#rap

#rap

When Aerosmith and Run DMC's "Walk This Way" Changed American Music ForeverThe video for the 1986 hit "Walk This Way" by Run DMC ft. Aerosmith starts with Run DMC breaking down a wall between the two groups to protest the noise Aerosmith was making. That's a metaphor that came true. You probably remember how big the song was, but you don't know all of its impact, as it literally broke through the wall that was set up at the time between rap and rock music. The song peaked at #4 on Billboard, making it Run DMC's highest-charting song on the Hot 100, and outdid Aerosmith's 1975 version. What you might not recall 36 years later is that Aerosmith were considered has-beens by then while Run DMC was becoming more popular. The rappers were familiar with the song's beat, but that was about it. They didn't even recognize Steven Tyler and Joe Perry when they arrived to record the song. But when the remixing was done, they had created magic. Take a trip back in time to 1986 and find out how the collaboration came about, and how it changed music and the music business at Mental Floss.#rap #rock #RunDMC #Aerosmith #WalkThisWay

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Pays Tribute to The Lord of the RingsThe Fellowship of the Ring, the first of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, was released in the United States on December 19, 2001. That means the trilogy is marking its 20th anniversary this month. That movie was followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King, released in 2002 and 2003. In honor of the occasion, Stephen Colbert (who is one of the world's biggest Lord of the Rings fans) and musical director John Baptiste performed a rap song about the trilogy. And there were surprise cameos.