On July 4, 1986, Run-D.M.C. released a single from its Raising Hell LP that would have a seismic effect on the music world: a remake of the 1975 hit “Walk This Way.” Featuring the members of Aerosmith, this proto-mashup combined rock and rap in a way that fired the public’s imagination and led to countless imitators. Run-D.M.C. had been using rock riffs in its songs for years, particularly on “Rock Box” and “King Of Rock,” but “Walk This Way” is the one that brought the Queens rappers into the upper reaches of the pop charts. That song ruled the summer of 1986. Rap had officially become part of the musical mainstream, and the rock purists were just going to have to deal with it. Cartoonist Ryan Durr was obviously inspired by “Walk This Way” when he decided to create The Rapper Remix, an art project in which various rock royalty are given hip-hop makeovers.
Bob Dylan, for instance, is given shades, a scraggly goatee, and gold teeth to become “O.D.B. Dylan” in tribute to the fallen Wu Tang rapper. Dylan’s wild hair is basically kept intact.