Ben Merlis in a BOLD T-shirt pictured with Mr. T (CREDIT: Wyatt Lavasseur)

I think about the intersection of Punk & Hip-Hop quite often. Both are street-level genres that were initially rejected by the mainstream, chided for not being "real music." Punks had to book shows at VFW halls and DJ crews set up in public parks well before most of the performers or audience was of drinking age. Both fostered fanatical devotees, who argue that these are, actually, all-encompassing cultures, rather than radio formats or sections in record stores.

Being that Punk & Hip-Hop have so much in common, it shouldn't be a surprise that some of the first people outside The Bronx to be bit by "The Rap Bug" were Punks. Dante Ross, who grew up on The Lower East Side of Manhattan going to see bands like Sham 69 wound up doing A&R for Tommy Boy and Elektra, signing groups like Brand Nubian, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, and K.M.D. One of his bosses back then, Tommy Boy president Monica Lynch was a founding member of B.B. Spin, who may have been the very first Chicago Punk band. Amy Linden was from the first generation of San Francisco Punk, having seen The Sex Pistols' last show at Winterland in '78 before moving to New York and working at Hardcore venue A7 and, eventually, writing countless articles about Hip-Hop for The Village Voice.

Flipside Fan'zine's SHREDDER (Daniel Weizmann) did the same in LA. His childhood friend, Lyor Cohen, promoted mixed Punk/Rap bills at The Stardust Ballroom in Hollywood before moving across the country and helping build Def Jam Recordings and Rush Management into an empire. Photographers George DuBose, Glen E. Friedman, and Janette Beckman helped define the visual aesthetic of Punk before doing the same for Hip-Hop. Below, are a handful of examples of Punk & Hip-Hop colliding on a musical level."

Feature Penned By: Ben Merlis (@coldchillinbook)

01. The Clash – "The Magnificent Seven" (1981)

This is their attempt at a Rap song. It sounds more like Disco to me, but real-a** Rap music back then sounded like Disco, too; so, maybe, they nailed it.

02. Blondie – "Rapture" (1981)

If Debbie Harry's rhyme sounds like it was written in five minutes... that's because it was. When they played this song for Fab 5 Freddy, whose name is dropped in the song, he thought it was a joke just to play for their friends. It wasn't a joke and it became a big hit, introducing thousands to Rap for the first time.

03. Beastie Boys – "Rhymin' & Stealin'" (1986)

Beastie Boys started as a Hardcore Punk band and later on, they would come up with more Punk songs. Here they are in full Rap mode, sorta. They sample The Clash's version of "I Fought The Law" and Licensed to Ill's producer, Rick Rubin, actually, came from the Punk scene himself with his band, Hose (the first Def Jam band—yes, Def Jam Recordings started as a Punk label.)

04. Tom Tom Club – "Genius of Love" (1981)

This side-project of Talking Heads members put out an attempt at Rap music and knocked it out of the f**king park. Lots of emcees have rhymed over this beat in the ensuing decades, from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five to 2Pac and Outlawz to Redman to Busta Rhymes, and on and on ("to the break of dawn.")

05. Terminator X – "Buck Whylin'" [Feat. Chuck D & Sister Souljah] (1991)

Listen closely and you can make out Greg Ginn's chromatic guitar intro for "Rise Above" by Black Flag, looped. This is, basically, a Public Enemy song.


06. Run The Jewels – "the ground below" (2020)

Post-punk legends Gang of Four get heavily sampled by current Hip-Hop legends [Run The Jewels] RTJ. The name of the original track: "Ether." Awwwww sh*t.

07. Ice-T & Slayer – "Disorder" (1993)

Architect of Gangster Rap and architects of Satanic Thrash Metal combine forces to... play a medley of Exploited covers? Yes.

08. Sage Francis – "Damage" (1996)

Contains the lyric "I go to Fugazi shows requesting Minor Threat songs." I fully relate.

09. Cold World – "Hell's Direction" [Feat. Kool G Rap] (2014)

Pennsylvania hypebeasts team up with Juice Crew great from Queens.

10. Grandmaster Caz – "South Bronx Subway Rap" (1983)

From the film Wild Style, but many will recognize its usage in the intro to Nas' debut, Illmatic. Guitar and production by none other than Chris Stein of Blondie.

LL Cool J pictured with a Side By Side 7-inch (CREDIT: @beyondthestreetsart)

11. Side By Side – "You're Only Young Once" (1988)

What does this have to do with Hip-Hop? Peep the record cover. Those silhouettes aren't Side By Side members Jules [Massey], Sammy [Siegler], and Alex [Brown], but rather LL Cool J, LL Cool J, and LL Cool J. The original photos appear on the back of his first album, Radio, produced by former Punk Rocker Rick Rubin.

12. Retaliate – "Times Have Changed" (2006)

"It was all a dream... I used to read It's Alive fan'zine!" Anyone familiar with Notorious B.I.G. (which is everyone with a pulse and at least one working ear) will pick up on the "Juicy" reference in the opening line. Nardcore for life, foo'.

13. Malcolm McLaren – "Buffalo Gals" (1982)

With the help of The World Famous Supreme Team, the former New York Dolls/Sex Pistols/Bow Wow Wow manager takes the Rap world by storm, if only for a minute.

14. Ice-T - "Shut Up, Be Happy" [Feat. Jello Biafra] (1989)

This is the first track on Ice-T's third album, [The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!] It's really just Jello Biafra ranting over "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath, but it was the first time I ever heard Jello's voice, as I was still a few years away from discovering Dead Kennedys. Ice-T & Jello appeared on Oprah around this time defending The First Amendment and I can't think of two other people who were dragged through the ringer more than Ice & Jello with regards to their art.

15. Cold Crush Brothers – "Punk Rock Rap" (1983)

We know Punk Rockers have done embarrassing things like breaking into rap mid-song, but the embarrassment has come from the other side, too. Cold Crush Brothers were the best of the best, but they didn't quite have a firm grasp on Punk, outside of the spikes and chains they wore. The most notable part is the woman proclaiming, "Oh, my god!" in the intro, which was sampled on Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew's "The Show."

16. Dee Dee King – "Mash Potato Time" (1989)


File Under: "So Bad, It's Good. But It's Really, Really Bad." Original Ramones bassist Dee Dee Ramone discovered Hip-Hop, decided he wanted to be a rapper instead, re-christened himself "Dee Dee King" and quit the group. How he convinced Ramones' label Sire Records, who was already in the Rap business with Ice-T, to release Standing In The Spotlight in 1989 is beyond comprehension. Rap—it's not for everyone. Dee Dee Ramone/King R.I.P.

Los Angeles native Ben Merlis is a product of Southern California Punk/skateboard culture. Raised on Oldies, Hip-Hop, Punk, and Hardcore in that order, he has written for Destroy All Monthly, uDiscover Music, Rock The Bells, and Talkhouse, while being involved in public relations for Experience Hendrix, ABKCO, and ZZ Top. His book, Goin' Off: The Story of The Juice Crew & Cold Chillin' Records (BMG, 2019) was recently described by Chuck D as "The Book of The Year." He is the guitarist/vocalist for Surprise Vacation and can be heard regularly on Punk/Hardcore podcast, 185 Miles South.