"Closing" is the sixteenth and final track on Urban Network Magazine's 1998 hip-hop compilation Rapology 12. It's a short rap rock verse taking its title from the fact that it is the closing track on the compilation.
Background
Rapology was a series of promotional / industry-only hip-hop compilation CDs issued by Urban Network Magazine[1] from 1992 to 2001. Lee Cadena, Rap Editor at Urban Network and creator of the Rapology series, started an artist management and development company in 1998 called LCM which worked with Xero.[2] At the time, Joe Hahn was working for the magazine as Cadena's assistant[3][4] and used to write reviews for them.[5] Xero contributed to Rapology 12 with an original track named "Closing" and Mike Shinoda also created artwork for the album. Although the song starts with "Kenji and DJ Artofficial representing Xero" (Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn respectively), Mark Wakefield can be heard doing backing vocals throughout the track. According to Mike, he decided to stop using the name Kenji because too many people heard it as "Ken G".[6]
Back in the day, Mike Shinoda rapped with Styles Of Beyond members using the name Junkyard Scientific,[7] hence the shoutout to the group during the intro. This is one of three known songs in which the project is mentioned, the other ones being "Fuse" and "Fiends".
The guitar riff on "Closing" is sampled from the song "Root" by Deftones. The order of the notes and which ones are repeated was changed slightly. They were one of Mark's favorite bands in high school[8] and a big influence on Linkin Park's music as explained by Mike, "There was a bounce to their music that reminded me of my favorite hip-hop songs. And even though the guitars were super heavy, oftentimes they felt smooth like a keyboard, as if the distortion had flattened it so much it was just a wash of chords."[9]
The use of the sample was addressed in a 2019 interview with Kerrang! to which Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno said, “I didn’t know that. And what’s crazy is that I didn’t know that one of our managers, Mark Wakefield, was in Xero as well. I didn’t know the history of that, but his nickname has since become ‘Linkin Mark’!”[10]
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closing | Rapology 12 | 1:43 | 1998 | 1998 |
|
Personnel
Xero is:
- Mike Shinoda
- Mark Wakefield
- Brad Delson
- Rob Bourdon
- Dave Farrell
- Joe Hahn
Production
- Executive producer: Lee "The Crusher" Cadena
- Mastering: Stu Jacobs, Mr. Master
- Manufactured by: Disctronics
Artwork
- Art direction: Marisa Domizio
- Cover illustration and graphic design: Mike Shinoda
- Concept: Lee Cadena and Mike Shinoda
- Production director: David A. Mitchell
- Imaging Center Manager: Alden Keith Stubblefield
Lyrics
Rapology Twelve
Disc of Lee Cadena
The whole Urban Network family
And your fatass mama
Kenji and DJ Artofficial representing Xero
Cash double oh
Styles Of Beyond
Junkyard Scientific
Rhetoric
Ashkon
And Usher
Let's give a hand for my man
Now it's my turn to spit shit
These syllabolic ballistics spending rhythmic existence
It's twisted
That when my pens passively takes this down
Systematically smashing and hammering one category of sound
Into the next
Can you and I see in a defensive fashion
Attacking emcees and back and neck muscle contraction whiplashes
It's synchronization with the tempo created when rhythms meet
This musical fitness workout, rhyme and beat moving your feet
Packing trash bags with action making every fraction of a sentence hectic
With the IMAX armed division letterbox widescreen perspective
Lee Cadena's Urban Network Rapology Twelve collective
Kenji and Artofficial and Xero keeping hip-hop progressive
Gallery
-
Front Cover, Outter side. Scans by Hahninator
-
Front Cover, Inner side. Scans by Hahninator
-
Back cover, Outter side. Scans by Hahninator
-
Disc. Scans by Hahninator
-
The MC from Rapology 12 was reused on the Rapology Sixteen artwork
External Links
References
- ↑ Xero Scavenger Hunt for "Closing" - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, March 11, 2017
- ↑ LEE CADENA | Free Listening on SoundCloud
- ↑ The Search for "Closing" by Xero - Page 3 - Newswire - Linkin Park Live - Page 3, March 15, 2017
- ↑ Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "...Joe was working with Urban Network, a rap / r&b industry magazine & I was trying out the stage-name "Kenji." cc:@LPLive (2/2) https://t.co/OAUmXNETuX" ., March 10, 2017
- ↑ Bilawn Records - Styles Of Beyond, 1998
- ↑ Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "Side note, I didn't end up going by "Kenji" because too many people thought I was saying "Ken G." Kenji > Ken G" ., March 10, 2017
- ↑ Download: 2 New Xero Tracks "Fiends" and "Drop" - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, March 10, 2017
- ↑ Mike Q&A Summary 6/19/2020 - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, June 21, 2020
- ↑ Deftones' 'White Pony' Turns 20 | SPIN, June 18, 2020
- ↑ Deftones’ Chino Moreno: “It’s kind of a weird thing to… | Kerrang!, December 03, 2019