Some define Linkin Park's genre as Rap Rock, others use descriptions such as Electro Rock, Elektro Pop, Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Crossover, or Post-Grunge. I personally tend to put them into the Nu Metal drawer, while admittedly the Rap component is a quite exciting feature in Linkin Park's music as well.
Founded in 1996 under the name Xero, they renamed themself in 1999 to Hybrid Theory but faced some legal issues with electronic music group Hybrid which made them reinvent themselves as Linkin Park.
Linkin Park's album Hybrid Theory released in 2000 contains a relatively unknown track called High Voltage. In this song, the band addresses an issue for many bands: being categorized, classified, labelled - being put into a specific drawer. It's hard to leave this drawer, which makes many bands stick to their genre or style during their entire, for that reason maybe short existence. The following part of the lyrics are representative of this issue:
And like the rock and rap You know what I mean People act like you know Wow that's a new invention That shit's brand new We're constantly evolving It is constantly changing
Allegedly, the band didn't have in mind the core aspect of any IP system, namely to foster innovation by granting limited monopolies to inventors, designers and brand owners, said monopolies granted to inspire others to innovate and further develop existing technologies and creations. But they hit the nail on the head saying that inventions support constant change and evolution. Evolution (and the patent system) keeps us going in more than one direction!
It's definitely worth listening to the song. Find the full lyrics here; it contains brilliant and impressing rhymes covering the issue of being labelled for lifetime.
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