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Numb/Encore is a song by the nu metal band Linkin Park and rapper Jay-Z from their 2004 mash-up album Collision Course. It was the most successful single from the album, going on to reach #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 1, 2005.

Description[]

Numb/Encore was also released as a single that year, combining 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). This version still contains John Legend's background vocals from "Encore", and Kanye West can be heard briefly at the beginning singing the line "Now can I get an encore / Do you want more".

In the UK Singles Chart, the single achieved the record for the longest stay in the top 20 without ever reaching the top 10. The song only peaked at 14 but managed to spend 53 weeks in the chart

The video for the mash-up was nominated for the MTV VMA Viewer's Choice award in late July 2005. "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," which McCartney wrote. "Yesterday" replaced "Numb" after the first rap verse of the mash-up. Also, a remix was released with more artists: Dr. Dre, Eminem, & 50 Cent.

Background[]

Mike Shinoda revealed that, prior to the production of the Collision Course album, Jay-Z asked the band to collaborate with him. After both agreed to collaborate, Shinoda immediately started the production of various mashups between Jay-Z and Linkin Park songs, starting with Numb and Encore. They sent the demos to him and "he loved it".

Music video[]

LinKin_ParK_feat._JaY-Z_-_Numb_Encore

LinKin ParK feat. JaY-Z - Numb Encore

The music video for Numb/Encore

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 in its entirety is not available on the DVD itself.

Lyrics[]

 Chester   Mike   Jay-Z 

Yeah, thank you, thank you, thank you, far too kind
Haha! Yeah, ready? Let's go

Can I get an encore, do you want more?
Cookin' raw with the Brooklyn boy
So for one last time, I need y'all to roar
Uh, uh, uh, uh (yeah)

Now what the hell are you waitin' for?
After me, there shall be no more
So for one last time, n**** [1], make some noise

Get 'em, Jay

Who you know fresher than Hov? Riddle me that
The rest of y'all know where I'm lyrically at
Can't none of y'all mirror me back
Yeah, hearin' me rap is like hearin' G rap in his prime
I'm Young H.O., rap's Grateful Dead
Back to take over the globe, now break bread
I'm in Boeing jets, Global Express
Out the country but the blueberry still connect
On the low, but the yacht got a triple deck
But when you Young, what the fuck you expect?
Grand openin', grand closin'
Goddamn, your man Hov cracked the can open again
Who you gon' find doper than him with no pen?
Just draw off inspiration
Soon you gon' see you can't replace him
With cheap imitations for these generations
Can I get an encore, do you want more?
Cookin' raw with the Brooklyn boy
So for one last time, I need y'all to roar
Roar, roar, roar (yeah)

Now what the hell are you waitin' for?
After me, there shall be no more
So for one last time, n****, make some noise
What the hell are you waitin' for?
Look what you made me do, look what I made for you
Knew if I paid my dues, how will they pay you?
When you first come in the game, they try to play you
Then you drop a couple of hits, look how they wave to you (look how they wave to you)
From Marcy to Madison Square
To the only thing that matters in just a matter of years
As fate would have it, Jay's status appears
To be at an all-time high, perfect time to say goodbye
When I come back like Jordan, wearin' the 45
It ain't to play games with you
It's to aim at you, probably maim you
If I owe you, I'm blowin' you to smithereens
Cocksucker, take one for your team
An' I need you to remember one thing (one thing)
I came, I saw, I conquered
From record sales to sold out concerts
So mo'fucker, if you want this encore
I need you to scream 'til your lungs get sore (come on)

I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take

I've become so numb, I can't feel you there
Become so tired, so much more aware
I'm becoming this, all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
I've become so numb
Can I get an encore, do you want more? (More, more, more, more)
I've become so numb


So for one last time, I need y'all to roar
One last time, I need y'all to roar

Trivia[]

  • This song was featured on the movie Miami Vice.
  • Dr. Dre made his own version on his Dretox mixtape combining the song "Encore" from the Eminem album with the same name, with this version of Numb/Encore
  • The phrase "I came, I saw, I conquered." repeated throughout the track is a famous Latin phrase ("Veni, vidi, vici.") spoken by Julius Caesar in 47 BC following his decisive defeat of Pharnaces II of Pontus.

References[]

  1. "N-word" had to be censored from the lyrics section due to an error on Fandom's anti-bot restriction that keeps detecting it as a malicious edition.
Linkin Park
Rob BourdonBrad DelsonDave "Phoenix" FarrellJoe HahnMike Shinoda
Chester Bennington
Albums Hybrid TheoryReanimationMeteoraMinutes to MidnightA Thousand SunsLiving ThingsThe Hunting PartyOne More Light
Other Hybrid Theory EPCollision CourseHybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary EditionMeteora 20th Anniversary EditionLost Demos"Papercuts"
Singles "One Step Closer""Crawling""Papercut""In the End""Somewhere I Belong""Faint""Numb""From the Inside""Lying From You""Breaking the Habit""Numb/Encore""What I've Done""Bleed It Out""Shadow of the Day""New Divide""The Catalyst""Iridescent""Burn It Down""Lost in the Echo""Castle of Glass""Powerless""A Light That Never Comes""Guilty All the Same""Until It's Gone""Wastelands""Final Masquerade""Heavy""Talking to Myself""One More Light""She Couldn't""Lost""Fighting Myself""Friendly Fire"
Side projects XeroDead By SunriseFort MinorGrey DazeStone Temple PilotsJulien-KProjekt RevolutionRelative DegreeStyles of Beyond
CertificationsGalleryAwardsDiscographyLinkin Park Underground
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