Jay-Z and Linkin Park teamed up and collaborated on the CD/DVD Collision Course. The six track mini-album mixes the biggest tunes from both camps, resulting in the possibility of a new musical genre. Jay- Zʼs “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” has a completely different flare when laced with the beat of Linkin Parkʼs “Lying from You.” commercially released mashup album; issues of copyright have kept many mash-ups underground. Top40.com reviews the album as “more an experiment than a great moment in rock or rap music. To its credit, itʼs an interesting experiment, with a few high moments. But what it mostly proves is that mash-ups have a greater potential than is fully realized on this CD.” Jay-Z, a Brooklyn native, came onto the rap scene in the late ʻ90s. After stealing 2004 with endless hit songs and many collaborations with his current girlfriend, Beyonce, Jay-Z announced his retirement. Many fans and critics predict that the retirement wonʼt last long, especially with the release of Collision Course.
Linkin Park, comprised of six members originally from southern California, were all high school buddies who got their start in a small bedroom studio in 1996. The one misconception of Linkin Park is that their music is purely rock. However, Brad Delson, the bandʼsguitarist set the record straight. According to lpassociation.com, “We think our music is a crosssection of many genres, a hybrid of what the six of us have grown up on.” With this new album in stores, that clarification has proven true.
Although songs on Collision Course can be viewed as masterpieces and shouldnʼt be tainted through remixing, I give the CD four out of five stars. Jay-Z and Linkin Park can get an encore!