Fort Minor: The Rising Tied

Mark Shinoda of Linkin Park is half the vocal firepower of the Grammy-winning band trading diaphragmatic diatribes with singer Chester Bennington and infusing the searing alternative rock with equally intense hip hop. Shinoda’s rap roots have always had to play second fiddle up until now. Fort Minor is a wholly unique, unadulterated hip hop album, owing as much to Shinoda’s polished lyricism as his musical adeptness. The variety of themes, styles, and moods he creates make this side project likely to do much more than simply satisfy existing Linkin Park fans.

The Rising Tied, the much-anticipated debut of Shinoda’s Fort Minor, is produced and mixed by Shinoda, who wrote every track and played nearly every instrument. All of the guest artists on The Rising Tied, are coming up together in the music world. Among them are Machine Shop acts Styles of Beyond and Holly Brook, as well as Common, John Legend, Kenna and Black Thought (of The Roots), among others. The most unique song of this album is a rap-flavored recollection of the U.S. internment of Japanese citizens during World War II. “Kenji,” featuring the voices of Shinoda’s aunt and father who were interned in the U.S. during the 1940s, paints a bleak picture of those who lost everything after being thrown into what were known then, euphemistically, as “relocation camps.”

Mike Shinoda’s personal philanthropic efforts are growing as well. In the past five years, he has started a scholarship at his alma mater and been involved in groups such as United Way, AIDS Project L.A., Densho, the Japanese American National Museum, Arthritis Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.