A MUSIC REVOLUTION: FORT MINOR - a dynamic between opposites

FORT MINOR - it's been a long time since I've been excited for an album to release and THIS is the SHIAT. Who better to lead the next music revolution then Mr. Mike Shinoda himself - one of the leads in LP.

Shinoda's rap roots have always had to share space with other elements-until now. Fort Minor is a wholly unique, unadulterated hip hop album, owing as much to Shinoda's polished lyricism as his musical adeptness. The variety of themes, styles, and moods he creates make this "side project" likely to do much more than simply satisfy existing LP fans; it threatens to expose Shinoda as a rap devotee who is as at home in hip-hop as he is in the cross-genre hybrid of Linkin Park.

The Rising Tied, the much-anticipated debut of Shinoda's Fort Minor, will be released by Machine Shop Recordings/Warner Bros., in Fall 2005. Executive Produced by Jay-Z (who collaborated with Linkin Park on 2004's Collision Course), The Rising Tied is produced and mixed by Shinoda, who wrote every track, played nearly every instrument and "slaved over every detail."

While Shinoda chose the name Fort Minor to reflect the dynamic between opposites - something big and strong vs. something small and slight (or musically dark) - the name of the album is also a play on words. All of the guest artists on The Rising Tied, says Shinoda, are coming up together in the music world. Among them are Machine Shop acts Styles of Beyond and Holly Brook, as well as Common, John Legend, Kenna and Black Thought (of The Roots), among others.

While remaining an essential shard in the mosaic of Linkin Park, the desire to create songs that resonated with his youth as a hip-hop producer and MC led Shinoda to write, then record, a progression of hip-hop-rooted songs. As they began to coalesce into an album bearing Shinoda's solo imprimatur, he also felt it was essential to keep it "organic," making his own samples and breakbeats with live instruments, and avoiding sequenced keyboards. The Rising Tied, channeling some of the signature dynamics and frustration of Linkin Park, reveals a more personal range of themes slagged inside a distinctly hip-hop crucible.

Not to say that it's an entirely homogenized collection. On the track "Believe Me," excerpts from a decaying relationship tremble over a seismic breakbeat, infused with Latin percussion and a cello-bass line that reflects Shinoda's love of classic rock. "High Road," bouncing to Billy Joel-like piano progressions, adopts a humorous tone even as it gives the finger to someone who once told him to "stick to keyboards, don't rap.

fortminor.com - check it out