Rising Tied
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda steps out for a wall-to-wall hip-hop project on which he faces his critics ("High Road"), gets autobiographical ("Remember the Name"), shares family history ("Kenji") and emerges as a hip-hop reformist ("Cigarette").  Standing shoulder to shoulder with, among others,John Legend, members ofThe RootsandStyles of Beyond,The Rising Tiedshines brightest in its earliest moments, where the beats and rhymes feel and sound freshest and where the positive message feels most sincere. Alimited editionincludes two documentary footage that follows the album's evolution, and Shinoda during the making of the video for "Petrified," all of which ultimately provides fans with interesting insights into the album and the artist himself. -–Jedd Beaudoin