk, hardcore, metal that fused and cribbed all of the goodness of acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Public Enemy, Fugazi, and Led Zeppelin. Ultimately, though, this sound was perfected on RATM’s third album, The Battle of Los Angeles. Tom Morello does some of his best guitar work on this album (how are some of those sounds even possible?), while Zack de la Rocha evolved his MC style to incorporate different kinds of volume and tones beyond the usual guttural screams. RATM may have invented rap metal with their self-titled debut, but in The Battle of Los Angeles, they conquered it.
