The turn of the millennium was a breeding ground for genre-bending experiments, specifically the collision of hip-hop and heavy metal. While soundtracks like Judgment Night (1993) and Spawn (1997) paved the way, Loud Records founder Steve Rifkind attempted to perfect the formula with the 2000 compilation Loud Rocks.
In a retrospective interview on the “Bootleg Kev” podcast earlier this year, Rifkind opened up about the ambitious project, which saw his label’s hip-hop titans collaborating with rock and metal acts ranging from System Of A Down to Ozzy Osbourne. The executive revealed that his expectations for the release were sky-high.
“That was my favorite. I thought that was going to be the biggest album of my career,” Rifkind admitted (via theprp). “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.”
The album boasted a fascinating, if occasionally jarring, tracklist. Highlights included System Of A Down teaming up with Wu-Tang Clan for a cover of “Shame,” Static-X adding industrial weight to Dead Prez‘s “Hip-Hop,” and Incubus reimagining Big Pun‘s hit “Still Not A Player.” It even featured heavy metal royalty, with Black Sabbath icons Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne joining Wu-Tang Clan for a reworked version of “For Heaven’s Sake.”
Despite the star power and the cultural momentum of the nu-metal movement, the album faced significant hurdles behind the scenes. Rifkind clarified that the issue wasn’t financial, but rather bureaucratic.
“It wasn’t expensive,” Rifkind said regarding the production costs. “The problem was we couldn’t get f**king clearance anywhere.”
He noted that securing permission from the various record labels representing the rock and metal artists proved to be a logistical nightmare. However, the artists themselves were eager to participate. When asked if his hip-hop roster hesitated to work with guitar bands, Rifkind rejected the notion.
“No, they did it in two seconds,” he stated.
At the time, Rifkind believed Big Pun was the most commercially significant artist involved in the project, though the album has since gained a cult following for its snapshot of a specific moment in music history. While it didn’t achieve the commercial dominance Rifkind had hoped for, Loud Rocks remains a testament to an era where the walls between the mosh pit and the hip-hop club were fully dismantled.
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