Rock & Rap - When Worlds Collide

One of our most frequently asked questions here at Rockabilia is: “why do you carry rap merch?” Yeah, we know – our name is ROCKabilia after all. But both hip hop and rap (old school & new school) have a lot more ties with rock music than you might think, and thus THAT’s why we carry rapper merch. So, now that we (hopefully) answered your question and got that out of the way once & for all, here are some of the most notable (and our favorite) crossovers and team-ups in rap/rock history (just in case you still need more convincing that it’s totally acceptable for hip hop tees & rock tees to be on the same site 😉):

Aerosmith & RUN-D.M.C.: “Walk This Way”

Released all the way back in 1986, this one is the KING of the hip hop/rock crossover. Get your Aerosmith merch HERE & your Run DMC merch HERE, and Walk This Way in the best rocker merch & the best rapper merch!

Anthrax & Public Enemy: “Bring The Noise”

1991’s “Bring The Noise” is a collab between thrash metal masters Anthrax and hardcore political hip hop group Public Enemy. It remains one of the staples in the world of rock & rap collaborations, because it straight up BRINGS.THE.NOISE. Anthrax gear is available HERE, and Public Enemy drops can be found HERE.

Cypress Hill & Pearl Jam: “Real Thing”

The soundtrack to 1993’s Judgment Night was a revolutionary concept at the time, because it didn’t just contain one rap/rock song; it was an entire album of hip hop artists teaming up with modern rock acts. It STILL rules to this day too, thanks to the legendary collabs between Helmet & House Of Pain, and Slayer & Ice-T (among many others). But Cypress Hill x Pearl Jam is the clear winner by far, simply because it still just blows my mind that it even exists. A huge spread of both new & classic Cypress Hill merch can be found HERE, and all the Pearl Jam classics are available HERE.

Kid Cudi, MGMT & Ratatat: “Pursuit Of Happiness”

Kid Cudi’s 2009 debut album, ‘Man On The Moon: The End Of Day,’ featured an unlikely three-way between these three wildly different artists, but the end result was so…likeable? “Pursuit Of Happiness” was a smash hit from an artist’s first LP that contained a LOT of hits, and there’s no wondering why: it’s just a great song. We’ve got Kid Cudi merch HERE, MGMT merch HERE, and Ratatat merch HERE.

Bon Iver & Kanye West: “Lost In This World”

Kanye West’s 2010 opus, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,’ is the rapper’s best release ever. Every song is an absolute banger in a completely different way, yet the work is so cohesive as a whole. Although Bon Iver appears multiple times throughout the record (like on “Monster,” also featuring Nicki Minaj), “Lost In The World” is the mellow, penultimate song on the album that makes Bon Iver’s strange relationship with West sound beautiful. Kanye West merch is HERE, and someday, we hope to carry Bon Iver merchandise (you hear that, Justin Vernon?).