Travis Barker. Drummer for blink-182, Transplants, Box Car Racer, +44, Yelawolf (Psycho White), Goldfinger, TRV$DJAM (RIP), The Aquabats and countless other artists/musicians/bands he's assisted, can do absolutely no wrong when it comes to laying down a beat in any style and genre. The man is a machine behind a drum kit and it's no surprise why so many artists want to use his talents on their tracks, because he is arguably, the best drummer of our generation (don't @ me about that either).
His latest collaboration is with none other than The Fever 333 whom he has already worked with drumming on the song 'Hunting Season' from their debut Made An America EP which came out earlier this year (our review here). Barker once again collaborated with the band and the end result is a remix of their EP's title track 'Made An America' which also features rapper Vic Mensa.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH3kmd0-fEQ&w=640&h=360]
If you're a fan of that hardcore punk/rap mix then you're going to love the shit out of some of the other collaborations Barker has appeared on, so we thought we'd count down The Top 7 Travis Barker Collaborations...
#7 - Soulja Boy - 'Crank That' (Travis Barker Remix)
How to make a meme song better, just add TravisBarker! Remember when no-one everyone was doing the SouljaBoy dance at nightclubs circa 2007? Well, once you got sick of the DJs playing the songs over and over again, they should have replaced them with this version which also features a hard rock sound behind it. Rap/Rock working together, on a SouljaBoy song? Legitness mates.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXauFoDcPv8&w=640&h=360]
#6 - Rihanna feat. Jay Z - 'Umbrella' (TRVS RMX)
Shortly after Barker went viral with his abovementioned Soulja Boy remix, he put out a mixtape album called Me Against The World which featured a collection of rap/rock songs he put his own finishing touches on, which in turn made them much more appealing than their initial debuts. Having worked in commercial radio when Rihanna first released this track, I tried and pleaded to have this version played instead, unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears, so here I am again, trying with you.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Prl1ioVbA&w=640&h=360]
#5 - The Aquabats feat. Travis Barker - 'Powdered Milkman'
Travis Barker teamed up with his former band TheAquabats for their 20th Anniversary this year and the end result was an official Music Video for their track 'PowderedMilkman' which first made it's debut back in 1997 on the album The Fury of The Aquabats! If you didn't know this existed until now, enjoy.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZJgUhNgpPg&w=640&h=360]
#4 - Steve Aoki feat. Kid Cudi & Travis Barker - 'Cudi the Kid'
From one genre to another, DJ madman SteveAoki featured on 'Misfits', one of Travis Barker's solo album tracks and not long after the favour was returned when Aoki had him feature on one of his own songs alongside KidCudi. This Hip-Hop/Dubstep/EDM orgy may sound like a turn off at first, but give it a few spins and you'll be nodding your head along in no time.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMq6MLo_eSM&w=640&h=360]
#3 - Skylar Grey feat. Big Sean and Travis Barker - 'Back From The Dead'
Amazing Vocals. Amazing Drumming. Great Collaboration. Just makes me want to hear more songs with Travis drumming under a female vocalist. There's just something about the beats he lays down that make the songs sound bigger than first anticipated.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjqRpC0EglA&w=640&h=360]
#2 - TRV$DJAM - 'Fix Your Face'
The friendship between AdamGoldstein aka DJ AM (RIP) and TravisBarker was one many of us envied and wish we could have with our own circle of friends. Their working relationship was even better because when you team the pair up, together they created music that takes you on a journey and would have been an absolute pleasure to see live. Unfortunately, DJ AM tragically passed away in 2009 due to an overdose after a long battle with drug abuse following a horrific plane crash in 2008 which Barker and Adam were the only two survivors of. Although he is gone, the TRV$DJAM legacy lives on through two mixtapes.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_9sqg9yTvM&w=640&h=360]
#1 - Yelawolf & Travis Barker - 'Push Em'
In one of the weirdest (at first) team-ups that just seemed to work, we saw Southern rapper Yelawolf collaborate with TravisBarker on the Physco White EP, which was just dirty, southern rap/rock at it's finest and produced cracking songs like '6 Feet Underground' with TimArmstrong (Rancid) and the aforementioned 'PushEm'.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxOmsxWLrlI&w=640&h=360]
For someone whose rap phase died out years ago, I found it so easier to transition back into it with the rock-heavy drum beats on the EP and have since followed everything the pair have done together since, this also includes Yela's follow up song 'Punk' and the Travis Barker labeled single 'Out of Control'. There's also no denying the reason Yelawolf appeared on blink-182's song 'Pretty Little Girl' from the Dogs Eating Dogs EP was because of the fan following the pair had accumulated beforehand, and luckily for a massive blink fan like myself, I found that song to be even more listenable than first expected (once again, don't @ me mate).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTQ0yE3gd4o&w=853&h=480]
So there you have it, Travis Barker, wonder man of the music scene. Adaptable to any form of music that's thrown in front of him and a legendary icon looked up to by hundreds of thousands of fans across the world. Was anything missing that you think needed to be included? Now you can @ me below.
Browny @brownypaul
