Rap Funk Rock

tagStarted 1986Peak 1991-1999Last big hit 2003

Located in 1 route

Rock → Funk Rock / Soul Rock / Dance-Funk Rock

Rapped or chanted verses ride live funk-rock instrumentation: slapped bass, wah-scratch guitar and breakbeat-tight drums, often exploding into sung or screamed rock choruses. Looser and band-driven than sampled hip-hop, it trades turntables for a rhythm section and welds groove to attitude and protest.

History

Grew from late-'80s collisions of rap and rock, with Red Hot Chili Peppers rapping over funk and Faith No More's 'Epic' charting. Rage Against the Machine fused political rap to metallic funk-rock in 1992; the Beastie Boys' band-driven funk and the rap-metal wave carried it through the decade before nu-metal absorbed it.

Defining artists

Rage Against the MachineSpotify YouTube
Red Hot Chili PeppersSpotify YouTube
Beastie BoysSpotify YouTube
Faith No MoreSpotify YouTube
Urban Dance SquadSpotify YouTube
311Spotify YouTube

Essential listening

Killing in the Name — Rage Against the MachineSpotify YouTube
Sabotage — Beastie BoysSpotify YouTube
Give It Away — Red Hot Chili PeppersSpotify YouTube
Deeper Shade of Soul — Urban Dance SquadSpotify YouTube
Down — 311Spotify YouTube

← Explore Rock

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rap_rock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_metal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rage_Against_the_Machine