Friday, February 11, 2005
December 2004
After spitting alongside the underground's elite for Linkin Park's Reanimation, Mike Shinoda recently produced the successful LP/Jay-Z mash-up collaboration -- making him a player to watch for 2005.
While Shinoda is usually seen rocking his electric guitar or playing the keys, he's been producing Hip-Hop tracks for years. While keeping busy with his core group, Linkin Park's resident spit kicker is in the process of lacing Hip-Hop's finest with his sound.
"I've been doing a lot of work in the studio. I just produced a track for [Jurassic 5] Chali 2na's solo album, and I'm working with some old friends of mine called Styles of Beyond. We're working together on most of the stuff, so we'll see what comes out of it," Shinoda told SOHH.com.
And despite his massive success on the rock side, Shinoda is itching to make his mark as a hip-hop producer.
"I was a Hip-Hop producer long before I worked with Linkin Park, and I've been looking for a chance to get back to those roots. I just played some beats for Black Thought and Common who gave me some really positive feedback."
Many fans of LP are surprised to learn that Shinoda was actually rapping for 14 years prior to hooking up with the band. Here, the California-bred vocalist explains why linked up with LP instead of taking a stab at Hip-Hop stardom.
"I've always been rapping, just not in the conventional way. The whole thing with LP felt so fresh and different. I had been trying to come up with my own style of beat-making for a while, and once I got together with our guitarist, Brad, and another friend of ours named Mark, we just started making something that felt so good," Shinoda explained. "Besides, it feels good to have come in the back door of Hip-Hop."
With so much anticipation surrounding the rock/rap collabo, Jay-Z and Linkin Park went above and beyond expectations to make sure Hip-Hop heads and Rock aficionados got more than what was bargained for.
"MTV actually asked us to just do two songs live on stage. All they wanted was for us to loop one of our songs and have Jay rap on it," Mike revealed. "But not Jay nor any of Linkin Park are ever happy with anything less than 150%, so we went for six songs, recorded in the studio, a live show, and everything on film, so we could put it out on CD and DVD."
Mike Shinoda's Play-O-Graphy
Projects for 2004-2005
- Project Revolution tour book It's the end of the album cycle, and to celebrate, we're putting out a book that sums it all up. It's called From The Inside, and it basically covers everything that went on to support Meteora. This was a sophomore album, which is supposed to be jinxed, so it was an absolute triumph for us to have seen success on it.
- DC Shoes I just put out a shoe with DC Shoes called the "Clientelle Remix," and all my proceeds are going to a college scholarship I just established. The scholarship will benefit illustration and graphic design students, because that's what I studied in school and I know how difficult it is.
The really amazing thing about Collision Course is that, since there are so many hands in the pot...Warner Brothers, Machine Shop (our label), Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam, and MTV...we are not making any real money on it. We're putting it out because we believe in it, and because we think people should hear it. You have to give it up to the people in charge at the labels, because in spite of that fact, they are behind it anyway.
Mike Shinoda's "Watchlist"
There are some really dope rappers out there, ready to make their mark. I'm a big fan of Styles of Beyond, obviously. I wouldn't work with them if I wasn't. There's also a dude named Trek Life who's coming up out here on the west coast, and a guy who has an amazing way with words named Lupe Fiasco out of Chicago. Apathy and Celph Titled are killing it, as well.
thanks to lptimes.com
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