Rakim And Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda Think Rap-Rock Still Matters

Eric DiepPublished: April 9, 2014

Last month, Linkin Park gave us a first taste of their new album with “Guilty All The Same,” a single that features a verse from the legendary Rakim. The Grammy Award-winning band are working on their sixth studio effort The Hunting Party with a promised release date of Jun 17. Taking an unconventional route for this LP, Linkin Park led with a hip-hop guest on their single, which unexpectedly dropped on Shazam. Linkin Park aren’t strangers to working with hip-hop artists—2004’s Collision Course with Jay Z was a high mark of the genre clashing together.

The cross-genre trend isn’t entirely new; it dates back to the 1980s, when Run-DMC remade Aerosmith’s original of "Walk This Way,” which became one of the greatest songs of all time. Several decades later, more dope hip-hop/rock collaborations such as Public Enemy/Anthrax’s “Bring The Noise” and KRS-One/R.E.M.’s “Radio Song” were praised as undisputable classics. Here’s a closer look at the latest cross-genre effort done told by the artists themselves. Linkin Park frontman Mike Shinoda and The God MC speak on collaborating for the first time, bridging the gap between both genres, and explaining the state of rap/rock songs now. Class is now in session. —Eric Diep

Filed Under: Feature, featured, Linkin Park, mike shinoda, Rakim

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