Hip-hop has always been about the beats, whether they're played live or sampled, and fusion/crossover hip-hop in particular has some genuinely flawless beats thanks to the inclusion of percussion and instrumentation in ways that more old-school DJs never got the chance to use. Drawing influences and sounds from folk music, bossa nova, metal, film scores, and even folk music, fusion hip-hop pushes the boundaries of the genre in innovative and artistic ways.

Some of these albums are all-star projects, and some are strange and experimental, but all have a unique spin on producing hip-hop. That's not to say that the classic approach hasn't influenced them either, though; they're still hip-hop through and through, so keep an eye out for guest appearances from some classic MCs while listening.

8 Sérgio Mendes - Timeless

Concord Records and will.i.am Music Group, 2006

Sérgio Mendes was a Brazilian bossa nova pianist who had the occasional successful hit in both the US and Brazil during the first few decades of his career, but it was the recording of Timeless, produced by Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, that revitalized his career. Timeless' success, spurred on by its Grammy-nominated single "Mas que Nada," brought Mendes back into the public eye; the single was included on the soundtrack of 2011's animated film Rio, which Mendes also contributed other songs to and received a Grammy nomination for

"Mas que Nada" is a bossa nova song that dates back to the '60s, originally recorded by Brazilian guitarist Jorge Ben. Sérgio Mendes recorded a very straightforward samba version with his band Brasil '66 in 1966, which immediately charted in the US and outside of Brazil is considered the signature version of the song.

Timeless is stuffed to the brim with guest stars, as is to be expected from a mid-00s will.i.am production. The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Chali 2na, and plenty of others all provide verses and hooks throughout this jaunty exploration of Brazilian musical styles. Standout tracks include the aforementioned single "Mas que Nada," the seductive "That Heat," and the boisterous party anthem "Yes, Yes Y'All." Sadly, Mendes ed away in September 2024 due to complications from long COVID, but his legacy endures in his phenomenal compositions.

7 Hieroglyphics - Over Time

Heiroglyphics Imperium Recordings, 2007

West Coast rapper Del the Funky Homosapien started the rap group Heiroglyphics in the early '90s, bringing together a collective of fellow rappers and DJs to collaborate and refine the East Bay's nascent, freestyle-based sound. Based out of Oakland, California, they were most active through the '00s, with their most recent release being 2013's full studio album The Kitchen.

Over Time is Heiroglyphics' fifth and most recent compilation album, featuring tracks and remixes from multiple of the collective, and is a phenomenal blend of experimentation and skilled artistry that showcases the skill that they honed over two decades and change. Standout tracks include subgroup Souls of Mischief's "Soundscience," a remixed rap battle with that quintessential Oakland flow, and Del's own "Cyberpunks," a delightfully nerdy track that samples the opening narrative from the English dub of 1987 anime Red Photon Zillion.

6 A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

Jive Records, 1991

A Tribe Called Quest's second studio album was a huge departure in sound for the New York group when compared to their first release, 1990's People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. While that first album mostly featured vocals by frontman Q-Tip and extensive sampling, The Low End Theory took a more stripped-down approach to the group's sound.

In the 30-plus years since its release, The Low End Theory is still considered one of the greatest albums of all time, hailed for its fusion of bebop and hip-hop thanks to the contributions of jazz bassist Ron Carter. With a production style inspired by N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton, A Tribe Called Quest pushed the envelope on this album. Standout tracks include "Check the Rhime" and posse cut "Scenario," which is generally considered to be the track that helped launch Busta Rhyme's career when he contributed to it as a member of Leaders of the New School.

5 Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire

Epic Records, 1996

Rage Against the Machine's self-titled first album was heavy, brutal, and unrelentingly critical of American foreign and domestic policy in the early '90s, hitting number one on Billboard's Heatseekers chart in 1992, which was impressive for an otherwise unknown political rap-metal group. If that album was the band taking a shot at the US government, then their second album, Evil Empire, was an artillery strike with then-President Bill Clinton's name on it.

Evil Empire jumped to the top of the charts immediately on its release, debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200, and was triple-platinum-certified by the RIAA within only four years. Named after the derisive term Ronald Reagan and other early-80s conservatives used for the Soviet Union, the album laid bare lyricist Zack de la Rocha's contempt for Reagan's imperialist policies.

Standout tracks like singles "Bulls on Parade" and "Vietnow" showed those with the ears to listen that the status quo was unsustainable and unhealthy; for the more musically-focused, guitarist Tom Morello continued developing his signature vinyl-scratch guitar technique.

4 Dessa - Castor, the Twin

Doomtree Records, 2011

Minnesota rapper and singer Dessa has been a central member of rap collective Doomtree since the early 2000s, even spending some time as CEO of their record label and the collective as a whole before stepping back in 2019 so she could better split her time between the group work and her own solo recordings. The first of those solo albums, the EP False Hopes, came out in 2005, but it was 2011's Castor, the Twin that saw the Midwestern songstress find the blend of live jazz instrumentation and crisp, rapid-fire verses that has since become her hallmark.

Castor is a fascinating entry in Dessa's catalog in part because it was the album where she revisited tracks from her first EPs and album, rerecording them with full live instrumentation after her 2011 tour with a live backing trio inspired some rearrangements of older songs that audiences responded overwhelmingly well to. Thus the name Castor, the Twin — the album provides the more organic twins to the highly produced versions from previous releases. Standouts include "Mineshaft" (originally from 2005's False Hopes), "The Chaconne" and "Dixon's Girl" (both first released on 2010's A Badly Broken Code).

3 clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned

Sub Pop, 2020

Los Angeles experimental rap group clipping. began in 2009 as a noise remix project for producers William Huston and Jonathan Snipes, with rapper Daveed Diggs ing in 2010 and providing original verses for Huston and Snipes' beats. Since then, the group has released four full studio albums, as well as two EPs, multiple remix albums, and the recent single "Run It," which is the teaser for the release of their 2025 album, which has not yet had its title announced.

Clipping. has repeatedly defied being categorized into one subgenre of hip-hop, with their first release CLPPNG best described as musique concrete, its followup Splendor & Misery being an afrofuturist concept album that was nominated for a Hugo Award, and their two most recent albums, There Existed an Addiction to Blood and Visions of Bodies Being Burned, serving as a tribute to the soundscapes of horror films. Throughout their work, the group consistently adhere to two main rules: beats must come from real-world samples instead of traditional instruments, and Diggs' verses are only ever in the second or third person.

Visions, in particular, is an incredible combination of industrial , raw samples, ambient noise, and Diggs' signature fully automatic flow. Released just in time for Halloween during the first year of COVID, the album is abrasive in the best possible way, with the band describing it as "sixteen more scary stories disguised as rap songs." Standout tracks include the lead single "Say the Name," referencing the 1992 cult classic slasher Candyman, and "'96 Neve Campbell," a re-imagining of the "final girl" archetype also common to slasher films that features twin sisters Cam & China, an LA rap duo.

2 The Uncluded - Hokey Fright

Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2013

The only album from this short-lived collaboration between East Coast rapper Aesop Rock and lo-fi folk musician Kimya Dawson has a unique soundscape that blends the two artists' disparate styles into something strange yet endearing, with Aesop Rock's flow juxtaposing with Dawson's twee use of vibraphones and jauntily strummed acoustic guitar. Sadly, the duo seemed to part with no small amount of acrimony, with Dawson simply tweeting "Aesop Rock is not my friend" in 2018.

Whatever the circumstances of the split, Hokey Fright is still a fantastic album, blending two genres together in a way that is raw, dissonant, and deeply personal. Standout tracks are the insightful "Teleprompters" and the earnest ode to working-class upbringing "Delicate Cycle," which had a music video featuring a cameo from Internet celebrity cat Lil Bub.

1 Brass Against - Brass Against

Footnote Records, 2018

Organized by guitarist Brad Hammonds, Brass Against is a collective of musicians that reorchestrate hard rock and heavy metal hits into protest songs with a predominantly brass instrument-based sound. Hammonds formed the group in the wake of the 2016 US presidential election, saying in a 2018 interview with Louder that he felt "we needed Rage Against the Machine more than ever."

Brass Against has taken the Led Zeppelin approach to their discography, labeling their albums simply with Roman numerals, and while their release of several singles in 2024 implies that Brass Against VI is likely on the horizon, it's their first release, Brass Against that goes the hardest, with half of the album being RATM covers. While it seems odd that a horn section would fit so well underneath Zack de la Rocha's intensely political lyrics, there's a surprising amount of genuine rage that comes through, particularly in the baritone saxophones.

Standout songs include opening tracks "Wake Up" and "Killing in the Name," as well as the surprising medley "Nobody Speak/Bullet in the Head," which mashes up Rage with DJ Shadow and Run the Jewel's 2016 collaborative hit to surprising effect. "Cochise" is also a standout performance from the whole band, as well as an interesting selection since Audioslave was a Rage Against the Machine side project during Rage's first breakup.

(Sources: Louder, Twitter)