In many ways, it's still hard to believe that when Jay-Z was the most popular rapper in the world, he decided to team up with nu-metal torchbearers Linkin Park for the Collision Course collaborative EP. The 2004 project that spawned the mega-hit "Numb/Encore," a remix of Linkin Park's also-beloved 2003 hit, "Numb," remains one of the most notable mainstream metal releases of the 21st century.
The fact that it exists in its own right is wild, and it's even crazier to think that the band and the rapper linked up to perform those songs live on numerous occasions. However, one "Numb"-related moment that almost sounds too insane to be true is when Paul McCartney — as in Sir Paul McCartney, co-founder of The Beatles — joined Linkin Park and Jay-Z on stage for a very special rendition of the song.
At the 48th Grammy Awards on February 8th, 2006, Linkin Park and Jay-Z were banging through a standard version of "Numb/Encore" when suddenly the beat switched and an eerily familiar piano line started playing beneath Hova's rapping.
Then, instead of transitioning into the next "Numb" chorus, Chester Bennington starts softly crooning the hook of "Yesterday," the iconic song from The Beatles' 1965 album "Help!" It was an odd and seemingly random switch-up, but then it all made sense when none other than Macca himself came waltzing out while singing the next verse of the tune he penned alongside John Lennon.
Seeing Bennington, Mr. Carter and Sir McCartney all standing next to each other singing "Yesterday" while the rest of Linkin Park backs them up feels like a weird yet oddly pleasant fever dream. Watch it above via YouTube.
