It may be hard to imagine in the modern, genre-less landscape, but there was once a time when rock and hip hop were on opposite sides of the musical map.
For decades, rock had reigned supreme as the dominant form of popular music, introducing the world to an endless array of icons, like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and many more. But music, as an art form, is constantly evolving, and in the ‘70s a new genre began to emerge, predominately on the streets of New York and Los Angeles.
Core to the format was reinvention – taking an existing piece of music and turning it into something both familiar and fresh to listeners’ ears. Nowadays sampling is commonplace, but at the time it was a new and revolutionary change to the way music was made.
As hip-hop’s popularity moved beyond house parties to nightclubs and boomboxes, attentive outsiders began to notice. This included some of rock’s biggest acts, like Blondie and the Clash, who recognized the genre’s appeal.
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Other bands took a little longer to join the party, like Led Zeppelin, who didn’t explore hip-hop until they were unexpectedly part of the era’s biggest albums. Similarly, Aerosmith didn’t know what to think when an upstart hip-hop act wanted to cover one of their tunes. Steven Tyler’s band cemented its place in rock and rap history by approving and collaborating on the project.
Here’s a look at 10 Classic Rock Acts Who Embraced Hip-Hop.
Rockers Who Embraced Hip-Hop
Why be limited to one genre?
Gallery Credit: Corey Irwin
