Not enough people talk about the connection between hip hop and punk rock.

Debbie Harry was the first person to take a rap song too #1 on the Billboard Chart. And by the way, who did she name check in that song? Fab Five Freddy.

Malcolm McClaren put out Duck Rock, for the early 80s, one of the most innovative hip hop albums – later sampled by artists like Public Enemy, Eminem, and others.

Beastie Boys were a punk band before they went hip hop.

But of course, this is just mentioning punk acts that contributed to hip hop. What about the other way around?

Public Enemy is an undeniable influence on punk. When I was young and went to shows, there was always someone repping one of their T’s.

There was Ice-T’s band Body Count which, while technically metal, was also undeniably punk – especially with their song “Cop Killer”.

And even within the past 10 years, the likes of Death Grips, Suicide Boys, and JPEGMAFIA are undeniably punk at their core.

Then you got to give your hate to Rage Against the Machine, a group that somehow lived between punk and hip hop and got kudos from fans of both genres – for good reason.

Probably the most important act linking hip hop and punk together? Bad Brains. They were the originators of the unique hardcore sound, and the sonic ancestor of the likes of JPEGMAFIA.

It’s no accident that, right now, so much hip hop has become punk rock.