MUSIC REVIEWS
Fort Minor - The Rising Tied
David Allun Jones
Linkin Park’s metal-hop fusion managed to sell millions of albums to the angst-ridden kids their lyrics spoke to, but for “adult” audiences, the band’s over-reliance on depressed teenager imagery was a major turn off, at least in public. Secretly, Linkin Park’s detractors have all sung the chorus to “In The End” or been caught up in the synth waves of “Faint”, if they want to admit to it or not. Their 2004 mash-up project with Jay Z did earn them some fraction of respect, though, especially towards LP rapper Mike Shinoda. Rhyming alongside Jay, it became more noticeable that Shinoda had a certain respect for hip hop. On The Rising Tied, Shinoda bravely steps out on his own, under the moniker Fort Minor, for a pure hip hop effort that far succeeds expectations.
Executive produced by Shawn Carter himself, The Rising Tied is a surprisingly strong collection of songs. Hard hitting from start to finish, Shinoda demands your attention , battering your eardrums with his forceful rhymes lain in between hard hitting drum beats and nightmarish piano/ synthesizer riffs. (An accomplished musician, he was obviously educated in the School of Reznor by his obsession with twisted, industrial lullaby productions). The album’s best component is that Mike sounds like a fan first, giddily flowing to the beat like the guy who starts a rap battle at every house party he attends. His delivery might be a little leaden and ordinary, but he’s always bursting with fervor. The hyped “Petrified” would set any party off with it’s tip-toe beat and simple metaphor attack (“Like children in a building you can’t stand steady”); ditto for album opener “Remember The Name” which features recurring guest stars Style of Beyond, an underground LA duo who support Mike well thanks to their ability to be charismatic when Shinoda can’t.
There’s more to the man than rocking the party right, though, as he spends a majority of the album letting loose some inner thoughts. “Cigarettes” works a clever metaphor, equating our love for exaggerated rap tales as a smoker’s love for his cancer sticks (“Let me tell you something that I realized tonight/ My hip hop radio is like Marlboro Lights/ Their both selling stories and they sound about the same/ Cigarettes say their safe/ Rappers claim they really bang”) while “Where’d You Go?” finds Mike taking on the role of a fed-up rock star girlfriend, pining for the man she knew before the fame. Other songs lay the smack down on the negative criticism thrown Linkin Park’s way (“You bastard’s are gonna have to take back that shit/ I’m not plastic or fake”) and on “Kenji”, Mike vividly recalls the racist treatment his Japanese grandfather received during World War II.
The underdog vibe of The Rising Tied is what ultimately earns it it’s props. Mike’s status as an already proven success story allows him the freedom to go for broke, a gift that most newcomers aren’t given, but Shinoda doesn’t milk off of the merits of his previous achievements. Instead he approaches this album like it’s his entrance into music; he might have a strong cast of supporting acts for aid (Black Thought, Common and John Legend all make memorable appearances), but it becomes clear that Shinoda has got the integrity and talent to shine all on his own.
