On paper, the 2000 collaborative album \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d certainly looked like a surefire hit. Arriving at an opportune time, it capitalized on the cross-pollination of rap & metal that had been feverishly brewing as n\u00fc-metal rose to prominence. Steve Rifkind, head of hip-hop label Loud Records, was initially inspired to put together that compilation after catching a show played by Rage Against The Machine and Wu-Tang Clan.<\/p>\n
While an ambitious undertaking, it wasn\u2019t exactly novel. Back in 1993, Immortal Records co-founder Happy Walters pursued the idea of pairing established artists from the worlds of rap, metal and rock on the highly-regarded \u2018Judgment Night\u2018 soundtrack. While the film itself underdelivered, its innovative soundtrack that paired Slayer with Ice-T, Pearl Jam with Cypress Hill, Helmet with House Of Pain , among numerous other collaborations, remains memorable to this day.<\/p>\n
In 1997, Walters took that vision in a different direction with the soundtrack to the 1997 film adaptation of \u2018Spawn\u2018. Instead of rap, that record leaned into pairing heavy artists like Slayer, Korn, Marilyn Manson and more with the then flourishing artists in the EDM and trip-hop scene. <\/p>\n
As for Rifkind, with a powerhouse stable of hip-hop stars already at his fingertips via his aforementioned label, he set out with his own attempt at further bridging the once disparate genres into a cohesive blend, while also building up his in-house talent. Unlike the two soundtracks mentioned above, \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d had its stakes set a bit lower though.<\/p>\n
While \u201cJudgment Night\u201d and \u201cSpawn\u201d served up all-new collaborative tracks, \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d instead saw metal and rock artists coming in to beef up already released tracks from the likes of Wu-Tang, Big Pun, Mobb Deep and more. This made for some jarring collaborations, some of which would probably not fly today. First up, there\u2019s characteristically animated System Of A Down dropping n-bombs alongside Wu-Tang Clan on \u201cShame\u201d \u2014 a remake of the Wu-Tang Clan\u2018s 1993 song, \u201cShame On A Ni**a\u201c.<\/p>\n
Shoehorning in metal royalty like Black Sabbath\u2018s Ozzy Osbourne & Tony Iommi on a ramped up version of Wu-Tang Clan\u2018s \u201cFor Heavens Sake\u201d also delivered uneven results. Ultimately, an admitted lack of star power from the metal side involved on \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d also made for a rocky experience overall. Still, \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d did serve up some memorable listening experiences. <\/p>\n
Incubus\u2018 additions to the Big Pun track \u201cStill Not A Player\u201d produced a fun, notable standout. Dead Prez\u2018s \u201cHip-Hop\u201d getting an industrialized edge courtesy of Static-X was also an interesting take, as was Sick Of It All adding some NYHC flare to Mobb Deep\u2018s \u201cSurvival Of The Fittest\u201c.<\/p>\n
As recently noted by Louder<\/a>, Rifkind appeared on the Bootleg Kev podcast this past June. During that interview, he discussed the inception and fate of \u2018Loud Rocks\u2018. He started by saying that he initially went into the project with very high hopes, stating [transcribed by theprp.com]:<\/p>\n \u201cThat was my favorite. I thought that was going to be the biggest album of my career. Dead Prez, System Of A Down, right? Crazy Town did \u2018Only When I\u2019m Drunk\u2018 [with the Alkaholiks.] \u2026I mean I hired somebody to do it, but I really thought that\u2026 That was literally my idea, and I really thought this is before the Jay-Z\/Linkin Park thing. Yeah I thought this was going to be the biggest album of my career. I really did.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d was expensive to make, Rifkind responded, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t expensive. The problem was we couldn\u2019t get f*cking clearance anywhere [from other artists labels.]\u201d As for if System Of A Down were the biggest band involved, Rifkind went on to say that Big Pun was likely the most popular artist involved on the album at the time.<\/p>\n Rifkind was also asked if there was any pushback from getting his hip hop stars to sign on to work with metal and rock artists, to which he said, \u201cNo, they did it in two seconds.\u201d Their lack of hesitation isn\u2019t surprising, given that the likes of Korn, Limp Bizkit and more had already begun working and touring with established rap artists like Ice Cube and Wu-Tang Clan\u2018s own Method Man by the mid to late 90s,.<\/p>\n The early 2000s proved to be a fertile time for crossovers of that nature. Outside of \u201cLoud Rocks\u201c, that turn of the century also saw the release of \u201cTake a Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap\u201c. That project was released through Republic\/Universal Records just a month after \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d and largely saw artists from the n\u00fc-metal world reinvent previously released rap tracks. Members of Limp Bizkit, Sevendust, Insane Clown Posse and Factory 81, among countless others, took part in that record.<\/p>\n 2001 saw another crossover venture in a similar vein, with the release of \u201cToo Legit For The Pit: Hardcore Takes The Rap\u201c. That record found artists from the hardcore, metalcore and post-hardcore scenes covering various rap classics, including Throwdown taking on Sir Mix-A-Alot\u2018s smash hit \u201cBaby Got Back\u201c, E.Town Concrete doing their rendition of Nas\u2018 \u201cThe World Is Yours\u201d and Candiria scuffing up the seminal Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg collab \u201cDeep Cover\u201c. You can imagine how some of that was received by hardcore elitists and gatekeepers at the time.<\/p>\n Of all those collaborative affairs listed above, it was \u201cJudgment Night\u201d and \u201cSpawn\u201d that left the most lasting mark, each going gold in the United States. Still, \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d hasn\u2019t completely been forgotten.<\/p>\n In 2024, The Alkaholiks revisited their ramped up version of \u201cMake Room\u201c<\/a> from it, replacing Sugar Ray\u2018s contributions with new parts from Spookybands. This past spring, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith also revisited his collaborative track<\/a> with Wu-Tang Clan and Rage Against The Machine\u201d from that \u201cLoud Rocks\u201c, performing it live in the studio.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On paper, the 2000 collaborative album \u201cLoud Rocks\u201d certainly looked like a surefire hit. 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