10 Best Hard Rock & Rap Cross-Over Songs

Coming from the boroughs of New York, the members of Anthrax always had an ear for all kinds of music. From the time that Scott Ian was listening to rock music, his musical vocabulary was also shaped by the sounds of hip hop from Run-DMC to the Beastie Boys. After a few joke hip hop recordings by the band, Ian hit upon an idea that seemed too good to be true.

After the band finished recording the record Persistence of Time, Ian asked drummer Charlie Benante to stay behind as they worked out an arrangement for the Public Enemy hit "Bring the Noise." Ian had always wanted to hear his metal guitar tone over Chuck D's delivery and quickly called up the group to see if they wanted to collaborate with them on their version of the tune.

Chuck D even admitted that he didn't take the initial offer seriously, but quickly realized that the harsh sounds of metal mixed with their version of hip hop made too much sense. The two bands even toured together afterward, with each night ending with a joint performance of the song. The result was a monster single that took over the metal scene and planted the seeds for nu metal going forward. There were plenty of great ways to mix rock and rap, but this version of Public Enemy's song is pretty close to bulletproof.