MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents— Jay-Z/Linkin Park: Collision Course (2004) Mash-ups — the hot circa-2002 underground trend of marrying disparate tracks — are entertaining because they force collaborations that would never materialize in the corporate… Jay-Z Linkin Park Hip-Hop/Rap

Details Release Date: Nov 30, 2004; Lead Performances: Jay-Z and Linkin Park; Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

Mash-ups — the hot circa-2002 underground trend of marrying disparate tracks — are entertaining because they force collaborations that would never materialize in the corporate world. Maybe that's why this label-sanctioned pairing comes off like a sanitized nonevent. While Jay-Z delivers a knockout punch on ''Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You,'' nothing on this forgettable effort compares to Jigga fronting the Beatles on Danger Mouse's imaginative Grey Album bootleg.

Originally posted Dec 03, 2004 Published in issue #795 Dec 03, 2004 Order article reprints