Hip-Hop Rocks: Rappers Get Into the Groove of Indie Rock — Listen

In the last several years, an abundance of hip-hop artists have begun to sample their indie contemporaries. Perhaps it's because the hip-hop community is only so large, and its compulsively collaborative spirit could only stretch so far before it dried up the well. Whatever the reason, rappers of all ilks have dipped into the catalogs of a wide range of indie artists -- from the quiet and plaintive Justin Vernon to psychedelic rockers MGMT. Most recently Kid Cudi's rock-oriented album WZRD sampled Canadian electro-poppers Desire. Here The BoomBox recounts some of our favorite hip-hop and indie rock collaborations.

Kid Cudi has always been a little hard to pin down stylistically. His half-sung half-rapped verses aren't afraid to stay just adrift of a melodic anchor, and his stoned-out rhythm is often at home right behind the beat. His new rock project, 'WZRD,' is no exception. The first single, 'Teleport 2 Me, Jamie,' samples Desire's electro pulser 'Under Your Spell,' which is featured on the indie soundtrack favorite of the year, 'Drive.'

Lupe Fiasco's 'The Show Goes On' references several musical touchstones outside the world of hip-hop, most notably Modest Mouse's 'Float On,' which is interpolated into the melody and guitar line. The tune also uses Pachelbel's 'Canon' as its low-end foundation. Though Fiasco claims ignorance, crediting his producer Kane with the song's musical lineage, he did land a well-placed barb directed at his record label. Paraphrasing Johnny Rotten's famous quotation during the final Sex Pistols show, "Have you ever had the feeling that you were being cheated?" Lupe opens up his first verse asking, "Have you ever had the feeling that you was being had?"

Downtempo crooner and member of OFWGKTA Frank Ocean made waves with his debut mixtape 'Nostalgia, Ultra.' The collection sampled tracks from the likes of Coldplay and Radiohead, but the standout sample is the album closer 'Nature Feels.' Ocean puts his own spin on MGMT's single 'Electric Feel,' delivering warmly sung lines over the original's electro swirls, evolving the song into an R&B original.