With over 35 million albums sold worldwide, the Grammy award-winning, arena filling alternative rock/hip-hop hybrid band, Linkin Park has virtually gone beyond any, and every, possible expectation that the six-man musical collective had initially set for themselves. That is until…now!! Mike Shinoda, one-half of LP's vocal fire-power, has stepped even more out in front with a very personal side project, Fort Minor, and is set to release the eagerly awaited solo debut, The Rising Tied, on his very own imprint, Machine Shop Recordings, through Warner Bros, this fall.

"Originally, No," Mike begins emphatically, while explaining his initial response when asked if and when he'd ever record as a soloist. "But as far as making a hip-hop album, it's safe to say I’ve been moving in this direction for a while. It’s obviously safer to just stick with the band, but I haven’t done straight-up hip-hop in so long -- the Fort Minor songs kept popping into my head."

After last year's ground-breaking Linkin Park/Jay Z mash-up collaboration, Collision Course, it only seemed like the next logical evolutionary step in an already illustrious musical career. "Jay and I have kept in touch since then," Mike offers. Passionately adding, "I asked him to be executive producer on this album because of the value of his vision. A lot of people think just having his name on the record would be enough, but the truth is that you would be selling it short. His name is worth what it is because he’s got a great vision for records. As soon as I finished each song, Jay helped me decide whether it should stay on the record or go, or if it needed more work. And at the same time, he respected my vision."

Before the diehards start heavily fretting about a proposed break-up scenario of one of their top-selling favorite groups, Mike assures that's there's nothing to even worry about. "Now why would I do something stupid like that?" he laughs. "Actually, we have so many fans out there that tell us regularly that the band has touched them in some way. I would feel horrible leaving them hanging. I just hope that this record moves them in some similar kind of way, in the meantime."

How then would a Fort Minor record measure up to one of those great rock anthems that Linkin Park is so famously known for?? The front-man answers immediately without even a hint of hesitation in his voice, "I know people will see differences and similarities. There is a common sound to a certain degree, just because I’m the one writing. My style comes out in everything I do. But certain things will stand out as differences right off the bat; there is cursing on the Fort Minor record, for example. The song topics feel different, too." Further elaborating, "Most hip-hop these days is so keyboard-driven. In contrast, I would say Fort Minor is organic hip-hop. Since I played most of the instruments by hand, the sound feels more like it’s a sample rather than a keyboard. But keep in mind that my goal with the record was to write and play every note, and I came damn close to doing that." Continued on page 2 »