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Fort Minor Information
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'Fort Minor' is a hip-hop side project created by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park. Its first album is entitled The Rising Tied.
Music
Mike's goal for the project is to have fun with his friends, rather than to showcase the hottest names in underground and mainstream hip-hop.
:"It's called Fort Minor, instead of my name because there are a bunch of other people involved in the project. But I only wanted to work with family and friends; people that I feel are really close to me and we see eye-to-eye." -- Mike Shinoda, BallerStatus.
'Some contributors to the project are:'
*'Black Thought:' The lead vocalist/emcee of Philadelphia hip-hoppers The Roots. Widely renowned for their unique live performances, The Roots have been making music since the late '80s, and are still going strong to this day. He features on the song "Right Now" on The Rising Tied.
*'Common:' The highly influential figure in rap's underground during the '90s and known for the classic song "I Used to Love H.E.R.", his style is characterized by sophisticated lyrical technique, socially conscious content, and flowing syncopations of jazz-rap. He features on the song "Back Home" on The Rising Tied.
*'Kenna:' Born in Ethiopia (but raised in both Cincinnati and Virginia Beach), alt-funk artist Kenna became captivated by the sounds of U2 and Stevie Wonder early on. He features on The Rising Tied in the songs Red to Black and The Hard Way on The Rising Tied Special Edition.
*'Lupe Fiasco:' First widely heard on the underground remix of the Kanye West song "Diamonds From Sierra Leone", Lupe Fiasco, like Common, is from Chicago's hip-hop scene. He features on the song "Be Somebody" on the Special Edition of The Rising Tied and "Spraypaint & Ink Pens" on the DJ Green Lantern mixtape Fort Minor: We Major.
*'John Legend:' Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combines the raw fervor of contemporaries Cody ChesnuTT and the burning precision of D'Angelo. He features on the song "High Road" on The Rising Tied.
*'Styles of Beyond:' Since 1995, the LA-based hip-hop duo of Ryu and Takbir Bashir (AKA "Tak") have compiled an extensive discography in the underground hip-hop scene. They feature on the songs "Remember The Name", "Right Now", "Feel Like Home", "Back Home", "Believe Me," and "Red To Black" on The Rising Tied. Takbir features on the song "Be Somebody" on The Rising Tied Special Edition.
*'Jay-Z:' One of the largest names in the New York rap scene throughout the late '90s and early 2000s, Jay-Z has steadily built the reputation with his company Roc-a-Fella Records, which he co-founded with former friend Damon Dash. Shinoda and him became friends during the course MTV Mash-Up Collision Course which mixed together classic Jay-Z and Linkin Park songs such as "99 Problems" and "One Step Closer". He is not performing on The Rising Tied but is an executive producer.
*'Holly Brook:' Its not a musical approach one might expect from the first artists signed by hard rock kingpins Linkin Park. The bands guitarist, Brad Delson, loved Hollys demo and offered her a deal with the groups label Machine Shop Recordings, which will release her album LIKE BLOOD LIKE HONEY in early 2006. Now Holly Brook is fulfilling her dream. Music and performing are what I love, she says. If I can do that for the rest of my life, Ill be happy. She features on the song Where'd You Go on The Rising Tied and on Be Somebody on The Rising Tied Special Edition.
*'Ghostface:' Member of the seminal hip-hop group, The Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah has had prolific career as an emcee, with over 6 solo albums and a numerous guest appearances in other songs. He features on the song "Spraypaint & Ink Pens" on the DJ Green Lantern mixtape Fort Minor: We Major
History
Fort Minor was first conceived in late 2004 after Projekt Revolution when Shinoda started experimenting with pure Hip-Hop sounds, which was something he had not done since before he started Linkin Park. Linkin Park's involvement in Collision Course along with encouragement from friends led Shinoda to begin work on the album. The first news of an album came in late 2004.
Releases
The Rising Tied
The Rising Tied is the first project from Fort Minor, the album was released on November 22, 2005 through Machine Shop Recordings..
Recording the solo album late into 2004, and first words came in December, when he mentioned the album out of context in interviews. In addition to the confirmed artists already on the bill for the album, Mike is rumoured to have met with Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Musique and more.
As well as producing the CD, Mike played every instrument on all the tracks that make it into the final cut (minus the strings). An exclusive listening party of 5 of the impending tracks was held on April 13th 2005 with an audience of all the most credible online hip-hop press.
All of the music on The Rising Tied was composed, produced and mixed by Shinoda alone. Only two members of the Linkin Park band are involved with The Rising Tied; guitarist Brad Delson helped do the A&R work for the album and DJ Joe Hahn featured on 1 song. The Rising Tied was released on November 22, 2005 with the song "Petrified" believed to be the lead single in the U.S.; as for the UK, "Believe Me" was the single.
The following is the confirmed tracklisting on The Rising Tied:
# Introduction
# Remember The Name (featuring Styles Of Beyond)
# Right Now (featuring Black Thought and Styles Of Beyond)
# Petrified
# Feel Like Home (featuring Styles Of Beyond)
# Where'd You Go (featuring Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga)
# In Stereo
# Back Home (featuring Common and Styles Of Beyond)
# Cigarettes
# Believe Me (featuring Eric Bobo and Styles Of Beyond)
# Get Me Gone
# High Road (featuring John Legend)
# Kenji (with vocal samples from Mike's father and aunt)
# Red To Black (featuring Kenna, Jonah Matranga and Styles Of Beyond)
# The Battle (featuring Celph Titled)
# Slip Out The Back (featuring Joe Hahn)
## Be Somebody (featuring Lupe Fiasco, Holly Brook, & Tak (of Styles Of Beyond)
## There They Go (featuring Sixx John)
## The Hard Way (featuring Kenna)
(Last three tracks from the Special Edition version)
Chart Placing
The Rising Tied debuted at #27 on the Australian HMV charts. The first single, Believe Me placed #31 in its first week. Both failed to chart in the United Kingdom.
CD Singles
* From The Rising Tied
**Petrified (US only)
**Believe Me (the rest of the world)
Vinyl Records
* From The Rising Tied
** Petrified/Remember The Name (Vinyl)
On August 20, 2005, a song from the album, "Remember The Name" was leaked onto the internet. The song, which was planned to be the first single, received positive feedback from internet communities.
The song "Petrified" was also 'leaked', though it was done officially by the Fort Minor team as part of a marketing strategy.
On October 3rd, 2005, "Believe Me" was released as part of the Fort Minor Producer Player deal. Each week for 6 weeks, samples of Remember the Name's chorus would be posted on the player (drums, vocals, strings, etc). When the 6th week arrived, the vocals were released, and a new song called "Believe Me" was released. Mike Shinoda sings the chorus (albeit with a voice that was warped in post production, but nonetheless marking the first time since Linkin Park's demo tracks that Shinoda has sung on a song) of this song, with his good friends from Styles of Beyond backing him up on the song.
A special edition has been confirmed and will contain a DVD with Behind-The-Scenes footage, and the "Petrified" Music Video.
The album artwork, created by Mike Shinoda, was released on October 3rd, 2005, resembling his artwork on DC shoes.
On October 4th, 2005, the singles "Remember The Name" and "Petrified" were released to digital music stores including iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, and countless others.
Fort Minor Street Team Sampler Mixtape
This is a mixtape put together by DJ Cheapshot released with various other promotional items to members of the U.S. Street team.
Tracklisting of the sampler :
# Intro
# Remember The Name (featuring Styles of Beyond)
# Dolla (featuring Styles of Beyond)
# Get It (Styles of Beyond Track)
# Petrified
DJ Green Lantern Presents - Fort Minor: We Major
This is a mixtape released in October by DJ Green Lantern in conjunction with Mike Shinoda.
Mixtape tracks are as follows:
#Green Lantern Intro
#100 Degrees - Fort Minor
#Dolla - Fort Minor & Styles of Beyond
#Bloc Party - Apathy, M. Shinoda, & Tak of S.O.B.
#S.C.O.M. - Ryu of S.O.B., Juelz Santana, & Celph Titled
#Remember The Name (The Funkadelic Remix) - Fort Minor feat. Styles of Beyond
#Bleach (Jimi Remix) - Styles of Beyond
#Spraypaint & Inkpens - Ghostface, M. Shinoda, & Lupe Fiasco
#Petrified (Doors Remix) - Fort Minor
#Get It - Styles of Beyond
#Be Somebody - Fort Minor feat. Lupe Fiasco and Holly Brook
#Respect 4 Grandma - Fort Minor, Styles of Beyond, & Celph Titled
#There They Go (Green Lantern Remix) - Fort Minor feat. Sixx John
#All Night - Apathy, Tak of S.O.B., & Celph Titled
#Nobody's Listening (Green Lantern Remix) - Mike Shinoda
#Cover and Duck - Fort Minor feat. Styles of Beyond
#[Bonus] Remember The Name (Album Version) - Fort Minor feat. Styles of Beyond
#[Bonus] Petrified (Album Version) - Fort Minor
#Outro
The album title is a pun on the line "We made ya".
The mixtape was purposely leaked over the Internet.
This mixtape was also a promotional tool, members fo the Fort Minor Street Team (that were Foot Soldiers), obtained these in the mail to give away to DJ's, hip hop stores, concerts, or anywhere else that they could distripute them.
These mixtapes were also availible on DJ Green Lantern's website for sale, and still are.
Video Clips
On October 6th, 2005, the music video for the song "Petrified" made its online debut on the Fort Minor website. Alongside with Mike Shinoda, various other members of Fort Minor were also featured in the video.
And so far, three music videos have been confirmed; the songs can be heard on the Be A Fort Minor Producer page on fortminor.com:
*Remember The Name - Directed By: Kimo Proudfoot
*Petrified - Directed By: Robert Hales
*Believe Me - Directed By: Laurent Briet
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