For the last decade, Funkmaster Flex has certified himself as Hip-Hop’s biggest DJ. From the club dates, to the primetime radio shows, to five Gold albums, as well as branding and marketing, Flex has paved a path to a higher plain. His reputation for quality has sustained him as one of the top ears in Hip-Hop, having given an early boost to many of Hip-Hop’s brightest stars now.

Led by Ray Benzino, Flex’s name has been tossed around liberally in allged payola scandal, a claim the DJ denies. Funkmaster Flex responds to Benzino’s comments in no uncertain terms. In looking at his career, his albums, and his passion for classic cars, AllHipHop.com and Flex analyze the career of the DJ in question. With brutal honesty, Flex admits to slighting friends, and the tempting offers he’s received. Regardless of money, Flex’s comments ensure that with his A&R background, respect remains hard to earn.

AllHipHop.com: So what’s up with this Car Show album?

Funkmaster Flex: I always had the Funkmaster 60 Minutes of Funk Volumes and The Tunnel album. This is the Funkmaster Flex custom car and bike show tour. I got 50, Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, Olivia, the complete Dipset camp, Nas, Xzibit, Fabolous, Mannie Fresh, David Banner. I got a lot of new artists too. I got Papoose, Maino, Stack Bundles, Paul Cain. Two thirds is known big dogs, one third of the album is upcoming New York talent.

AllHipHop.com: Why a car show album?

Funkmaster Flex: I wanted to be different. I’m not going to do the mixtapes anymore. I got five and all of them went Gold. I’m happy with that. I want to do something new. I’m really into the cars. Man, I don’t think I’ve ever had an interview on AllHipHop.com before, to be honest. I go to the site a lot.

AllHipHop.com: I hope you would.

Funkmaster Flex: Yeah. When I do something though, they report on it. They report on it accurate. I’m not going to front, because n***as be fronting. It’s accurate.

AllHipHop.com: Looking at the album, Why Koch? Your previous joints came through Loud Records and Def Jam?

Funkmaster Flex: Cam’ron was instrumental in making me feel good about Koch. I didn’t really know much about them. And then Cam told me about them and explained it. Def Jam was pretty organized. I was very surprised on how organized Koch was to be honest. I expected it to be run like mad house independent. On top of that, Koch used to be in the old Profile records office. I used to do A&R at Profile records. To walk in that office 15 years later, I almost caught a tear.

AllHipHop.com: In regards cars, I heard the 71’ Charger is your favorite car.

Funkmaster Flex: I’ll tell you what, I have one of those. The Charger is my first muscle car that I got, like ten years ago. So it’s got a special place in my heart. I have a 70′ Chevelle that’s pretty tough. I got a couple of Fords. I got a 67′ Ford Galaxy. Ugh, let me think. Let me go through my Fords first. I got two 69′ Mustangs, a 76′ Torino, a 71′ Torino, a 66′, 67′, 69′, 70′, 71′, 73′ Chevelle, two 68′ Camaros, two 69′ Camaros, a 65′ Impala, a 63′ Impala, a 69′ GTO, a 69′ Charger. I just copped a 69′ Nova today. That’s what I’ve just been doing all day, making sure this wire transfer goes through.

AllHipHop.com: Check cleared?

Funkmaster Flex: Yeah, it’s a relic, but I’ll make it something. I got a few Cutlasses. I got a 72′ Cutlass, a 70′ Cutlass, a 72′ El Camino, a 2005 and 2006 Mustang, a 2005 Expedition, a 2004, 2005 Jag, and a 2006 Charger.

AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about Dodge reintroducing the Charger?

Funkmaster Flex: Um, a Charger is not supposed to have four doors. That’s the part that’s never sat well with me. The new Mustang, I think, is the new muscle car of the last two years. It captures old style of muscle cars.

AllHipHop.com: Who do you think has the best style in regards to rapper whip game? Quality not quantity.

Funkmaster Flex: Wyclef [Jean]. He came to my car show with a monster truck, the Maclaren, he had some motorcycles spinning. It was like a carnival. The kids loved it. He started the monster truck [and] the kids went crazy.

AllHipHop.com: You sure it wasn’t a lease?

Funkmaster Flex: [Laughs] I don’t know. It wasn’t mad expensive. He had stuff that you had to know where to get it.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve been DJing on Hot 97 for a long time; a lot classic stuff has popped off on your show. What’s the illest on air moment you’ve ever been apart of? The Roc-A-Fella hour long freestyle session was historic.

Funkmaster Flex: G-Unit freestyle session was the craziest. Disgusting. Tony Yayo rocking to “You, Him, and Her” was so crazy. The first time The Lox came to my show was crazy. Ma$e too. I have different things for different reasons. In 92’ meeting Run-DMC while they were promoting Down With The King. I’m a big Jam Master Jay fan. That was nuts to me.

AllHipHop.com: How about the time you had Nore, Canibus and DMX freestyle. That was ugly.

Funkmaster Flex: Let me tell you something, Martin, Pun was downstairs and security wouldn’t let him up. Fat Joe brings that up to me all the time. He was calling me like, “Yo we downstairs, the guard won’t let me up”. That was crazy. None of their albums were out yet. They were all new. Biggie and Craig Mack was a key moment. That was my biggest show. I had other favorite moments. My best moment might be a little awkward, I don’t know. Hammer was one of my favorite interviews. I going to be real honest with you, Martin, I’m ashamed of one thing. I’ve only told a few people – so you getting an exclusive. Hammer was a friend that I didn’t embrace. Meaning, you know when you meet somebody and you know you get along with real good with this dude? I knew me and him would get a long good. The jokes he would tell, me and him had the same sense of humor and everything. Sometimes he would call, and I’d be ashamed to answer or ashamed to talk to him. I fronted on him.

AllHipHop.com: You got industry on him?

Funkmaster Flex: Yeah I went industry on him. And I really enjoyed his friendship. I think I told him recently, like a couple of months ago. Like, “Yo Hammer, I was really digging you, I didn’t reach out to you enough.” When I met him, he was past he past the “Pumps and a Bump” madness. He came to the radio show and I played a club with him, he was so funny. Like the way he was treating chicks, the way he was moving. He was king of generics; he was generic to dudes in the club. I was like this dude got a little style; he ain’t a slouch!

AllHipHop.com: You got a segment on your show called “Real Talk,” so we need to have to real talk on some issues. You were talking greasier than cheesesteak meat about Benzino and The Source magazine a couple weeks ago. He recently did an interview with us and said he used to pay you to play records. He also had some words for Angie too.

Funkmaster Flex: [Laughs] Let me just go on the record, you the got recorder rolling? Benzino might be the worst rapper to ever grab the microphone in the history of Rap. That’s real. He’s been on a lot of labels. He’s been on Interscope. Motown. They’ve put out stuff out themselves. Tommy Boy Records. He’s been in Made Men, the Almighty RSO, Hangmen 3. Let me be real honest with you. I never want to be nasty to someone for no reason. Me and Benzino have talked about Hip-Hop music in the station. He knows his Hip-Hop culture, like Cold Crush 4, you know, as a fan. I remember Dave [Mays] walking around with that magazine, pioneering and saying Hip-Hop is important. I never want to take that away from people and what that was in the beginning. Remember, we had a lot of magazines that said they were about the music, but they didn’t maintain. That magazine had to learn the corporate game and do what they had to do to put it down. And I give them all the respect. [But] for him to get four and a half mics, people work too hard for the music for that. I’m going to talk real talk for a minute. To perform on your awards show is corny, and it really is. Forget Flex and everybody, you messing it up for the kids. You give Outkast’s album such and such mics, and and his album gets the same amount mics, that’s not cool. I think it’s turned into a tabloid magazine that doesn’t tell the truth. You can accuse me of payola all you want. You think people paid me to play Biggie’s “Juicy”? Onyx and Naughty? Jay-Z? G-Unit? 50 Cent? These records were big from mixtapes. Dipset, Cam. He says that Bad Boy, Jay-Z, and G-Unit paid to get their records played so he sleeps better at night. I think I need real support on this one. I think we should print this.

[Flex continues to ask all the other journalists and staff in the room one by one if they own a Benzino album. Everyone says no.]

Funkmaster Flex: And you know something, everyone has a moment were they do something they are not good at it. I used to try to produce tracks; I tried it for a while. I’m not good at it. And you when you realize that, let’s move on. I mean the guy must be horrible at ten things. Benzino, I’m not about the tough guy talk. Because the fake tough guy talk, and then talking about Angie Martinez is a little p*ssy. That doesn’t go well. Not cool. To take it back to where I’m talking about how wack of a rapper he is, back to wack rapping. Don’t talk tough and then saying you suing people. That’s ass. I’m going tell you something. Benzino went to Boston and went up to DJ Enuff. DJ Enuff ignored him. You want to know how I know, because all my mens were there – ready to stomp him down. He went up to poly with Enuff. Enuff was like, “Eyo, I’m like kind of busy.” I’m going to take it even further: Benzino was in there with security because his security guard knew Enuff’s security guard. I know what’s going on out here, B. He was polying, so nothing happened. First of all with Chubby Chub, you going call being six deep popping s**t to a guy by himself and you’re a tough guy? That’s not tough, B. He should be embarrassed as a magazine owner, as a rapper, well he’s not a rapper, but as magazine owner to be even give that energy off – putting that on websites.

AllHipHop.com: What about his allegations on pay-for-play?

Funkmaster Flex: I’ve broken a lot of records, I been big in the clubs for years. I don’t need to take money from people. I make club money. If I DJ someplace or if I DJ a college, they pay me to come spin. You know what technically, when these rappers put out hot records, if I play them right, I get gigs. So I don’t have to take money from them. I’m not saying payola doesn’t exist. People do offer me money, especially in their young stage with their first single. They ask me, “What does it take, what do I have to do?” Sometimes they’ll send people and try to give me a watch or money. That’s ridiculous. How come nobody has come forth and said that they have given me these things? Because it doesn’t exist! He can say what he wants to say, but what he really wants to say is Flex, you’re such a big DJ out there, why don’t you play my records? A grown man should be embarrassed to first beg another individual to play his record and then when he doesn’t to move like this. I’d be embarrassed to move like that. And talking about people like Angie, Angie doesn’t bother nobody. Angie and her husband work real hard to take care of their little boy. For him to say to something like that is real nasty. No one says anything about his son. He takes care of his son; he doesn’t want anyone saying something about his son. For him to say something Angie’s son and who’s the father is mad nasty. You don’t get any props for that.

AllHipHop.com: What about his problems with other people?

Funkmaster Flex: I’m going make it official, and after AllHipHop.com, I’m not going to address him anymore. Saying like that was totally uncalled for. Just because Steve Stoute came up to the show. So you borrowed money from Steve Stoute? You bought his Bentley, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. He’s a confused dude. And then battling Eminem? Eminem uplifted the Rap game to further heights. What’s your excuse for 50 Cent? He’s an African American. What’s your excuse now? What’s the problem? When 50 goes on Letterman, and sits in that seat after he shoots a movie, with Hip-Hop clothing, his hat and his jewelry, he’s standing up there for all of us. That was an excuse and cheap cop out by Benzino. To say, because he’s White? Oh, you know what, he said something in the record and everyone wants to exploit the record. Or he what said something about a girl. I didn’t even hear the record. I don’t understand, there’s been worst said. It’s like saying if you read a Hitler book, you a Nazi. 50, Dr. Dre, Emimen put out good music, that tops the charts. 50 making people look at him. Hey, he’s been shot, he’s been in jail and he’s not compromising for it. He’s not apologizing for it. He’s not saying oh what for I did I’m sorry, nah this is me. And you know what, f**k Samuel Jackson, n***a you a b####! When you said you didn’t want to be in it, that was roach. I’ve been dying to say that. You played yourself, n***a. He could of positioned that better. I’m a big fan of Gene Hackman. And I think Gene Hackman did a movie with Tom Cruise. He said something key. Tom Cruise was going to get top billing. He said I didn’t want to be in the movie, he said I would rather my name not be on it at all, don’t bill me. I’ll shoot the movie, but I would rather not be billed under Tom Cruise. Man, to me that was classy. That means Tom, I have nothing against you and I going to do this movie and I’m going be your great supporting actor. But for billing, don’t bill be at all. Samuel could of said that. I guess he wanted to work that director or that guy any way all his life. Evidently, the director you look up to wants to work with 50 you dumb ass, why wouldn’t you want to work with him? It not like Ice Cube and Will Smith are not proven. It’s not like 50 is a f**king test dummy. That was a little roach. Back to what I was saying. I don’t think Hip-Hop is big enough to have a magazine that is becoming a tabloid. I don’t think that’s good. Between Vibe and XXL, we need everything that we can get to propel us where we need to get.

AllHipHop.com: Okay, more real talk for you. Story has it that KRS-One took a job at Warner Brother Records where he became a label executive. Allegedly, he told Lee Bailey of the EUR Report that he had given one of your companies forty thousand dollars with the understanding that you would play some of the artists on the label.

Funkmaster Flex: Here’s a good question for Kris. If you paid for something that didn’t happen, and there was an understanding, why weren’t records played? I don’t understand where this came from? Now, I’m going tell you about the company. Franchise Marketing has done J-Lo’s perfume. I put up poster boards; I’ve had vans in ten markets where you can advertise your album coming out. I have in over 10-15 markets. That what I do for Castrol [oil], that’s what I do for Ford. In the middle 90’s, I did it for Twix, Motorola, Mountain Dew, Blaze Magazine when they were out. If you say, “Flex, how can I buy your vans and have all my album release dates on them.” I’ll be like, “You can buy all the vans, you can do this, you can do that. What markets you want to be in?” Also, I’m not on the radio in DC, Baltimore, Virginia, so how the f**k can you pay for play in those states? How does that even make sense? For KRS-One, if he ever wants to debate this with me – he’s talking real good on the internet. Why would anybody, especially KRS-One – man, in 1991, it was honor when KRS would call my office. My employees would be like, “Yo, KRS-One is on the phone.” How can I even put that together in my mouth. It sounds stupid. Don’t ever degrade my company. I’ve worked hard to promote, to put things out, to get to be here. Castro, Lugz, all these companies wouldn’t do business with me if I didn’t know what I was doing, if I didn’t know how to market their products. No DJ does more nightclubs than me. My street team comes with me to the clubs; they promote everything else that I am doing. For Spike TV, I also promote TV shows that I have nothing to do with. I have never had a project that I have only was supposed to locally. So for KRS-One, when he wants to talk about this, I’ll talk about it with him. The only thing is in KRS-One’s favor, is that I’ve never heard him saying it. It’s writers saying it.

The Most Known Unknowns could not be a more fitting title for the latest Three-6 Mafia release. Though tasting plenty of commercial success in the fifteen year career, they’ve remained rooted in the groundwork they’ve laid. And unlike some of their counterparts in the game, they haven’t lost themselves in the crossover. There is something to be said about the term “classic” never being used to describe an album coming from artists down south. Yet the relevance of such Three-6 albums like Da Unbreakables and When the Smoke Clears never fades. If nothing else can be said about Three-6 Mafia, true fans of the culture can’t shield the respect their due.

AllHipHop.com asked its Ill Community – known for its many Three-6 Mafia fans, to ask questions. You wrote, we asked, DJ Paul answered. From the mundane to the deep, see how these questions are treated, and get some of the answers you’re after.

Mannywallace: What’s going on with Gangsta Boo and LaChat?

DJ Paul: It’s been more than four-five years since I have talked with them. I don’t know what they are doing now, but I wish them much success.

The Anti-Christ: Is Lord Infamous ever dropping a solo?

DJ Paul: We are concentrating on [Most Known Unknown] right now, but we all keep things in the works.

StreetHop: When is the new Tear Da Club Up Thugs dropping?

DJ Paul: It’s coming soon.

Outlaw Titan: Are they looking for a new label or are they gonna stay with Sony?

DJ Paul: The Hypnotize Mindz imprint still exists. The Sony deal is a joint venture.

Irish Snyper: If they could rob any artist of their jewelry, who would they rob?

DJ Paul: [laughing] What the Hell we look like? These questions came from our fans?

AllHipHop.com: Yep.

HypnotizedMind: Why is it so hard to keep Lord out of trouble?

When are y’all gonna hit a tour up?

DJ Paul: [laughing] Lord is a wild dude, but we hold him down. We are on a promo tour right now. A major tour can happen if the money is right.

MrIrreverent: Given the new album’s theme, do you feel unappreciated? How did you develop their production style?

DJ Paul: [We feel unappreciated] at times, but our fans are so loyal, it’s cool. [My production style] comes in different elements; it’s never the same every time.

StabNKill: Some of your music in the past has been looked upon as dark and a little satanic what’s that about?

DJ Paul: I don’t know where in the Hell people got that ish from, we don’t worship the devil. As a matter of fact, I’m a God fearing man.

Iggy: How are your relationships with some of the old crew members?

DJ Paul: Not all relationships are for a lifetime. People come and go in your life, as well as your career. I wish them success in whatever they have going on in their lives.

Raising Hell: Why are people now starting to come around to using your production since you’ve been doing it for more than a decade?

DJ Paul: I don’t know, I have been doing this for years, the climate of the industry has changed the South is where it’s at right now. I am able to provide them with the production their looking for because it’s our turn.

Dajuicemanne818: Did you flip your style to the mainstream or was it a matter of time before mainstream came and found you?

DJ Paul: We are not new to the mainstream, it just comes in waves. But we will always remain true to who we are and what our fans expect from us.

E_NOX: Is it true you guys have done production for Bone’s upcoming album? Why should we buy the new album? What do you think of the state of Hip-Hop right now?

DJ Paul: Yes, I just talked with Swizz Beats, and everything is a go.

The album is yet another labor of love, we have been consistent in putting out hot s**t, and we promise not to disappoint. It’s everywhere you can’t get away from it.

Boombaya: How do you feel bout constantly being overlooked as one of the pioneers and trendsetters of southern Hip-Hop? Not for nothing, you all were the first to have a first lady.

DJ Paul: It doesn’t really bother me like people think it would. When you are a trendsetter, it speaks for itself. You not only have to work harder but most importantly, smarter.

H3avyHitta: Aside from Young Buck recently coming out of Nashville, how do you feel about the rest of the artists in Memphis? Will Lil Wyte produce any material on his new album?

DJ Paul: Memphis is flooded with talent, and there are cats out here really doing there thing. They may never see commercial success, but they are eating. He doesn’t produce.

Bmizzle: Will you ever collaborate with Lil Jon, Pastor Troy, or T.I. again?

DJ Paul: We work with whoever wants to work with us.

Lamontb: How do you feel about 50 Cent?

DJ Paul: He is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing -capitalizing on his fame. The clothes, shoes, movies and Vitamin Water. What can you say except he is a smart businessman.

KeelaMane: Who is the best to ever come out of Tennessee?

DJ Paul: [laughing] Of course, I’m partial to my own crew. But there is no denying 8Ball & MJG have made it happen.

Deebeebee: What inspired you to do the remix of “Stay Fly”?

DJ Paul: It was a hot single and working with the other artist from Tennessee made it a better look for us.

Slicknickshady: What’s the plot for Choices 3?

DJ Paul: The fans just have to wait and see. Having filmed the DVDs doing movies has become a passion for me, we have learned how to make hot films for a little bit of nothing.

Merlin: Why don’t you make more mixtapes?

DJ Paul: We still make mixtapes. It’s all a part of the hustle right now. It’s how you stay relevant.

mexi-CAN: Why do y’all change y’all sound so much?

DJ Paul: We never want to be boxed into a particular sound.

DaChopBlockSpec: There’s been a noticeable change in your music from the earlier albums to now – Less vulgar, less sinister, more commercial sounding. Do you feel as though you have sold out?

DJ Paul: Sold out?! Naw, not at all you there are things that have to be done in order to get radio play. Why would we not do that?

Chakazulu3000: What has Project Pat been doing since his release from prison?

DJ Paul: Working on his music.

KevinSGary: Was the way Memphis was portrayed in Hustle & Flow an accurate depiction?

DJ Paul: Yes, it goes down just like that, it’s nothing to see a young White girl being pimped, and vice versa.

Dooddude: Which of your albums is your favorite and which one are they most proud of?

DJ Paul: I can’t really say I have a favorite because we have worked hard on every last one of them. I am proud of everything we’ve ever put out.

Hell’zWindStaff: Why isn’t Lil’ Wyte officially a part of Three-6 Mafia?

DJ Paul: He is a solo artist and he will remain an independent.

LegBreaka: How do you feel about Lil’ Jon calling himself the “King of Crunk,” when so much of the music you all have been putting out over the years is so similar?

DJ Paul: I get this question all the time, people have it confused. Lil’ Jon calling himself the “King of Crunk” is fine. Our music was never called Crunk, it’s called Get Buck music. When we used the slang term ‘crunk,’ we mean, it’s crowded. I just came out of the KFC and I would tell the people coming in, you might not want to go in there because it Crunk in there.

Willow’s Hot City Radio show can be heard at www.hotcityradio.com

As far as track records go, the path for rockers-turned-rappers isn’t

quite paved in Gold plaques these days. But Linkin Park frontman, Mike Shinoda has the confidence to walk that lonely walk. Under his Rap alias, Fort Minor, he’s, for the moment, stepping away from the safety net of his multi-Platinum band and venturing into uncharted territory, a pursuit he believes he was always meant to follow—making Rap music.

Now, on the heels of his first soley Hip-Hop effort, The Rising Tied, Shinoda spoke candidly with AllHipHop.com about his on-going collaborations with Jay-Z, he and his bandmates’ record label, Machine Shop. There may not be any noteworthy footsteps for Shinoda to follow in his cross-genre exploration, but he’s used to it. And if the success of Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park’s introduction to “hybrid” music, is any comparison, Fort Minor’s future looks as good as gold.

AllHipHop.com: With the huge success of Linkin Park, why break off and take a risk with Hip-Hop? Why not stick with a sure thing?

Mike Shinoda: Well, I don’t mind taking risks, and to me this is not

so much about saying something to the Hip-Hop community, or an opinion about what is going on. I like music that is thoughtful, that you take time putting together, and I wanted to make an album that felt more organic than a lot of the stuff out there. A lot of stuff is

keyboard-based, and I wanted to make an album that I really wrote,

really played the instruments. And even though I have a million

tambourine sounds on my keyboard, I wanted a real tambourine sound. So I went down to the store and bought some tambourines, brought them back to the house and used tambourines on the record instead of just going with the keyboard.

AllHipHop.com: As the executive producer, how much of a role did Jay-Z play in The Rising Tied?

Mike Shinoda: He basically oversaw the project, and when I brought a song in he would tell me if it was a keeper, if it was something we

should throw out, or if it was something I needed to work on. And

that’s good for me, because, like I said, I listen to all different

types of music, so I can make all different types of music. I really

wanted this album to be consistent, so to have a guy like Jay

overseeing it, he helped to narrow it down.

AllHipHop.com: You have been rapping for a while, and more recently producing for some Hip-Hop acts, why did you drift towardRrock-based music in your earlier years?

Mike Shinoda: Mostly it was the fact that I knew what we [Linkin Park] were doing was innovative to a certain degree. We were waiting for a certain style of hybrid music, and we got tired of waiting for somebody else to make it, and decided to start making it our selves. I did grow up in Hip-Hop, and to just jump into that world seems weird, but if you know me, you know I don’t stick to one thing.

AllHipHop.com: You referred to your record, The Rising Tied, as “musician-based Hip-Hop” can you elaborate?

Mike Shinoda: When I say “musician-based” it’s the same thing as when I say organic. I’m not a your typical Hip-Hop producer, I don’t just loop a beat for three and a half minutes and have people rap over it. Although I respect people who do that, because that’s the traditional style of Hip-Hop, I came from a background that is rooted in song structure, writing melodies, and writing for different instruments. My goal with this record was to write and perform every instrument, and I pretty much did that.

AllHipHop.com: There are very few artists who have successfully been able to navigate between two genres; do you feel pressure?

Mike Shinoda: For people who get hung up on that, all I can say is I

hope they can get over it. To me, even though different types of music may be uncomfortable to get into at first, there is a lot to be said for listening to different things.

AllHipHop.com: With the new label, a buzz surrounding your Hip-Hop production skills, and an already successful rock music career, do you see yourself in Jay’s shoes someday?

Mike Shinoda: Jay’s been doing this a lot longer than me, so it would be very optimistic to say I see myself in his shoes at some point. I think that our interests are a little bit different, so I don’t know if I would end up choosing the same path as he has, but I’m in this for the career. I hope to be around a long time making music.

AllHipHop.com: What are your goals with your label, Machine Shop?

Mike Shinoda: The label is more of an artist-driven label. The owners are artists, so you don’t have a bunch of industry business guys running the label. You’ve got people who know the industry, but know the artistry as well. So, when you have an idea, I hope one of the upsides to being with Machine Shop is that you’ve got people who have gone through it, who can give you feed back, and maybe even help you take that idea to next level.

AllHipHop.com: You had full creative control with The Rising Tied, is this something you struggled with on other projects?

Mike Shinoda: When you get signed to a label and make your first

album, you’ve got people looking over your shoulder telling you what they think. We did end up prevailing [on Linkin Park’s debut, Hybrid Theory], but going through the process we heard so much bulls**t from people at the label that it drove us crazy. I think on this record the one thing I really enjoyed was being able to go around all that, and just make an album that I was confident about, with people I was comfortable with. It was less of a struggle and more of an enjoyable experience. I know on this next Linkin Park record we are going to strive to have that situation as well.

AllHipHop.com: You called this album, “A lot of people making a

statement in Hip-Hop together.” Is that something to be determined

from listening to the album?

Mike Shinoda: People on the record [Common, Black Thought, John

Legend] have a common attitude about making music. The reason I called the album The Rising Tied is because I think that these people, whether on this record or as a movement in general, are coming up together and making a statement in music.

AllHipHop.com: When branching out on a solo project, do you find it hard to be recognized outside of the umbrella of Linkin Park?

Mike Shinoda: I don’t get that excited about being recognized outside of Linkin Park. I want Fort Minor to be recognized as a separate entity, but the reason I didn’t call the record “Mike Shinoda” is because I want the focus to be on the music not on me. I’m confident in the fact that I wrote the record, I know that it represents me well, however I don’t need people focusing attention on my picture or my name. I want them focusing on the music.

AllHipHop.com: Linkin Park heads up “Music for Relief”, which has

rounded up an impressive following within the music industry; how did that come about?

Mike Shinoda: We toured in South East Asia, and we saw some really

great places and people. When the Tsunami happened, it really hit

home. People were seeing the images on the news, and we couldn’t

believe that was the place we had been to. We literally recognized

things that we had seen, and they were demolished. We decided to get

together this organization, which is basically is almost like a portal

organization at this point. We do our best to go out and collect money

for the causes and channel that money through reputable charity

organizations such as The Red Cross and United Way. When it came time

for the hurricanes here in the U.S., the money that we were collecting

at that point was being channeled through The Red Cross towards

Hurricane relief.

AllHipHop.com: What does the future look like for Linkin Park, Fort

Minor, and Mike Shinoda as a Hip-Hop producer?

Mike Shinoda: For Linkin Park, we are writing a new record right now,

and hopefully that will be out next year. Fort Minor the album comes

out on November 22nd, and I’m really excited about that. I am going to

be doing some tours up until then all over the world. My attitude

about touring is quality over quantity, so if I’m playing in your

town, get out there and see it, cause I don’t know if I’ll be doing it

again. And that kind of leads me to the last thing: I love to be in

the studio, and between Linkin Park and my other production ideas and

commitments I want to be home doing those things. So hopefully I’ll be

able to make music with other great artists in the future.