MY VIEW
Music: 'Collision Course' by Jay-Z and Linkin Park

By Jeremy Castillo
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: . THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely listen to it. 3 — Good: Worth listening to despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the group or singer, don't bother. 1 — Poor: Save your money (and your ears).

Release: Nov. 30, 2004.

Style: Rap-rock.

Rewind: "Jigga What/Faint," "Izzo/In the End," "Big Pimpin'/Papercut."

My view: I've never been a big fan of Jay-Z or rap music, but I've been a fan of Linkin Park since its first album, "Hybrid Theory." When I found out they would be collaborating on a project, I knew I'd have to give it a listen if only out of curiosity.

My first guess was that Linkin Park joined forces with Jay-Z to make another remix album to follow up their 2002 release "Reanimation," but with the band reworking Jay-Z's old hits and vice versa. I came to find out that the CD would actually be a list of mash-ups, which was surprising in light of the controversy surrounding DJ Dangermouse's "The Grey Album," a bootleg CD of mash-ups from Jay-Z's "The Black Album" and the Beatles' classic "White Album." For those who don't know, mash-ups are songs in which the background music of two songs are mixed together and the vocal work is alternated.

Anyway, back to "Collision Course." The first single "Numb/Encore" is pretty simplistic as it's basically Jay-Z rapping over Linkin Park's tune, but other songs aren't as basic. "Dirt Off Your Shoulders/Lying From You" splits the vocal work 50/50, and it's the only song to give Chester Bennington's voice its due. On "99 Problems/One Step Closer," Linkin Park's emcee Mike Shinoda takes over most of Jay-Z's lines (including the brilliant sham dialogue between Jay-Z and a cop), making it seem more like a cover than a collaboration.

However, the best song offered is the third track, "Jigga What/Faint," which is brilliant. Jay-Z's voice and flow seem to innately match the hook of "Faint," but the match is brought together even more thanks to Shinoda's excellent production.

Fans who are expecting a full-length CD of mashed-up songs will be disappointed when they find out there are only six songs on the EP. On the bright side, "Collision Course" is a two-disc offering. The other disc is a DVD featuring a documentary of the album's recording and a live performance filmed in July 2004. Both features should be interesting to fans and aspiring musicians/producers alike.

"Collision Course" is no doubt an excellent offering that both rock and rap fans can enjoy. The only gripe is the length: six tracks with a duration of a little more than 21 minutes. With such a short running time, you can't help but feel there's a lot of potential not being fulfilled. However, if you can overlook this shortcoming, you'll be in for a treat that's worth every dime of the purchase price.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College.

Have a game or CD you want to review? Reach Island Life deputy editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.