Rock This Way

Kid Cudi is the latest rapper to embrace the rock guitar, but he’s not the first. These are the breakthrough songs and artists that helped make rap ’n‘ rock as popular a pairing as Mary & Jane:

Run DMC and Aerosmith

Steven Tyler may have done for cross-dressing what Run DMC did for Adidas, but neither knew the other existed. Credit producer Rick Rubin for bringing them together. The “Walk This Way” remake scored the first Top 5 rap hit (at No. 4, topping Aerosmith’s original at No. 10), opened the UK airwaves to rap and reignited Aerosmith’s teetering career.

Faith No More

Last year, Krist Novoselic claimed Faith No More “paved the way for Nirvana.” Don’t worry, Kurt & Co. don’t have a secret rap-rock album, but the Nirvana bassist credits FNM for opening doors to all manner of rock variations. The band’s influential “Epic” cracked the Top 10 in ’89, which actually is epic considering the musical tastes that year (e.g. multiple chart-toppers each for Paula Abdul, Milli Vanilli, Richard Marx and New Kids on the Block).

Rage Against the Machine

Rage made radio programmers doubt their sanity when the group added the politically charged, profanity-chanting beast known as “Killing in the Name.” Really, who releases a single with 17 F-bombs and the word “kill” in the title? This L.A. band turned a rap-rock novelty into a global phenomenon. Yes, you can blame them for Limp Bizkit.

Kid Rock

Kid Rock released his rap debut in 1990, which was unfortunately the year Vanilla Ice and “Marky Mark” Wahlberg (Google it, kids!) scored the last white-rap chart-toppers for a decade. Giving the six-string a try, Devil Without a Cause (1998) sold 11 million copies and took rap-rock mainstream with hits like “Cowboy” and “Bawitdaba.” Kid eventually converted to full cowboy and country-rock, but his influence helped Crazy Town (not Eminem, sorry) end that 10-year drought.

Lil Wayne

Rappers did some big-name collaborations (e.g. Hybrid Theory, Loud Rocks), but Lil Wayne is the first A-lister to go all-in with rock ’n‘ roll. After scoring his own collaborative hit on Kevin Rudolf’s “Let It Rock” (2008), Weezy dropped the rock-oriented Rebirth two years later. Critics compared it to Jordan playing baseball, but Lil Wayne set the stage for more major crossovers to come.