I was pretty excited when I heard that two of my favourite artists were collaborating, and I was right to be. This album is something fresh!
The point was to take two completely different styles and mix them together, and the result is Collision Course. The main disc contains 6 tracks, each one a mix of a Jay Z song with a Linkin Park song. They are not to be mistaken for Q mixes, where each song is taken as it is and fused together. These mixes were put together in a studio, with Jay Z and Mike (from LP) rapping eachother's lyrics, and Chester (also from LP) providing additional wailing!! Songs are more weighted to Jay Z (his melodies are used in more songs, and he raps more) but tend to end with Linkin Part rocking out. Not all the songs are that hot, here's a brief summary of each:
Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You - a tune!! Quality rapping as ever from Jay Z, over a typically rocky Linkin Park beat, and a really funky off-key bass melody
Big Pimpin'/Papercut - one of the best tunes on the album, and probably prefered by the Jay Z fans because of the Big Pimpin' melody throughout
Jigga What/Faint - pretty average, not my favourite, but picks up towards the end when it moves into the chorus of Faint
Numb/Encore - an instant classic! More "Linkin Park" than alot of the other songs, but Jay Z's rap goes surprisingly well. Probably the best song on the album to cater to both rock and rap tastes
Izzo/In The End - bit of a joke really! Not that bad a tune, but little or no attempt is really made to fuse the two songs. It's pretty much just Izzo, with lyrics from In The End rapped at the end as an afterthought!
Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer - good for fans of the Hybrid Theory album as it has not one but two songs from here. Possibly the most impressive song for demonstrating just how well two different styles can go together
In total the album is a little hit and miss, but not a bad experiment. If you're a fan of either artist and looking for something a little different, I would go for it (although if you're strapped for cash you could definately get something better value for your money)! 6.5/10
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Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You - Jay-Z & Linkin Park Big Pimpin'/Papercut - ... more
Jay-Z & Linkin Park Jigga What/Faint - Jay-Z & Linkin Park Numb/Encore - Jay-Z & Linkin Park Izzo/In The End - Jay-Z & Linkin Park Points Of Authori...
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Advantages: an innovative experiment into how Hip-Hop, Rap and Nu Metal can be merged Disadvantages: some of the origional Linkin' Park songs have been degraded.
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