You might be wondering what this song, the greatest rap/metal hybrid of all time, is doing on a list dominated by goth, shoegaze, post-rock, and mopey alternative rock. Which is a fair question. Back in the early ‘90s, I was a meek high school freshman with very limited secular music experience. And then my friend Jason introduced me to the likes of Metallica, Faith No More, NWA, and Public Enemy. Thus, “Bring tha Noize” represents a pretty critical moment in my own personal musical education.

On its face, Public Enemy, the epitome of conscious hip-hop, dueting with thrash metal legends Anthrax seems pretty goofy, and indeed, Chuck D himself was skeptical of the collaboration. Truth be told, there is something humorous about the song even as Chuck D raps about Louis Farrakhan, Black radio, and the state of the music industry. But its complete and utter lack of pretense is delightful as Chuck D drops his rhymes over Anthrax’s chugging riffs, and that’s even truer today.

In a time when everything, including pop culture, seems so divided, maybe we need a song like “Bring tha Noize” to bridge the gap and get everyone into the mosh pit.