Rap Rock

Rap Rock is the fusion of Hip Hop and Rock, often featuring the former’s rhythmic vocal delivery and the latter’s heavy, distorted instrumentation. The genre increased in popularity during the late 1980s, with Run-D.M.C.'s collaboration with Aerosmith on “Walk This Way” proving particularly successful, though it was with the rise of Nu Metal in the 1990s that Rap Rock’s fanbase peaked. This style typically combined certain styles of Alternative Rock with Hip Hop beats, as well as the occasional use of Turntablism, as seen in the music of Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Hip Hop’s flirtation with Rock music precedes the common usage of this term, however, with Beastie Boys coming from a Punk Rock background and Public Enemy sampling from Heavy Metal, though both remained more deeply rooted in straightforward Hip Hop than those labelled Rap Rock.