In honor of Modest Mouse and Big Boi: A look at the Top 10 rap/rock collaborations of all time

By Thorin Klosowski Fri., Apr. 29 2011 at 8:30 AM

Categories: Lists

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In case you haven't heard yet, Modest Mouse is working with Big Boi on its next album. Seriously. Yeah, we're having a hard time even trying to imagine what that's going to sound like. The news, however, did get us thinking about the ten of the best and rap/rock collaborations. You know Aerosmith and Run D.M.C. are on the list -- that's a given -- but who else? Click through to find out.

10. Kid Cudi and MGMT and Ratatat - "Pursuit of Happiness"
As far as collaborations are concerned, Kid Cudi has been open to working with whoever the hell he wants, regardless of genre. This Ratatat-produced track with MGMT is certainly a bit surprising, but it works so damn well, you don't even think about the fact it's a collaboration.

9. Boo-Ya Tribe and Faith No More - "Another Body Murdered"
Putting Mike Patton together with Boo-Ya Tribe makes more sense than you'd think. If you think about it, Mike Patton could have probably just made this song by himself in the basement, but we're glad he decided to lend his ominous voice/screaming freakout to this one. We're pretty sure the dudes from Boo-Ya Tribe probably walked away a little terrified of him by the end of it.

8. Dead Prez and Static-X - "Hip Hop"
How do you make Dead Prez's "Hip Hop" sound like Outkast's "B.O.B.?" Easy: Team them up with Static-X. Look, we're not going to pretend we give a fuck about Static-X and in the end, the screaming from them nearly ruins this song, but the breakneck BPM sounds fucking rad, so we'll let it slide. But, man, the goateed-hair-gelled douchbag screaming "hip hop" is really annoying.

7. Blakroc (Black Keys and Mos Def) - "On the Vista"
This is kind of a weird idea, but at some points it actually works, including this track with Mos Def. It's not as blatant as some of the other examples on the list, but that's what makes it special -- it's a collaboration that doesn't draw attention to itself for being a collaboration.

6. Onyx and Biohazard - "Slam"
This one's a classic, and even though Biohazard was kind of already rap/rock, this is a fucking awesome collaboration.

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