Rap-metal songs typically go one of two ways. They're either borderline unlistenable, or they fucking smack. The line can be incredibly fine, so anyone who wants to sift through the pantheon of hip-hop and metal crossover needs to bring some latex gloves and a mop — you're gonna get bombarded with a lot of hot garbage. Among the muck, though, are some truly badass anthems.
We asked our readers to pick the very best one, the greatest rap-metal song of all time. Below, are the top five vote-getters ranked accordingly. You might not see who you expect to find.
5. Slipknot - "Spit It Out"
Over the years, Slipknot's music has become way less overtly influenced by hip-hop, but back in the day, those elements were definitely wrapped up in their sound. "Spit It Out" is the foremost example, a track from their debut where the Nine funnel their chaos into a rigid rhythm that's punctuated by Clown's metallic thwack. Corey Taylor's vocals are in full rap mode here, firing at Gatling gun speed and screeching to a choppy near-halt during the "Spit! It out!" hook.
4. Korn - "Children of the Korn" (Feat. Ice Cube)
Korn have two full-on rap-metal songs on Follow the Leader. One of them is "All in the Family," a cringy, drunken collab with Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst that Jonathan Davis now calls "the worst Korn song ever." The other is "Children of the Korn," an actually awesome bass-thumper that blends west coast rap production with Korn's bottom-heavy nu-metal bounce, and features a spirited guest appearance by Ice Cube. Listen to this one.
3. Onyx - "Judgment Night" (Feat. Biohazard)
One of the most common answers to this poll was simply, "Anything on the Judgment Night soundtrack," the trailblazing 1993 movie score that paired 11 different rock groups — including Slayer and Faith No More — with various top-name rappers for original collaborative songs. Onyx, the chaotic Queens group who carried themselves with a hardcore sense of menace, were fittingly buddied up with fellow New Yorkers Biohazard, and the fruits of their local labor clearly still slaps to this day. Indeed, the movie's title track is way more memorable than the flick itself.
2. Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name"
You can't talk rap metal without giving the genre's titans their flowers. While every band on this list has obviously dabbled in the fusion of hip-hop and heavy metal, Rage Against the Machine based their entire sound around it, and no song in their discography better represents their fire-spittin', hard-hittin' flavor better than "Killing in the Name." The riff is rock & roll, the energy is metal, but the attitude is pure, unvarnished hip-hop. "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!"
1. Anthrax and Public Enemy - "Bring the Noise"
This just has to be No. 1, doesn't it? Anthrax's version of "Bring the Noise" is the song that synthesized rap and metal together for the first time, and then made it a national movement when the NYC thrashers got Public Enemy's blessing for a proper collab, which they celebrated by touring the country together after the single dropped in 1991. This was years before nu-metal, so it has that vintage late-Eighties sound, but the track still feels timeless anytime it comes on today and wreck's someone's party speakers. The noise keeps on being brought.
