MTv Ultimate Mash-Up — “Numb / Encore” — Rap-Rock: Reflecting on Collision Course
The unseen effect of the rap-rock EP that charted no. 1 on the Billboard charts and brought together seemingly different artists into one space
“I ordered a frappuchino, where’s my fucking frappuchino? Alright, lets do this.” “Chester would never ham it up for a camera.” (laughter) “Yeah, it’s totally not my style.”— Chester Bennington et co.
Mash-Ups are interesting works of art, taking two seemingly disparate things and smashing them together to create something new and unique. The result of the smush is can be great ideas built on the shoulders of other great ideas, or a complete mess of a project.
And at times we get something awesome, something that goes hard. Something really fun that remains special. Despite its corporate origins, Collision Course is worth all the hype.
The LinkinPark and Jay Z mashup released on November 29th, 2004. Critically, it received a mixed reception. Commercially, it slaughtered the charts. And while it started as a Mtv paycheque, it looked fun to make.
It sold 368,000 copies in the first week, topping the Billboard 200 charts. In the second week, it held on to its Billboard ranking at no. 9. August 2009, the record sold 1,934,000 copies in the USA alone. 3,170,324 internationally. On August 15, 2017, it was certified double platinum by the RIAA.
Despite many critics citing the sanitization of both rap and metal, the shallow bars, the commerciality of it all, “Numb / Encore” claimed the 2006 Grammy for best rap / sung collaboration.
A few articles out there claim Jay Z did it for an easy pay check, and Shinoda did it to meet his hero. But, despite the low energy of Jay Z and his laissez faire attitude, it looked to be all love in the studio. A interest in each others cooking. And both Linkin Park and Jay Z wanted the project to succeed.
“That shit is fast as shit. I might have to bring out the young Jay Z.”
Technically, “Jigga What / Faint” is the most impressive. The chilling synths haunting the track create a fast-paced backbeat for Jay Z to skitter his bars over. Jay Z exclaims “That shit is fast as shit. I might have to bring out the young Jay Z.” ‘Izzo / In the End’ is my personal favourite track. While the lyrics seem at odds, its the remixing and fun retinkering that make it a high-energy track. “In the End” went from a emo-depressive 2am lament to a Saturday afternoon bbq radio play.
“Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer” is the high point of the album. While “Numb / Encore” topped the charts and still finds plays today, the storytelling on the end track fits so well with the instrumentation, its hard not to view it as the peak. Guitar bombs and watery synths create a final hurrah, a spectacle for the ear drum. A tale of police brutality over the anti-mainstream angst of nu-metal.
There were no really low points in the EP, but I find myself skipping over ‘Big Pimpin / Papercut” more so on repeat listens. Something about the beat looses its appeal over time, despite the interesting Eastern-style flute melody. Overall, the entire project was tightly produced, and at 21 minutes, its a lot of fun to listen to front to back.
In recent years, artists such as Death Grips, Machine Gun Kelly, Post Malone, Trippie Red, Kid LAROI, Aries, KillJEI, and Ice-T’s band Body Count continue the traditions of fusing a range of rap and rock sounds, genres and themes.
Which begs the question: are there any more genre distinctions? In writing, narrative fiction has become fused with other genres at a increasing level. In hip-hop, the sounds of jazz, rising orchestral suites, and ripping guitars cut through and grab listeners.
Are genres as we know it are over? No, instead they are changing at a rapid rate and have been for some time. Borrowing from each other and creating something uniquely interesting. And it’s not just in rap-rock.
Great mash-ups are old hip-hop bars combined with newer sounds. Tupac and Futures ‘Mask Off’ works perfectly, and hits hard. It sounds like Tupac would naturally rap over this beat if he was still alive. Biggie and the XX is another good one that has both the ethereal groove, the rolling guitars, and the Biggie Smalls charisma and flows.
My nonconventional favourites have been the Nintendo x hip-hop mashups. The KK Slider and Ice Cube remix, ‘Good Day’, never fails to get me ready to get out there and seize the day. The warmness of the KK Slider guitar meshes really well with the Ice Cube verses.
And who could forget the legendary Hotline Bling x Wii Shop remix. Which I prefer to the original song.
Reese’s Puffs x Treasure feels like a internet classic. The one you forget about, but always seem to remember around the holidays, reminiscing with friends over the Soundcloud era of 2016.
Mash-ups don’t need to be serious, or have serious context, to be fun. They merely need to be fun. But its their creation that blurs genres, and ultimately, pushes music forward. And not only music, but other forms of art, like video games.
When Collision Course came out, it epitomized the American “cool” on a international level — hard hitting production, a mixture of genres, and heavy bars that flowed well; Collision Course directly inspired the score and themes behind the 2009 Platinum Games project: MadWorld.
But that is a article for another time.
