Styles of Beyond was an American underground hip hop group from the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The group consists of MCs Ryan Patrick Maginn (Ryu) and Takbir Bashir (Tak), Colton Raisin Fisher (DJ Cheapshot), and producer Jason Rabinowitz (Vin Skully). They have released two LPs, one mixtape and were heavily featured on Mike Shinoda's Fort Minor project in 2005. At one point they were also signed to Shinoda's Machine Shop Recordings label, although they left the label in late 2008. They are also heavily associated with the underground rap group Demigodz which features similar underground artists such as Apathy, Celph Titled, and 7L & Esoteric. History Early years (1994–2004) After making some pre-Ryu demos on a 4-track cassette recorder, Styles of Beyond started making appearances on Sway & King Tech's The Wake Up Show, a hip hop radio program featuring established and up-and-coming rappers. In the late 1990s, the group met longtime collaborator and friend Mike Shinoda, who would later become the co-creator and co-vocalist of Linkin Park. The group eventually released two independent studio albums, 2000 Fold (1998), and Megadef (2003). Machine Shop/Warner Bros. era (2005–2008) Styles of Beyond was later announced by Shinoda to feature on his solo hip hop record under the name Fort Minor, The Rising Tied, which was released on November 22, 2005. The group appeared on seven songs on the album, and appeared on the album's singles "Remember the Name" and "Believe Me". The group joined Fort Minor on tour in promotion of the album. After touring for The Rising Tied, Styles of Beyond was signed onto Shinoda's label Machine Shop Recordings, as well as its parent label Warner Bros. Records, their first major label. The group was later added to the lineup of Linkin Park's 2007 Projekt Revolution tour, featured on the Revolution Stage. Styles of Beyond released a mixtape on July 31, 2007, entitled Razor Tag, presented and mixed by DJ Green Lantern. Razor Tag was the group's first release under Machine Shop and Warner Bros. The group completed their third studio album, Reseda Beach, with announced guest rappers RZA, Apathy, Celph Titled, Sixx John, and Mike Shinoda. The album was produced by the group, as well as Shinoda, J Dilla and Scoop DeVille. One of the album's songs, "Second to None", which features Shinoda, was included in the soundtrack of the 2007 film Transformers. "Second to None" was