The Rising Tied is the debut, and so far, only album by Fort Minor, the side project of Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda. It was released on November 22, 2005. The album was produced by Shinoda, who played almost all the instruments on record, and with Shawn Carter providing executive production. Many songs feature a guest appearance, with the bulk being his long-time friends Styles of Beyond. It was distributed by Linkin Park's Warner Bros. label, as well as Shinoda's own independent Machine Shop.
The album, along with Fort Minor itself, came to life from Shinoda's interest in exploring his hip-hop roots in-between Linkin Park's hiatus. He described it as "not straight hip-hop, but not rock either". Lyrical themes vary from political elements to songs pertaining to the personal experiences of Shinoda. The album was critically acclaimed, and a moderate commercial success. It debuted at #51 on the Hot 100, and produced the #4 pop hit "Where'd You Go" and the sports anthem "Remember the Name".
As previously mentioned, this remains the sole album of Fort Minor. Largely this is due to Shinoda's commitments to Linkin Park. Though not the best-selling album, it remains a Cult Classic, with sales of 400,000 worldwide.
Tracklist
- "Introduction"
- "Remember the Name" (feat. Styles of Beyond)
- "Right Now" (feat. Black Thought of The Roots and Styles of Beyond)
- "Petrified"
- "Feel Like Home" (feat. Styles of Beyond)
- "Where'd You Go" (feat. Holly Brook & Jonah Matranga)
- "In Stereo"
- "Back Home" (feat. Common & Styles of Beyond)
- "Cigarettes"
- "Believe Me" (feat. Eric Bobo & Styles of Beyond)
- "Get Me Gone"
- "High Road" (feat. John Legend)
- "Kenji"
- "Red to Black" (feat. Kenna, Jonah Matranga, & Styles of Beyond)
- "The Battle" (feat. Celph Titled)
- "Slip Out the Back" (feat. Mr. Hahn)
Special Edition
- "Be Somebody" (feat. Lupe Fiasco, Holly Brook, & Tak)
- "There They Go" (feat. Sixx John)
- "The Hard Way" (feat. Kenna)
Tropes
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: "The Battle" is rapped entirely by Celph Titled, with Shinoda only doing the intro.
- Angst: Surprisingly little, when compared to what his band is known for, but it pops up here and there. "Where'd You Go" would be the best example.
- Boastful Rap: Several songs, such as "Petrified", "Remember the Name", "In Stereo",
- The Cameo:
- Executive producer Jay-Z says the opening line "that beat is hard" at the beginning of "In Stereo".
- Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill provides latin percussion in "Believe Me".
- The turntable scratches in the final track "Slip Out the Back" were provided by none other than Mr. Hahn.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Shinoda swears all the time here. Compare that to the first two albums, where he didn't swear at all. Still, it's a Hip-Hop album, so it's expected.
- Executive Meddling: Discussed in "Get Me Gone", where Warner Brothers first tried to downplay Linkin Park's Rap Rock sound, then started rumors that the band was a manufactured act, similar to a boy band.
- Genre Shift: Compare this to Shinoda's Nu Metal rapping in the first two Linkin Park albums. They have little in common.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Get Me Gone" isn't even two minutes long. "The Battle" is an even bigger (smaller?) example, at barely over thirty seconds.
- N-Word Privileges: Subverted with "Kenji." The word "jap" pops up in the lyrics, but only as the racist slander that it is. There's a disclaimer in the liner notes about how Mike does not want that word to ever, ever be seen as cool.
- Out-of-Genre Experience: Several songs, such as "Believe Me", "In Stereo", and "Red to Black" feature Shinoda singing for the first time.
- POW Camp: "Kenji" tells the story of his grandparents being forced into an interment camps during World War II just for being Japanese.
- Smoking Is Not Cool: "Cigarettes" compares the lies told in rap game to the lies tobacco companies tell to consumers.
- Special Guest: Most songs on the album feature a guest, with Styles of Beyond making up the bulk of them.
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: "Where'd You Go" is much softer than the rest of the album.
- Take That, Critics!: "High Road" is directed at the critics who lambasted Linkin Park, thinking they were a manufactured act.
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: Quietly dropped the word "bitch" at the end of both of his verses in "High Road".
