Back To The Future

01/27/2002 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Adell Henderson

Whether you choose to call it "hip-rock" (because of its hard edge) or "hip-pop" (because of the millions of albums sold), the fusion of hip-hop and metal has become one of the most sought-after sounds of today, and has given both genres new definitions. But while many bands have ridden the wave generated by the rap-metal explosion, none have ridden to such heights of success quite like the movement's reigning poster boy, Fred Durst, and his rowdy band of brothers, Limp Bizkit.

Durst's Jacksonville, Florida-based wrecking crew has been hard at work since '94, but it wasn't until Bizkit's 1997 debut, Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, that the furious five began to really bring the noise. Since then, they've enjoyed their fair share of road rage on hot tickets like the Ozzfest and Warped tours, not to mention their Family Values touring fest. Their most recent release, New Old Songs, blurs the rock/rap genre boundaries even further, as it's a collection of remixes of tracks from their three hit albums (Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, 1999's Significant Other, and 2000's Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water). "It's just a good remix record for a lot of the rock kids who just wanna hear it mixed up a little bit," Durst explains. "It's more for the cats who walk both lines, who really love hip-hop, instead of hip-hop-heads who don't walk both lines and will like it just because it's Timbaland and Premier."

In addition to the production duties provided by Timbaland and DJ Premier, New Old Songs also features remixes, production work, and/or performances by the Neptunes, P. Diddy, Limp Bizkit's own DJ Lethal, Garbage's Butch Vig, Everlast, E-40, Eightball, the Dub Pistols, Bubba Sparxxx, Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, and Madonna collaborator/electronica auteur William Orbit, among others. Durst, a longtime hip-hop junkie, has been writing raps since his early teen years and admits that on this album he selfishly handpicked his favorites in the game to work with on this project. "I love who I love in hip-hop, and I wanna collaborate with them, and it's for me, kinda."

This stopgap remix compilation give Limp fans something to bang until the band's next studio LP is ready, which is a good thing, since the guys need time to find a replacement for original guitarist Wes Borland, who left the group in October 2001. Fred and company are currently conducting open auditions at Guitar Center stores across the country, via their "Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is" search, but the loss of a founding band member isn't the only thing slowing up their creative process: In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, Durst is very concerned about our country's current state.

"I'm always grateful to be alive every second," confesses the normally loutish frontman, who recently performed on the all-star benefit album What's Going On raise money for both the United Way's September 11th Fund and Artists Against AIDS Worldwide. "I'm really scared of dying, and this just made it more real." Although he's best known for his cocky lyrics, macho persona, and angry lyrics, a surprisingly humbled Durst has experienced somewhat of a change of heart since September 11, he admits. "If you got problems with other people or you got things going on, it's obvious how quick life can be taken away. I'm real happy to be alive. I'm much more willing to accept the next man then I've ever been."