Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock which fuses vocal and usually instrumental elements of hip hop music with heavy metal. Rap metal is often confused with rap rock and rapcore.

Rap metal originated from rap rock, a genre fusing vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with rock. The genre's roots are based both in hip hop acts who sampled heavy metal songs, such as Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill and Run-D.M.C., as well as rock bands who fused heavy metal and hip hop influences, such as 24-7 Spyz and Faith No More. New York metal band Anthrax fused hip hop with metal for their 1987 extended play I'm the Man, and were teamed up with Public Enemy for a remake of the latter's "Bring the Noise" that fused hip hop with thrash metal. Sir Mix-A-Lot teamed up with Metal Church for his 1988 single "Iron Man", loosely based upon the Black Sabbath song of the same name. Stuck Mojo, a metal band whose vocalist rapped, is considered to be one of the pioneers of the genre. Detroit rapper Esham became known for his "acid rap" style, which fused rapped metal-influenced lyrics with a sound that was often rock and metal-based. Thrash metal band Body Count referred to their 1992 debut album as a "rock album with a rap mentality". The band was formed by rapper Ice-T, who did not rap on the band's debut album.

Cypress Hill incorporated direct heavy metal influences into their 2000 album Skull & Bones, which featured six tracks in which rappers B-Real and Sen Dog were backed by a band including Fear Factory members Christian Olde Wolbers and Dino Cazares and Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk. B-Real also formed a rap metal group, Kush, with Wolbers, Fear Factory drummer Raymond Herrera and Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter. According to B-Real, Kush is more aggressive than other bands in the genre. SX-10, formed in 1996 by Sen Dog, also performs rap rock and rap metal. The most successful band in the genre is Limp Bizkit. Although the popularity of these styles has declined, some believe that rap rock may regain popularity, with younger music fans discovering bands in the genre. Drew Simollardes of Reveille states that "I feel like lately its more appropriate. People are sick of a lot of the stuff thats out there right now."