The album was inspired byThe Grey Album byDanger Mouse, which was a mash-up album between Jay-Z andThe Beatles.MTV had originally planned on mashing up only one or two songs, but the project was eventually expanded to a six-song album. The production on the album was mostly handled byMike Shinoda and Jay-Z, and it was recorded between July 16 and July 19. The album spawned onesingle, "Numb/Encore" which wonBest Rap/Sung Collaboration at the48th Grammy Awards. The album received generally mixed reviews frommusic critics but despite that was a commercial success. It debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200 chart, selling 368,000 copies in its first week.[5]
Due to its short running time at 21:18, with six tracks in total included on the disc, the release has been identified as anEP. All of the tracks included aremashups combining songs by both artists.
The DVD contains behind-the-scenes new footage of the making of the album, as well as the second take of all of the Collision Course songs atThe Roxy Theatre on July 18, 2004. Also included are the five scenes from the concert shown onMTV Ultimate Mash-Ups and a picture gallery.
The first single released from the EP, "Numb/Encore", achieved significant airplay on the charts, and stayed on six months after its release. "Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer" was also released to the radio in the US, but was never featured on theBillboard Charts – the videos for both that track and "Jigga What/Faint" were also seen onKerrang! in the UK. "Izzo/In the End" was also heavily promoted on the official Linkin Park websites.
Mike Shinoda revealed that he would be mashing up with Jay-Z for a record under MTV's Mash Ups show.
The network allowed Jay-Z to choose a group or artist for the mash-up. Jay contacted Shinoda, who began experimenting with mixing the tracks before sending some examples to him. As a result, Jay-Z began working with Shinoda through email. The two decided that instead of combining the existing tracks for the live performance on MTV, they wanted to re-work and re-record parts of the songs to make them fit better. Shinoda explains, "Jay and I realized it's better to re-perform the rap vocals if you're gonna do it to a new beat because the vibe changes and you have to deliver your verse a little differently."[7] Shinoda asked his bandmates to re-record instrumental and vocal tracks as well, and ultimately both parties decided they wanted to release the studio tracks.[7] The entire album was put together within four days.[8]
Sometimes, behind-the-scenes audio can be heard within the album, such as Jay-Z saying "You're wasting your talent, Randy!" before "Big Pimpin'/Papercut", or Shinoda saying "This is fun" before "Izzo/In the End".
Collision Course was the first album of Linkin Park that contained aParental Advisory sticker, since most of Jay-Z's verses contain profanity (although Shinoda andChester Bennington are also heard using vulgar language on the album). This album was also made in an edited/censored version. However, the clean version of the album left the words "bitch", "ass", and "hoes" uncensored, which means that "Izzo/In the End" is the same on the clean and explicit versions.
A year after the release ofCollision Course, Jay-Z was the executive producer on Mike Shinoda's solo effortFort Minor'sThe Rising Tied. Also, the song "High Road" from the same record talks about how some critics negatively receivedCollision Course.
Collision Course received generally mixed reviews frommusic critics. David Jeffries ofAllMusic praised the album, calling it "awesomely fun".[9] K.B. Tindal ofHipHopDX also equally praised the album, saying that the project "will open a passageway for artists who want to dare to be different as well as those who want to work hard to maintain that difference."[12] Steve Juon of RapReviews called the album "an experiment which bodes well since for the most part these two artists compliment [sic] each other."[16]
Collision Course debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200 chart, selling 368,000 copies in its first week, according toNielsen Soundscan.[5] This became Jay-Z eighth US number one album and Linkin Park's second.[5] It also became the second EP ever to top the chart, preceded byAlice in Chains'Jar of Flies in 1994.[5] In its second week, the EP dropped to number nine on the chart, selling an additional 186,000 copies.[20] In its third week, the EP dropped to number ten on the chart, selling 236,000 more copies.[21] In its fourth week, the EP climbed to number eight on the chart, selling 283,000 more copies.[22] As of August 2009, the EP has sold 1,934,000 copies in the US.[23] On August 15, 2017, the EP was certifieddouble platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales andalbum-equivalent units of over two million units in the United States.[24]
Chester Bennington – vocals("Dirt off Your Shoulder / Lying from You", "Jigga What / Faint", & "Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer"), backing vocals("Big Pimpin' / Papercut" & "Izzo / In the End"), lead vocals("Numb / Encore")
Mike Shinoda – vocals("Dirt off Your Shoulder / Lying from You", "Jigga What / Faint", & "Numb / Encore"), lead vocals("Big Pimpin' / Papercut", "Izzo / In the End", & "Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer"), additional guitar("Jigga What / Faint"), keyboard, piano(4)
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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