10 Unusual Music Collaborations That Should've Never Worked

The unique thing about this mashup is that it stems from two very different but equally impressive songs. Numb came from Linkin Park’s second album, Meteora.

It’s a powerful alt rock song about dissatisfaction and defying expectations. Encore comes from Jay-Z’s The Black Album. It’s one of his most confident and happy songs. It also features amazing production from Kanye West. How on Earth do these songs work so perfectly together?

The combination is so seamless that it sounds like a completely original composition, instead of two existing songs smashing together. New York streets came together with Californian angst, and it’s a match made in heaven.

This success of this song was also helped by the time it was released. The early 2000s were the prime time for rap rock and nu metal bands to flourish. The opportunity had to be seized.

Now over 15 years later this song is still fondly remember by both fans of Jay-Z and Linkin Park. It definitely broke barriers down between consumers of music and introduced people to music they otherwise never would have even tried.