His lyrics and delivery were more battle-rap before the band was called Linkin Park. I think Mike wanted to change his style as the band were trying to find their identity when writing Hybrid Theory and Meteora. The band and their producer(s) back then probably thought Mike's more aggressive and battle-rap lyrics were too awkward or intrusive to the music. Mike seems to be more comfortable being himself with his delivery now. I think it more honestly reflects his love for hip hop and his influences growing up.
It's simple. Compare these two sets of lyrics: Example 1a: You told me yes and held me high, and I believed when you told that lie. I played soldier, you played king, and struck me down when I kissed that ring. You lost that right to hold that crown, I build you up but you let me down. So when you fall, I'll take my turn, and fan the flames as your blazes burn. Example 1b: Imma be that nail in your coffin, saying that I softened, I was ducking down to reload. So you can save your petty explanations, I don't have the patience. Before you even say it I know. You let your pride and your ego talk slick to me, no. That is not the way I get down. And look at how you lose your composure. Now let me show you exactly how the breaking point sounds. What is it you want me to tell you? I'm not the failure. I would rather live and let be. But, you came up with the right kind of threat to push me to let you. Know/No you can't intimidate me. You disrespect me so clearly, now you better hear me. That is not the way it goes down. You did it to yourself and it's over, now let me show you exactly how the breaking point sounds. Pretty okay lyrics, but try these ones: Example 2a: It's goin' down. The rhythm projects 'round the next sound. Reflects the complex hybrid dialect now. Detects the mesh of many elements compressed down. The melting pot of a super-futuresque style. The combination of vocal caress with lungs the gasp for breath from emotional stress with special effects. And a distorted collage carefully lodged between beats of a rhythmic barrage. It's goin' down. The logical progression on the timeline. The separation narrowed down to a fine line. To blur the edges so they blend together properly. Take you on an audible odyssey now. It's goin' down. Once again it is composed sentences all together venomous. The four elements of natural force projected daily through the sound of the source. Everybody on board as we blend the sword with the pen. The mightiest of weapons swinging right from the chin. To elevate mental states Long gone with the wind. To defend men from shoddy imitation pretends. It's goin' down. Style assimilation, readily. Tracking through the weaponry of a pure pedigree. Cleverly, seeing through whatever is ahead of me. Whatever the weather be. We invent the steadily. It's going down sub-terrestrial high. I rhyme regiment that's calling the shots. Execution of collaborative plots ready to bring the separation of style to a stop. It's goin' down. Example 2b: I've been digging in the crates ever since I was living in space. Before the rap race. Before monkeys had human traits. I mastered numerology and big bang theology. Performed lobotomies with telekinetic psychology. Invented the mic so I could start blessing it. Chincheckin kids that make my point like an impressionist. Many men have tried to shake us, but I twist mic cords to double helixes and show them what I'm made of. I buckle knees like leg braces. Cast the spell of instrumentalness and all you MCs who hate us. So you can try on, leave you without a shoulder to cry on. From now to infinity let icons be bygones. I fire bomb, ghostly notes haunt this. I've tried threats but moved on to a promise. I stomp shit with or without an accomplice and run the gauntlet with whoever that wants this. I put a kink in the backbones of clones with microphones. Never satisfy my rhyme jones. Spraying bright day over what you might say. My blood type's type Krylon, Technicolor, Type A. On highways, ride with road rage. Cage of wind and cages of tin that bounce all around. Surround sound. Devouring the scene. Subliminal gangrene paintings overall the same things. Sing songs karaoke copy bullshit. Break bones verbally with sticks and stone tactics. Fourth dimension, combat convention. Write rhymes at ease while the tracks stand at attention. Meant to put you away with the pencil pistol, official, 16 line the rhyme missile. While you risk it all, I pick out all your flaws. Spitting, blah blah blah blah You can say you saw. Obviously, the latter two are much more creative and substantial, at least in my personal opinion. Of course, you might be misled to believe that those lyrics are better because they contain bigger words and such, but I just think they represent a more genuine and original sound that Mike showcased for some time, that I really haven't heard much these days. It may or may not fit in so much with Linkin Park, but I for one kind of feel Fort Minor should've accentuated this style more. Thoughts?
Mike used to be way more lyrical on his early work, now he's all weak sawse and relying on his cadence.
Some of my favorite raps of his are Lying From You, Part Of Me, Faint, When They Come For Me, Wretches And Kings, Slip Out The Back, and Believe me. I hope I dont hear anymore of that "Imma be dat n-n-n-n-nail in you coffin"
I agree with this. High Voltage is one of my favorite Mike's rap ever, if not my favorite. It's going down is pretty awesome too. I like LGM rap, but it obviously belongs to an other category. More of a "come at me, bro" rap, less of a complex and original rap. I prefer the second.
I agree. High Voltage is probably Mike's best rap.. I love all his stuff from the 1997-2002 era. He had a really unique flow and it was incredible. Now, his raps don't have that genuine and unique feel to me... He just sounds like every other rap/hip-hop artist now. It's not bad stuff, but I definitely prefer his old music. His rap in And One was amazing, too..
Edit: I actually like LGM rap, just not as much as some others, and I want to erase my comments on it as it's not bad and its actually something kinda new for him so it is a bit unique. But BID, is not original or unique at all, and it is weak compared to many of his early rappers when he was different, unique, and creating raps that I wouldn't hear anywhere else
I have been rapping for half of my life. I've performed for sold-out crowds, been promoted by KROQ's sister station in SF, and started taking music seriously because I was inspired by Mike Shinoda. With that said, he's pretty mediocre. Even when I sucked at rapping, I knew that he was mediocre. I really do like "It's Going Down" because he's describing the song while he's rapping it in a dope ass way....besides that, it's his uniqueness sets him apart. He raps like he came out 20 years ago, but doesn't rap about the same stuff and has a different vocabulary. Sometimes he spits some shit in a way that gets you to picture something in your head, or maybe he just flows in a way that makes you pay attention to the words that he rhymes...besides that, only big LP fans give a fat fuck about his rapping skills... He is/was never that great, but has a handful of dope shit
I happen to think those verses - and that lyric in particular - clearly evoke the verses and the delivery Shinoda employs on "A Thousand Suns". :*
Agree with everything you wrote. Back in the pre-Meteora days I thought Mike was an underrated rapper. He had clever rhyme schemes and used imagery. I expected more of that on the Fort Minor album and we have not even come close to that on the recent albums. It seems like in the HTEP-Reanimation days he may have been very influenced by underground guys like Black Thought, Chali-2na, Pharoah Monch. I liked the rapping on ATS but it seems he was going for an old school, 90's, west coast type of flow on WTCFM and WK. On BID and LGM it seems to me he was simply going for the overly vague almost bland lyricism of Meteora.
Like a well full of poison, a rotten core The blood goes thin, the fever stings And I shake from the hell that the habits bring Let the sick ones down, the bells will ring Put pennies on the eyes, let the dead men sing Pollution manifested in perpetual sound The wheels go round and the sunset creeps behind Street lamps, chain-link and concrete A little piece of paper with a picture drawn floats On down the street till the wind is gone The memory now is like the picture was then When the paper’s crumpled up it can’t be perfect again Plus his delivery is the closest he's got to the HT/Meteora style since 2003.
I don't see any common themes or style ;* unless you mean how the same kind of rhyme scheme is utilised in both songs, but, then, that's a characteristic many Linkin Park songs share
I mean, the theme of the core, the darkness, the unknown. And style is like, comparing BID's delivery with Papercut. You can see the similarities I pointed out.
I like it when he does that introverted spaz out kinda rapping. Dedicated, In The End (Demo), Carousel, Qwerty. In all these tracks he just goes in with this perfect blend of angst and swagger. I think that's the ideal version of mike. His stuff on ATS wasn't bad at all. I didn't mind him branching out in thoes aspects. But I feel like in Burn it Down and LGM he's more or less just doing this basic rhyme schemes to make things fit, idk maybe the other band mates are fuckin with his lyrics too much. Lyrically they are kinda cool but with rapping you've gotta really go in. He's just kinda rapping slow and trying to sound big and boastful which ends up fuckin the flow.
Yeah this whole "gangsta rap I shoot bitches yall" doesn't fucking work with him, he does it in LGM, he'll do it in Until It Breaks. His lyrical stomping was way better, this is just diss shit everyone's done already.
THIS! YES, THANK YOU. That is one of the reasons the older style was better. I dont see how people dont see the difference... Meteora and HT had much better lyrics and delivery, Mike was the shit. Ive been studying his stlye for years, I grew up with it and I know it back to front. Look, proof [video=youtube;iI4SdaY1mG4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI4SdaY1mG4&feature=plcp[/video] His new stuff is just such a degradation from how he was before Linkin Park became famous and during the first two albums. I covered Burn It Down anyway because I kinda liked the song. But things like "When They Come for Me" are so horrible it just makes me wish he'd stop with trying to be gangster or whatever it is... It isn't working with him.