Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn have appeared as guests on the latest episode of Drink Champs, the podcast series that brings in celebrity guests to talks hip-hop over drinks. Drink Champs is hosted by Miami's DJ EFN and Queens' N.O.R.E., both hip-hop veterans, who launched the series back in 2016. It has since grown to become one of the biggest music-focused podcasts in the game, with its weekly episodes amassing millions of listeners. This episode in question is almost two hours long, so plenty of ground is covered. Shinoda and Hahn, representing Linkin Park, are novel choices as far as Drink Champs guests, as the show usually invites unambiguously hip-hop names. However, hip-hop elements are a core aspect of Linkin Park's musical identity and the band has connected with plenty of esteemed hip-hop acts throughout their storied career. Among other things, Hahn shares an anecdote about having a meal at Lupe Fiasco's mother's house, while Shinoda reveals that Timbaland provided elements for Linkin Park's 2002 remix effort Reanimation which were not used. Other highlights of the interview are, naturally, Shinoda and Hahn talking about Linkin Park's collaboration with Jay-Z, which resulted in the iconic Collision Course release in 2004, and telling the story of their collaboration with Rakim 10 years later for the 2014 single "Guilty All the Same". Beyond that, the Linkin Park musicians also have plenty to say throughout the loosely-structured chat, telling more stories from the band's history, offering perspectives on hip-hop and other music genres, and putting out their controversial hip-hop takes. You can check out the full Drink Champs episode on YouTube, or listen to it in podcast form on platforms such as Spotify or Apple Music. Source: Drink Champs on YouTube
Absolute fun. Hearing Mike and Joe’s love for hip hop is always a blessing. The comments have a lot of hip hop heads giving props to LP which is dope. You always see it in the rock/metal community so it’s nice to see the other side of the coin.
I loved watching this. Especially having Joe there; I feel like we don't get to hear his perspective on these kinds of things very much. We get to really hear about the kind of hip hop that influenced him. Some interesting anecdotes in there too, like about working with Rakim or having to convince Jay-Z to do the mashup at the Grammy's with Paul McCartney. Also yeah, the comments on that video are great. LP getting the recognition they deserve here!
Damn, Rakim was really dedicated for his part of GATS when he just drove through the whole country to record it
Like it's been said, loved the bit about Rakim driving all the way to record GATS. What a legend. Super chill, good vibes interview, really fun to watch !
Joe picking the Invisibl Skratch Piklz over the X-Ecutioners was also cool. I've noticed a lot of his early sample choices and the lineup of samples on Tasty Gas Station Breaks from the Orient seem pretty influenced by them. Was expecting them to both pick the group they worked with!