There have been many awesome, and many less-than-awesome crossover collaborations between hip-hop and rock and metal over the years. Aerosmith and Run DMC, Anthrax and Public Enemy on the game-changing Bring Tha Noize. Eminem and Marilyn Manson.Linkin Park and Jay Z. Amazingly, Dillinger Escape Plan and Jarren Brenton released this incredible song back in 2014, and most recently, Chance the Rapper and Death Cab For Cutie shared a mutual affection for another.
But there is one band who reign supreme in the wonderful world of rock-metal collaborations.
That band is Korn. Yes, Korn. The band who made white dreadlocks and eyebrow piercings inexplicably cool in the mid-90s. The Godfathers of nu-metal and probably its premier practitioners and the band behind some of the hits that defined that era.
Korn have long enjoyed a healthy relationship with hip-hop, with a remarkably high number of collaborations and crossover hits under their belts across the past two decades as well as their own members dabbling in the genre themselves (See: bassist Fieldy and his hardcore hip-hop album Rock’n Roll Gangster all the way back in 2002).
As one of the most popular metal bands of the last two decades and a band who pioneered a genre owing as much to rap as it does to metal and one that reached the zenith of its popularity while they were in their prime, it’s no surprise that Korn frequently worked with some of hip-hop’s biggest names.
These are five of their best collaborations:
Children Of The Korn ft. Ice Cube
Having covered Ice Cube’s Wicked 20 years ago, Korn would eventually get the chance to directly collaborate with Cube, who was evidently a huge influence of theirs, to create one of the better rap/rock collisions of all time.
For a song about how parents don’t understand ‘loud’ music with copious cuss words, forget Will Smith and ‘his good clean raps’, Ice Cube and Korn were the polar opposites.
Both artists were known for their defiant individuality and their liberal approach to freedom of speech. Just look at Ice Cube and his days in the NWA if you want to know whether or not he backs down (he doesn’t). Korn were also no stranger to waking up each morning and pissing off the world in a time where their profane and oftentimes dark lyrics raised the ire of many conservatives. Children Of The Korn is a great mix of both of them doing what they do best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqfsnUkmZCA
Play Me ft. Nas
Reviewing Nas’ extensive back catalogue, it might be easier to list the very few artists he hasn’t had dealings with. Most are at least loosely connected to the wider sphere of hip-hop (although we’re still scratching our heads in bewilderment at his turn with Posh Spice on the abhorrent Full Stop). It makes sense then that Nas and Korn would have broke bread at some point and Play Me was the end result. Korn frontman Jonathan Davis reminisced on the call to Nas that got the ball rolling:
“I called [Nas] up and asked him if he wanted to be on the album. He said he was a fan of Korn and he’d love to do it.” He added, “It’s very heavy, it’s not anything to do with hip-hop at all, and he’s such a great lyricist that he has something to say. He’s really deep, and it comes across well.”
Nas delivers his usual dope bars and chants the chorus, showing no sign at all that he was out of his depth in another genre. Like most of his collaborations with other artist, the Illmatic one brings out the best in his partners and Korn were no exception.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVbWw3RKg1w
Coming Undone Wit It ft. Dem Franchize Boyz
While I fundamentally hate myself for liking this one, it is near impossible not to it’s that damn catchy.
Originally, titled Coming Undone, the song was written by Korn for the hypere-industrial The Matrix soundtrack. When Dem Franchize Boyz did a mash-up of it with their track Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It, it gave birth to Coming Undone Wit It.
Produced by hip-hop heavyweight Jermaine Dupri and Scott Spock from The Matrix’s production team, this is the only Franchize Boyz song I have listened to on my own merit, and pray that it’s the last.
“Rock and crunk, they the same thing,” Franchize Boyz’s Apollo said at the time. “It’s just two different names for it.”
“It’s all energy,” Davis added. “Crunk music’s like heavy hip-hop, so it mixes right. It’s perfect.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDMsCjGKlN4
Fight The Power ft. Xzibit
Probably the most interesting of all of Korn’s rap collaborations for better or worse, the band taking one of the most politically charged tracks ever released by seminal posse Public Enemy.
The original version was also a theme in Spike Lee‘s classic, yet controversial 1989 film Do The Right Thing, making it seem almost taboo for a bunch of white guys from Cali to help cover it.
All political elements aside though, the combination of Korn and Xzibit somehow kind of works on a purely sonic level, X’s idiosyncratic gruff and gritty delivery blending perfectly with hard-hitting Korn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoxleOCgAQU
Fuck Dying – Ice Cube ft. Korn
Topping the list is another collaboration between Korn and Cube, this time with the former playing the role of featured artists on the fiery Fuck Dying.
The track comes from Ice Cube’s War & Peace Vol. 1 album. It is a record that emanates dark, demonic vibes throughout, and Korn’s presence brought it to a whole new level, ramping the intensity up until it infinitely more palpable than every other track. An absolutely perfect mesh, both Korn and Ice Cube deliver peak performances here.
Hip-hop purists probably appreciate Fuck Dying more given that it’s a metal band guesting on a rapper’s track instead of a rapper trying to fit in with a metal band. Korn more than hold their own in Ice Cube’s domain and it’s a shame they didn’t collaborate more while they were still producing on a consistent basis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqtgsmkO1U4
Dishonourable Mentions
While Korn’s history of collaboration with hip-hop artists is largely quite good, it would be disingenuous to suggest that they weren’t guilty of a couple of stinkers along the way:
Wake Up – The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Korn
An awful mash-up of Korn’s Wake Up and Biggie Small’s If I Should Die Before I Wake. To its credit, the majority of the posthumous duets album it was featured on was pure trash and near exploitative at worst but this one felt particularly egregious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSyfudsYNcM
I don’t know who let this one slide on an almost perfect track record for Q-Tip but I sure hope they’re now fired.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kwg2eGNHBM
Overall though, rap and rock collaborations are something I hope we hear more and more of as hip-hop becomes even more mainstream in the 21st century and resultantly blends easier with other genres (though metal bands like Korn are unicorns in this age). Rumoured collaborations between Chance The Rapper and Death Cab For Cutie seem like they might be great on paper, but I much prefer my rap/rock crossover to bristle with the same intensity and fire that Korn and Ice Cube once brought.
Image: Spin
Over the weekend, Birdman released a new single, Fuk Em, which seems to be a Lil Wayne diss. Really? Aren’t we past this? Is Birdman seriously responsible for Tha Carter V two year delay? Or are they just beefing for the sake of it now?
I thought they had moved past it, as earlier this year, both rappers appeared on stage together in Miami. But no, Wayne was still suing Birdman for millions. Birdman spoke out on the matter in an interview with Hot 97 claiming he’s not responsible for holding back the release of Tha Carter V:
“Me not putting out Tha Carter V, why wouldn’t I? I’ve got a lot of money invested into Young Money and Wayne. So for me, I want to get some of mine’s back, you understand me? … I think the world deserve Tha Carter V. Whatever he wanna do, I’m good with it. I ain’t gonna stop him, I’m gonna embrace it. Wayne is a boss. He his own boss. … I would never stop him from doing nothin’. He’s still puttin’ out records—I could stop that shit if I wanted to, but I ain’t gonna stop him from hustlin’. We in this for the money, man. We rap for the money.”
Two sides to a frickin’ coin with these two – but whatever the reason, I wish we could go back to a simpler time. A time when Lil Wayne and Birdman were friends
Do you remember when Lil Wayne and Birdman were the best of friends? I do, it was great. We had solid releases from Wayne and also had the two doing what they love, rapping for money. What about that time when Birdman took Lil Wayne’s daughter Reginae jewellery shopping for her ‘Super Sweet 16’? Remember that beautiful brotherhood moment?
Skip ahead to 21 minutes to watch the glorious Rolex action (and stay watching for cameos from The Game, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Rae Sremmurd, and uh, two luxury cars – including one Ferrari – for this girl’s sixteenth birthday).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M68G9KS2wVQ
It’s always quite novel when rappers appear in reality TV shows. It’s like seeing a lion up close in a zoo – not nearly as scary when it’s in a cage. Gangster rappers like Ice-T and Ice Cube have certainly lost their one toughened edge since entering into the world of reality TV, comedy and children’s movies. Then you’ve got rappers like Snoop and Xzibit who just nail their weird and wonderful cameo appearances.
As such, we’ve decided to take a look at our five favourite rap reality shows. In no particular order, here they are. And just to clarify, making the list doesn’t mean they’re exactly great or worth watching. We just think they’re funny.
5: Ice Loves Coco
The show features the life of Ice-T and his wife Coco as they move house, start a family and struggle to spend their riches. I was initially super excited to watch this back in 2011 when it aired, as I had remembered seeing an MTV Cribs episode that featured Ice-T’s house a few years before. It was hilarious, he was gangster, and most importantly he had vending machines everywhere. Vending machines that worked as normal, by the way – despite his masses of money, no one gets a free ride. I was so impressed that I wanted vending machines (and still do) in my house. However, it seems that Coco is an exception to the ‘no free ride’ rule, as it turns out this show was pretty much about her, the glamour model, with Ice-T occasionally just saying things and doing stuff. At times it feels like a father-daughter type of thing, like in the episode where she teaches him how to use Skype. Overall, I think Ice-T is just far too soft.
4: Snoop Dogg’s Fatherhood
I personally love this show, because Snoop is one funny motherfucker. “This ain’t the Huxtables but we living comfortable/ and I don’t make my kids eat their vegetable,” he says in the intro song. Everything he says and does in the show is fantastic. I truly think I could be actual friends with Snoop Dogg; I have thought it my whole life, and seeing him as a family man and really not having anything lost from his persona confirmed it. I mean, I have a dogg and I am still as gangster as I was before I did – we are two peas in a very tall pod. The show runs viewers through every aspect of Snoop’s life, from making music videos to his peewee football league, living in the exact way you would imagine Snoop Dogg living his life.
3: The Vanilla Ice Project
The last thing I heard about Vanilla Ice was that Suge Knight held him over a balcony. Well, he clearly survived and is doing very well flipping houses. His show The Vanilla Ice Project is currently in its 6th season – yes, six seasons of Rob Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice renovating houses. I haven’t watched a lot of this show, but it seems very serious. If you didn’t already know Van Winkle was Vanilla Ice, you might never know. He does occasionally (unintentionally?) quotes rap songs with ome improvement gems. For instance, a new interior might run “from the window/ to the wall.” Classic. Never change, Ice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsBWMF4Ci7E
2: Xzibit’s Pimp My Ride
This one should need little explanation as it is probably the most popular of the rapper reality TV shows. You shoot a video of your crappy car and ask MTV to pimp it up. Simple. It’s one of the greatest shows of all time in my opinion. It used to come on right after The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and me and my mate Drops would watch the show while fantasising about owning our own pimped up rides. Unfortunately, Xzibit has moved on (see tweet below) and I guess, in a way, I have as well. I currently drive an Isuzu light truck during the week and scoot around on a tram during the weekends. Occasionally, I splurge for an Uber Black (okay, I did that once) but as far as wanting or owning a pimped up ride, I’m right where Xzibit is. Shit’s been over for a decade. And I have got a job.
But until you have a ute that doubles as a pool table, you cannot truly say you have it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2VhWYEOIx0
1. Flavor Flav in The Flavor of Love
I have been scratching my head for a way to explain this show without sounding like someone who ‘loves’ The Bachelor. I have had many (one or two) girl friends (girls who let me hang out with them outside of school, anyway,) who inexplicably love watching terrible reality TV. But as far as reality dating shows go, this is number one. Not just in this list, but number one of all reality TV. Back when I had dreams of making it big as a basketballer, I also had dreams of becoming washed up and lonely and starting my own reality dating show where lots of women had to vie for my attention (ed. note: after chatting to Alex while editing this piece I’ve discovered this isn’t necessarily a joke. I think he really did dream of becoming a lonely washed-up reality dating show host.) But Flavor Flav beat me to it. He stole the idea right out of my 15-year-old mind. That said, his show differed from mine as at the end of the show, the girls had the option of ‘love’ or ‘money’. The show starts with Flav nicknaming all the girls, because apparently he is bad with names. Like on The Bachelor, there is a rose ceremony at the end of each week – sorry, not rose, clock; yep, he puts a clock around their neck if he chooses them. At the end of season 1, he picked Hoops (we all knew he would) but Hoops, plot twist, picked the money instead – cue season 2. Side note: New York, one of the girls from Season 1, went on to star in her own reality dating show. At least it wasn’t Hottie, the girl who served Flavor Flav’s mum an entire raw chicken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35mbdGoH2lQ
When rappers stop making music, boredom must set in and new endeavours must be undertaken. Some turn to media conglomerations, some found their own record labels or extremely successful headphone brands, some purchase hi-fidelity streaming services and others partner with the biggest tech companies in the world. Others turn to reality TV. For better or worse, I prefer the latter; it humanises my idols and usually shows you a funny side you might not see or hear in their hardened raps.
There is no sign of them slowing down, as evidently Snoop Dogg, Birdman, Jermaine Dupri and Damon Dash plan on making a new reality TV show entitled Music Moguls – I, for one, can’t wait.
Image: VH1
Gone are the days of hip hop stars having but one job title. Wikipedia any rapper today and you can almost guarantee they’ll have some combination of rapper, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and, a lot of the times, actor. As can be expected with most things in hip hop, there are both excellent and godawful examples of this. We’re breaking them down into best and worst, starting with the Mount Rap-More of shitty acting.
Xzibit
Oh boy, has X been in some real stinkers. Aside from appearing on Pimp My Ride and loudly giving out car makeovers that push the notion of poor taste to its absolute grotesque nadir, he has appeared as an FBI agent in the much-reviled X-Files: I Want To Believe as well as The Rock’s juvenile corrections facility team assistant football coach in Gridiron Gang.
He also appeared in xXx: State Of The Union, the more atrocious sequel to an already highly atrocious Vin Diesel-helmed original. His worst turn by far though has got to be alongside Busta Rhymes in Full Clip.
Ugh, look at that tagline, on a movie poster that my grandmother could cobble together on Photoshop given enough time. You don’t even have to see it to know that it would have taken the swiftest route to DVD possible and probably can’t be purchased outside of a $1.99 clearance bin anywhere.
Even in the one good film he’s been allowed anywhere near, 8 Mile, he enjoyed approximately two minutes of screen time as a homophobic factory worker who gets his ass lyrically beat down by Eminem. Enough already, X.
Ja Rule
Aside from making an entire career out of looking like somebody slammed a door on Tupac Shakur‘s face and bastardising his sound with none of the street cred or intelligence to back it up, Ja Rule has also enjoyed quite the acting career.
His first role in a blockbuster was as the token black street racer in the original Fast And The Furious. He also enjoyed minor but somehow terrible roles in movies for people who don’t like movies, such as Assault On Precinct 13 and Scary Movie 3. He also had a prominent role alongside our Lord and Saviour, Steven Seagal in Half Past Dead.
Steven Seagal movies, perfecting the ridiculous title/tagline combination since the 80s
This is a movie so bad that Steven Seagal’s do-rag is the second best actor in it. Ja plays the wisecracking black cop to Steve’s tough guy straight man cop. It’s… awful, but I will never forgive him for using my beloved New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets as a plot device in The Cookout. EVER.
That his character’s name was, in all sincerity, Bling Bling/Percival Assmackey is not even the dumbest thing about this aqua-dump of a movie. Christ.
Queen Latifah
Speaking of The Cookout, here was the woman in charge of producing that atrocity. Coming from an amazing background championing the seldom heard female voice in hip hop, Queen Latifah proceeded to move into the movie business, starring and producing in several films that are probably the reason aliens have made no attempt to contact us thus far.
These include the aforementioned The Cookout, the reprehensible follow-up to Barbershop, Barbershop 2: Back In Business (a colon in a movie title has to be a trigger warning that it’s awful, right?), its even worse spinoff Beauty Shop, Taxi alongside the serially un-funny Jimmy Fallon and the vomit-y Last Holiday.
It’s like the formula behind every single one of her movies is just to take the sass and turn that shit up to deafening levels, by God. I mean, she was admittedly pretty damn good in Chicago and Hairspray, but it’s probably no coincidence that these were both musicals that would showcase her obvious talents much better, and neither make up for the sheer horror that is Bringing Down The House.
If you look into Steve Martin’s eyes, you can almost see him wondering how his career ended up here.
And to top it all off, she had the audacity to use my Nets AGAIN, as an EVEN BIGGER PLOT DEVICE alongside Common in the godawful romantic comedy, Just Wright.
THEY WERE ALREADY TERRIBLE ENOUGH, WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE!
DMX
DMX is to crazy what Biggie is to hip hop, simply transcendent, as we’ve detailed before. It’s no surprise that people in Hollywood took one look at this chrome-domed ball of rage and thought that there was an action movie career just waiting to burst forth and complement his angry, angry work in the field of hip hop.
And sure, he shared some screen time with Jet Li in Romeo Must Die, which wasn’t outright dreadful. But the Li/DMX tag team followed up abominably in Cradle 2 The Grave and from there it was pretty much all straight downhill. Apparently Ja Rule turned down the coveted role of being Steven Seagal’s (sans do-rag) African American sidekick in Exit Wounds, so DMX stepped up to the plate… and struck the fuck out.
The best thing from that movie was the unintentional comedy of a DMX cover of the Bill Withers classic, Ain’t No Sunshine (spoiler: it’s terrible). DMX’s last eight films have all been released direct-to-DVD, a streak that’s up there with Tara Reid’s. They’re titled things like Death Toll, Last Hour, Blame It On The Hustle, The Bleeding and the surely amazing Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent.
If you only see one movie where DMX shoots a giant snake in the face with a rocket launcher this summer, let it be this one. Give the man an Oscar, immediately.
Up next, we look at the best of rappers turned actors…