Numb/Encore

"Numb/Encore"
Single by Jay-Z and Linkin Park
from the album Collision Course
Released	December 13, 2004
Format	CD, Digital Download, Vinyl
Recorded	2004
Genre	Hip hop, rap rock
Length	3:25
Label	Warner Bros., Machine Shop
Writer(s)	Linkin Park Jay-Z Kanye West
Producer	Mike Shinoda, Kanye West
Linkin Park singles chronology
"Breaking the Habit" (2004) "Numb/Encore" (2004) "What I've Done" (2007)
Jay-Z singles chronology "Big Chips" (2004) "Numb/Encore" (2004) "Déjà Vu" (2006) Alternative cover Digital Cover Music video "Numb/Encore" on YouTube

"Numb/Encore" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z and rock band Linkin Park from their album Collision Course, (2004). It was released as a single on November 16, 2004, by Warner Bros. and Roc-A-Fella Records. The song, which combines lyrics from Linkin Park's 2003 single "Numb" and "Encore" by Jay-Z, also featured background vocals by Kanye West.

The track was the only single released from the album and went on to achieve success, reaching number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also placed at number 93 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2005, a chart of the most successful singles of the year according to American publication Billboard. Outside the United States, the single peaked at number 14 in the United Kingdom, number five in France and the Netherlands and spent three weeks at number one in Ireland.

Background

Before Mike Shinoda joined Linkin Park in 2000, he was an experimental musician who enjoyed combining songs by Jay-Z with tracks recorded by Smashing Pumpkins amongst others.^[1] A couple of years later, Jay-Z had a similar idea after hearing similar mash-ups by Danger Mouse and Cheap Cologne. He contacted Shinoda's new band, Linkin Park, and suggested that they work on some material together. Linkin Park's first two albums - Hybrid Theory and Meteora had both been worldwide successes and Jay-Z felt he could work with the band. Shinoda produced three mash-ups based on Jay-Z's The Black Album before responding by email.^[1]

Shinoda and Jay-Z continued to respond by email but eventually met in person to discuss plans. Initially the idea was to create several mash-ups for a new show premiering on MTV called MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups in 2004. However, instead of simply reconfiguring the tracks, the two artists decided to enter the studio and re-record the raps on top of Shinoda's songs. Some of the musical elements were also altered to create an alternative sound. Both Linkin Park and Jay-Z found the session so rewarding that they believed the international audience deserved to hear the results.^[1] The songs were performed at Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood in July 2004.^[2]

"Numb/Encore" was released as a single in November that year. The song - one of six collaborations on the album - combined the Jay-Z song "Encore" (taken from his 2003 album The Black Album) and the Linkin Park song "Numb" (taken from their 2003 album Meteora). The released version also contained background vocals from Kanye West that were recorded for the original release.

Track listing

CD Version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Numb/Encore" (Explicit)	S. Carter, K. West, Linkin Park	3:27
2.	"Numb/Encore" (Instrumental)	B. Delson, M. Shinoda	3:26

MTV Ultimate Mashups Presents: Numb / Encore - EP

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Numb/Encore" (Explicit)		3:25
2.	"Numb/Encore" (Clean)		3:25
3.	"Numb/Encore" (Instrumental)		3:27
4.	"Numb/Encore" (Dirty Acapella)		3:19
5.	"Numb/Encore" (Clean Acapella)		3:19
6.	"Numb/Encore" (Bonus Beat)		1:42

Music video

A music video directed by Kimo Proudfoot was made featuring a mix of their performance of the song at The Roxy and behind the scenes footage which was in black and white. The performance and most of the scenes can be found on the Collision Course DVD. However, the music video is not entirely available on the DVD.

The video for the mash-up was posted on YouTube by several users in 2005, and was nominated for the MTV VMA Viewer's Choice award in late July 2005.

Reception

Critical reception

Awards

"Numb/Encore" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the Grammy Awards of 2006. The show featured a performance of the song, during which Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance and came onto the stage to perform a duet with Chester Bennington of The Beatles' song "Yesterday". "Yesterday" replaced "Numb" after the first rap verse of the mash-up.

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, the single achieved the record for the longest stay in the top 20 without ever reaching the top 10. Despite only peaking at number 14, the song managed to spend 53 weeks in the chart, 13 of them in the top 20.^[3]

Charts

Chart (2004–2005)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	20
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	12
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	94
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	8
U.S. Billboard Year End	93
UK Singles Chart	14
Dutch Top 40	5
French Singles Chart	5
Eurochart Hot 100	1
Irish Singles Chart	1

Year-end

End of year chart (2005)	Position
German Singles Chart [4]	13

Certifications

Country	Certifications (sales thresholds)
Canada	Gold [5]
Germany	Platinum [6]
USA	Platinum [7]

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by "Call on Me" by Eric Prydz	Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single February 12, 2005	Succeeded by "Like Toy Soldiers" by Eminem
Preceded by "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid 20	Irish Singles Chart number-one single January 6, 2005 - January 27, 2005	Succeeded by "Poison/I Believe" by Zoo

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Wiederhorn, John (October 28, 2004). "Jay-Z and Linkin Park show Danger Mouse how it's done". MTV News. MTV Networks. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1491889/20041004/jay_z.jhtml. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
2. ^ Jones, Steve (November 4, 2004). "The show goes on for Jay-Z". USA Today. Gannet Co. Inc. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-11-04-jay-z_x.htm. Retrieved October 9, 2004. 
3. ^ "Jay-Z and Linkin Park - Numb/Encore". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=31985. Retrieved 9 October 2010. 
4. ^ http://www.mtv.de/charts/Single_Jahrescharts_2005
5. ^ "Gold Platinum Database: Numb/Encore". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=&ica=False&sa=Linkin%20Park&sl=&smt=9&sat=-1&ssb=Artist. Retrieved 2011-07-12. 
6. ^ AT LEAST ONE OF artist or title MUST BE PROVIDED for GERMAN CERTIFICATION.
7. ^ RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America

External links

• Official music video on YouTube