Fort Minor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Los Angeles, California, United States |
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| Genre(s) | Hip Hop | |
| Years active | 2004–2006 currently on hiatus due to commitments to Linkin Park | |
| Label(s) | Machine Shop Recordings | |
| Associated acts |
Linkin Park | |
| Website | http://www.fortminor.com/ | |
| Members | ||
| Mike Shinoda | ||
Fort Minor is a hip hop ensemble and a side project by Mike Shinoda, one of the lead singers for the band Linkin Park.
They feature Shinoda primarily alongside hip hop ensemble Styles of Beyond, as well as a number of other notable guest artists. They are best known for their 2006 single, "Where'd You Go", which features Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga, and their song "Remember the Name". Thus far, Fort Minor has released one album, 2005's The Rising Tied.
Contents |
[edit] Musical style
Shinoda has stated that the goal for the project was to create music while having fun with his friends.
Fort Minor's first major album is entitled The Rising Tied and features 16 tracks (with three bonus tracks on a limited special edition version), many of which are specific to the lives of Shinoda and his collaborators. "Remember the Name", for example, describes the group's views on being rappers, while "Kenji" describes the experiences of Shinoda's family during the Japanese American internment of World War II. Other tracks, such as "Slip Out the Back", have more general lyrical themes.
Fort Minor won Ringtone of the Year for "Where'd You Go" at the 2006 MTV VMA
In Fall 2006, the single "Remember the Name" was used in two promotional TV spots for NBC television's football drama Friday Night Lights. It has also been used in a NUMB3RS episode; 'The OG' in series 2. "Remember the Name" is also used by TNT in it's Emmy-Award winning Inside The NBA.
In November of 2006, Fort Minor released a new video for "Remember The Name", which features a montage of various amazing feats. Shinoda has stated he felt the video was a nice wrap-up for Fort Minor. Also in November, Shinoda stated that Fort Minor is on hiatus, because of his dedication to Linkin Park.
As of August 1, 2006, Fort Minor's debut album has sold 335,000 copies.
[edit] Contributors
- Black Thought: The lead vocalist/emcee of Philadelphia hip-hop ensemble The Roots. He is featured on the song "Right Now" on The Rising Tied.
- Common: He is featured on the song "Back Home" on The Rising Tied.
- Kenna: He is featured on The Rising Tied in the songs "Red to Black" and "The Hard Way" on The Rising Tied Special Edition.
- Sixx John: He is featured on the song "The Hard Way" on the Special Edition of The Rising Tied.
- Lupe Fiasco: He is featured on the song "Be Somebody" on the Special Edition of The Rising Tied and "Spraypaint & Ink Pens" on the DJ Green Lantern mixtape Fort Minor: We Major.
- John Legend: He is featured on the song "High Road" on The Rising Tied.
- Joe Hahn: is featured on the song "Slip Out The Back" (scratching).
- Styles of Beyond: They are featured on the songs "Remember The Name", "Right Now", "Feel Like Home", "Back Home", "Believe Me", "Petrified", and "Red To Black" on The Rising Tied.
- Jay-Z: Does not perform on The Rising Tied but provides the spoken vocals on "Introduction" and is an executive producer. He appears on the remix to the Linkin Park song "Nobody's Listening" on the Green Lantern mixtape Fort Minor: We Major.
- Holly Brook: She appears on the song "Where'd You Go" on The Rising Tied and on "Be Somebody" on The Rising Tied Special Edition.
- Ghostface Killah: He is featured on the song "Spraypaint & Ink Pens" on the DJ Green Lantern mixtape Fort Minor: We Major
- Eric Bobo (Cypress Hill): Bobo plays the timbales in the track "Believe Me".
- Jonah Matranga: He appears on The Rising Tied in the songs "Where'd You Go" and "Red To Black".
- Celph Titled: He appears on track 15, "The Battle", and in various other tracks on the "DJ Green Lantern" mixtape Fort Minor: We Major.
- Beatdown: Plays drums for Fort Minor at all of their live shows.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Mixtapes and albums
- 2005: Fort Minor: Sampler Mixtape
- 2005: DJ Green Lantern Presents Fort Minor: We Major
- 2005: The Rising Tied
- 2006: DJ Green Lantern Presents Fort Minor: We Major (Limited Edition)
[edit] Singles
- From The Rising Tied
- 2005: "Petrified"
- 2005, 2006: "Remember The Name" (Re-released as a Single in 2006) #66 US
- 2005: "Believe Me" #60 UK, #43 AUS
- 2006: "Where'd You Go" #4 US, #10 NL, #41 AUS, #14 NZ
[edit] Other releases
- From Fort Minor: We Major
[edit] Music videos
Four music videos have been released:
- "Believe Me"
- "Petrified" — directed by Robert Hales – #8 TRL
- "Remember The Name" — directed by Kimo Proudfoot
- "Where'd You Go" (explicit version), (edited version) — directed by Philip Andelman – #1 TRL (retired)
[edit] Trivia
- The mixing samples to "Remember the Name" were released to ccMixter under a Creative Commons license, mainly for the "Remember the Name" remix contest. The samples include the acappellas (both radio edited and unedited) and the music samples straight from recording sessions.
- The winner of the "Remember The Name" remix contest were Marc Kaschke and Norman Mauer, with their Remember the Name (Kaschke & Mauer Remix) track.
- The song "Remember the Name" was one of the official theme songs for TNT's coverage of the 2006 NBA Playoffs.
- Mike Shinoda and Ryu Maginn (of Styles of Beyond) appear in Apathy's music video for "The Winter"
- The drum patterns of the song "The Hard Way" were used for one of the theatrical previews of the 2007 movie Freedom Writers.
- The orchestral background in the song "Believe Me" is the "Apple loop" named "Orchestra Strings 08" found in GarageBand and also in Logic Pro.
[edit] External links
| Fort Minor |
| Mike Shinoda |
| Contributors: Black Thought - Common - Kenna - Lupe Fiasco - John Legend - Styles of Beyond - Jay-Z - Holly Brook - Ghostface Killah - Eric Bobo (of Cypress Hill ) - Jonah Matranga - Celph Titled |
| Discography |
| Albums, EPs, and Mixtapes: Sampler Mixtape - We Major - The Rising Tied - We Major (Limited Edition) |
| Vinyl: We Major EP - S.C.O.M./Dolla/Get It/Spraypaint & Ink Pens |
| Singles: "Petrified/Remember the Name" - "Believe Me" - "Where'd You Go" - "Get It/Spraypaint & Ink Pens" - "S.C.O.M./Dolla" |
| Related articles |
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| Fort Minor Militia - Linkin Park - Machine Shop Recordings |
