Artist: Mike Shinoda Interviewer: Stephy Cyn
Mike Shinoda is a name you may or may not know. He's a vocalist and
EmCee for LINKIN PARK, and has recently created a solo side project
entitled,
exclusive tracks, "Where'd You Go" and "Remember The Name" which
have been dominating the charts since its release. "The Rising Tied"
was released by Machine Shop Recordings/Warner Bros in the fall of
2005. It was produced and mixed by Shinoda and Executive Produced by
Jay-Z and features guest appearances by artists such as Common, John
Legend &more! TheStreetSpace.com got a chance to catch up with
Mike to discuss the project, and yes –
Aight Mike, let's talk about this solo project. It's called "
I call the project
wanted to focus on the music instead of me: I knew if I put this
album out as "Mike Shinoda from
people's understanding of it. The album has its own identity, and
even though it's harder to promote a brand new name, I chose to go
that route because I thought it was the right thing to do. I didn't
want to just piggyback on
title is "The Rising Tied," because it features a "tied" group of
people who are all on the rise: Common, Black Thought, Styles of
Beyond, Holly Brook, and a bunch more.
So do you see another album in the future for "
Maybe. I make music based on whatever I'm excited about, so if I
feel inspired to make more
the other projects I've got going on, I'm not sure…but if the label
has any say, I'll be making another one, because I think they're
pretty happy "Where'd You Go" is blowing up right now. We worked
really hard to get this album off the ground.?
Definitely, but is there a reason why you chose to play nearly every
instrument on the album?
I had a really specific vision for the sound of the record. Most
hip hop right now is keyboard-based, and I wanted to make an album
that was built on real instruments. I played almost everything on
there, not because I'm a control freak but because I had this thing
in mind and I knew other people couldn't read my mind. And even
when it came to the singing, live strings, live choir, whatever—I
wanted to write it.
Word, that's important because you're paving the way for a lot of
young EmCee's out there. Who's paved the way for you and motivated
you to get into the music industry?
I grew up around the time when B.D.P., Public Enemy, N.W.A., and
Ice-T came out—I think their lyrics were the ones I imitated the
most back when I was like 13 and starting to rap. Before that, the
first records I bought were Run DMC and Beastie Boys first albums.
I have a soft spot for that time in hip hop—when everything was
fresh and new, and trying brand new ideas was more accepted. People
these days are living in a little hip hop bubble, thinking inside
that box. They're scared to go outside it, and that's sad. Don't
get me wrong, I love the guns and money thug rap, it's just that not
everyone can do it. And too much of it is outright boring.
The featured track "Where'd You Go", is topping the Billboard charts
& TRL… and
"Remember The Name" has been featured all over the NBA
playoffs. Is there another song on the album you were hoping to
break first?
Funny story. The funny thing is that the album came out last
November. It did really well outside the states, particularly in
because we decided to build the foundation here. We put out some
things that were aimed at the underground so people knew where I'm
coming from. If you haven't heard the Green Lantern "We Major"
mixtape, you GOTTA get it!
Anyway, a little over a month ago, we shot the video for "Where'd
You Go," and hadn't even sent out the CD singles to radio to
announce the single. All of the sudden, a ton of stations start
playing the shit out of it, strictly because the fans were
requesting it and the programmers liked it. We had to rush out
those CDs the next day. And four weeks later, we had a top ten
single, which is a record. The fans have kept the song building at
billboard and we've been on-and-off #1 at TRL for the past few weeks.
What's it like working along-side Jay-Z, as far as the creative
angle and decision-making goes?
Jay didn't write and lyrics or music on this album, so people always
wonder what he did that was so important. I was producing and
mixing the album, and I asked him to be Executive Producer late in
the project. A lot of people wonder what an Executive Producer
does. Here's how it worked in this case: when I'm working on
something, I make a ton of tracks and listen to them non-stop. At a
certain point, I lose a little bit of my ability to be objective,
and I'm not sure what needs to be better because I've heard it a
hundred times. So I sent the tracks to Jay and (our
guitarist) Brad Delson, and asked them to tell me which songs were
ready for the album and which ones needed work. We had a little
meeting—you can see that on "The Rising Tied" special edition, which
is in stores right now. Jay was credited as Executive Producer, and
Brad was my A&R.
Can you let us in on any artists you have plans to work with or
would like to work with?
I just did a song for Lupe Fiasco's album, called "The
Instrumental." It's really deep—I love his lyrics. I'm also working
on the new Styles of Beyond album, which will be coming out later
this year—that one is going to be a must-have. Those guys have
stepped up their game so much, and the album is going to be fucking
outstanding. As you can tell, I'm proud of them. Lastly, our
label, Machine Shop, is putting out Holly Brook's debut album the
first week of June. She's the girl that sings on "Where'd You Go".
Her album is definitely one to check for.
any future touring plans in mind?
No touring plans right now. I'm working on the new
album, and I'm sharing production duties with Rick Rubin.
Obviously, I'm working under his wing; the guy is a legend. We're
hoping to have the album in stores by the end of the year, and we'll
be doing shows then. All other info will be on FortMinor.com and
LinkinPark.com.
Yes, it's been made very clear that "
up. Has the release of "The Rising Tied" allowed you to be more
confident and set aside some of your creative preference in the
production process of the new "
I feel like I learned a ton by doing the
being completely in charge of putting together something like this
was a lot of responsibility. I had the choir, string group, live
percussion, and a bunch of artists and sessions to juggle. Not to
mention that I had to keep my head on straight about the lyrics,
vibe, and sound of the songs. It taught me a lot. Going into this
new
foundation, and try to take our sound, which so many people know so
well, and flip it in a way that makes you think, "It still sounds
like
from anyone before." Doing all that, and making it exciting and
emotionally moving are the challenges. It comes down to keeping
your songs fresh and making music that you like to listen to.
Well you've expressed a lot of talent in many genres of the music
industry, yet there are still a lot of people that don't know your
name, or only know you as 'the
you? And what can you say to pull in those people that have not
heard your voice yet?
I don't mind being connected with
who I am. On the other hand, I do music under the
and my own name to let people know that I'm not one-dimensional, and
to get back to roots in hip hop. I think there is a way to balance
the two, because they're both parts of me. There are fans out there
with
skin—I don't want to let those people down. So I make music from
the heart, whether it's sad, light, angry, or serious. Hopefully as
long as the songs are coming from an honest place, they'll always
connect with people.
Thanks Mike… (ngarep banget yg wawancara itu gw, huhuhu)
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