Numb/ Encore (with Linkin Park)

It’s an unlikely enough combination, yet somehow this improbable mash-up seems to work. Granted, Jay-Z’s all-too-knowing rhymes take the edge off Linkin Park’s brand of calcified torment. As the song reaches its tortured climax, it does come as a shock to find that all those crunchy guitars have been stripped away and replaced with Jay-Z’s lascivious rappings. A blatant commercial exercise or clever marriage of angst and urban cool? The choice is yours.