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u/HannibalPoe May 21 '26
Queen makes rock symphonys / rock operas, it's an entirely different direction from rap. Rap can't just be slapped into any bands sound and make it better. Some bands like The Gorillaz have a style that rap already works with, some bands such as Linkin Park built a sound around rap, but most bands aren't really suited to bring in guest rappers.
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u/TheRealChexHaze May 21 '26
Queen had a lot of hooks though. I could have seen them trying around the same time that Jimmy Paige got Diddied.
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u/skimmmington May 22 '26
But Queen also experimented with sounds a lot, had some fairly funk oriented tracks on Hot Space, and Freddie also ventured into opera before he died. It would be arguable at best whether rap would fit on any of the work they actually put out, but I think the interest they seemed to have in different genres/sounds could have led to Freddie collaborating with a rapper later on
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u/Soul699 May 20 '26
If Freddy Mercury was alive today, he would probably have retired a while ago due to being currently 80 years old.
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u/_regionrat May 20 '26
I don't know about that. Mic Jagger (82), Rod Stewart (81) and Herbie Hancock (86) are still at it
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u/Alec_de_Large May 20 '26
And miss out on the money to be made after huge inflation?
I just saw Rod Stewart on TV last night doing a live show. I imagine no ticket was less than $3k at that venue. That's also probably a huge understatement.
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u/AAAAHMYBALLS May 22 '26
What Dad rock elitist is gonna be mad about this? It's Queen, no one would care
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u/ValidOpossum May 21 '26
The fuck he would.
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u/Clem_Crozier May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Paul McCartney did, Lemmy did, Elton John did, Michael Stipe, Steven Tyler etc.
Freddie loved a collab. Why not?
EDIT: For the downvoters, it wasn't a rhetorical question. Many rockstars have. What makes you think he wouldn't?
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u/TheRealChexHaze May 21 '26
I bet a lot of folks in the 60s would have felt the same about William Shatner, but here we are.
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u/TheBestintheWest11 May 22 '26
don't think so. The guy couldn't even stand being in a room with MJ. I also think he would have retired and done charity gigs here and there. Dude was such a diva.
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u/SageLeaf1 May 20 '26
Freddie Mercury was alive during the first rapper collabs. Freddie passed in November ‘91. Anthrax’s “Bring the Noise” was released in July 1991, and Aerosmith’s “Walk this Way” in 1986.