Linkin Park Featured in Busta Rhymes' New Single

In 2004, rock band Linkin Park joined with Jay-Z to produce the platinum mash-up “Collision Course,” which featured the Grammy winning track, “Numb/Encore.” Now, the platinum two-time Grammy-winning rock band will join Busta Rhymes’ on his new album, Blessed (Flipmode/Aftermath/Interscope) scheduled for release on June 17, 2008. The first single, “We Made It,” produced by Cool and Dre, features Linkin Park’s co-lead vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda. This music culture mash-up is not only a surefire way to double a fan base, but reflects the theme of the song; says Busta Rhymes of the track: “It ain't just about the 'hood, it ain't just about the suburbs, it's about everybody.”

Bennington and Shinoda were also featured in the song’s performance video, directed by Chris Robinson and shot in LA on April 15. Shinoda, who offered a verse to the song, is seen plunking away at a prop piano which had no strings and thus gave him no feedback during filming as to whether or not he was miming the right notes – that is until a working keyboard was brought on set and he learned that he’d been playing in the wrong key. Now, he muses, “People will be able to tell which takes were before they got a keyboard on set and I figured it out, and which ones were after.” Meanwhile, Bennington did his best to hide the red cast on his arm. During Linkin Park’s October 15, 2007 show in Melbourne, Australia, Bennington overshot a grand leaping entrance off a stepped platform and fell onto his outstretched hand, fracturing his wrist four songs into the set. He finished the concert before heading to the emergency room.

Blessed, Rhymes’ eighth studio album, received positive reviews during a rap press listening party, despite Rhymes’ reported outburst towards a few less enthusiastic reporters. In addition to Linkin Park, the album will also feature vocals and production from Eminem, P. Diddy, Dr. Dre, DJ Scratch, Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, Akon, T.I., Ja Rule, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Lil Kim, and T-Pain, amongst many others.

The “We Made It “ music video premiered on BET on Tuesday, April 29, the same day as the video for the album’s second single, "Don't Touch Me (Throw Da Water On 'Em). “We Made It” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #65 while “Don’t Touch Me” has reached #4 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart as of this week.

Watch the “We Made It” video below or visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3QUzlq3I3Y to check out Linkin Park TV’s “Making Of…” video.