Linkin Park’s Rhymes-free Projekt Revoltuion comes to Verizon
Photo: Linkin Park and Busta Rhymes (in better times?)
Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution Tour rolls into Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Thursday, and we’re still regretting it’ll do so minus Busta Rhymes, making the show free of a hip-hop act.
When the initial lineup was announced with Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, the Bravery, Ashes Divide and Atreyu, some were critical of the lack of hip-hop, and Rhymes was added.
But after less than two weeks with the tour, Rhymes was out, either after an altercation with Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda or because of a “complicated business matter.”
What the tour lacks in hip-hop, it makes up for in a day of blistering rock culminating in Linkin Park.
Here’s the set list from an Aug. 10 concert in Irvine, Calif.
– “What I’ve Done”
– “Faint”
– “No More Sorrow”
– “Wake”
– “Giving Up”
– “Lying From You”
– “Don’t Stay”
– “In Pieces”
– “Somewhere I Belong”
– “Points of Authority”
– “Leave Out All the Rest”
– “Numb”
– “Shadow of the Day”
– “Hands Held High” (one verse)
– “Crawling” (with Cornell)
– “In the End”
– “Bleed It Out”
Encore
– “Pushing Me Away”
– “Breaking the Habit”
Second encore
DJ Joseph Hahn mix
– “One Step Closer” (with Street Drum Corps)
Show time is at 2 p.m. Thursday for the Verizon Wireless concert, and tickets are $20.75-$70.75, available at Ticketmaster outlets and the box office.
Kevin C. Johnson has covered the St. Louis' music and nightlife scene for the past decade. 
As you may have previously heard, Busta Rhymes has been dropped from Interscope Records. Also, he has re-established a friendship with Irv Gotti and Murder Inc. Gotti heard about Busta being dropped from Interscope and agreed to fulfill an exclusive distribution deal for Busta and his Flipmode Records until 2014. When asked about the signing, Murder Inc. head, Irv Gotti said: ‘I spoke to Dr. Dre about the situation, and he agreed to let Busta out of his contract. I know we had our issues with Aftermath and Busta Rhymes in the past, but we were able to talk it out back in ‘06 and we cool with Eminem, Dr. Dre, Busta, and them. Not 50 and G-Unit, but honestly, we are now focused on making beautiful music together.’ Despite this, Busta’s album, Blessed, will be released on Flipmode/Aftermath/Interscope. The Flipmode camp has yet to respond to the signing.
But we do know certain things. Busta has had complications with his label recently and is a volatile personality. Staff at shows have apparently said he was taken off the bill for some kind of altercation. That’s enough to warrant speculation, if not people claiming that he and Mike or whoever definitely had a fight or that it was definitely so that he could resolve whatever it was with Aftermath. We probably won’t know for sure until Busta say’s something, if he chooses to.
Going to miss Busta…