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Limp Bizkit is a nu metal/rapcore band from Jacksonville, Florida.

Along with their discoverers Korn, they are often credited with creating the nu metal genre and starting to widen its popularity.

The band is currently signed to Geffen Records and were previously signed to Interscope Records; both labels are part of the Universal Music Group. They were one of the most popular bands in the world during the late 90s, and their albums have sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

Limp Bizkit's current members are Fred Durst (the band's vocalist), bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto (Rivers' cousin), and turntablist/sampler player DJ Lethal. The band's guitarist Wes Borland departed in 2001 following the release of their first three albums to be replaced by Mike Smith for the band's fourth release Results May Vary. Wes rejoined for The Unquestionable Truth only to quit once again in 2006 to work with other projects Black Light Burns and From First To Last.

Though Limp Bizkit has enjoyed major success and sold well, they are often critically panned, particularly in recent years. Critics have labeled the group's hip-hop-influenced rhymes gimmicks, and heavily explicit content “cartoonish” and “cotton candy.” In addition, leading allmusic.com critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine accused Fred Durst of being the "worst frontman in the history of rock"in a negative review of the group's 2003 critical flop Results May Vary.

Band history

Early years

There are many rumors about where the band found inspiration for their name, and there have been several conflicting stories about its actual origin. Some, including the band's first guitarist Rob Waters, claim the name was chosen because of how a friend of the band described his brain (like a "limp biscuit") while on marijuana. The band themselves contend that they simply chose what sounded like the stupidest name they could think of at the time. Regardless, it's widely known that they did not name the band after the fraternity game limp biscuit.

As a teenager, Fred Durst found himself as an outcast simply because he enjoyed two very different styles of music. He liked the breakdancing scene, and music such as Michael Jackson, Erik B and Rakim, etc., which was labelled by others as 'black' music. On the other end of the spectrum, with his skateboarding background, he enjoyed heavy music such as Suicidal Tendencies, and KISS. This definitely influenced his later works, and is one of the reasons why the band rose to fame.

Fred moved to Jacksonville, where he met Sam Rivers. Sam had gotten into music because of his cousin, John Otto, who played drums. Fred asked Sam if he wanted to get together for a jam session, and he accepted. Sam brought his cousin John into the picture, and they all instantly got along. Together they started and early version of the band. Originally, Fred was going to play guitar in the band, despite the fact that he didn't know how. The trio soon realized this wouldn't be acceptable, and recruited Rob Waters. In 1994 Limp Bizkit was born.

Waters didn't stay in the picture very long. A band's first four-track demo entitled "Mental Aquaducts" was recorded with him, but soon after that, he was out of the band. John Otto suggested the group consider Wes Borland, who he had went to school with, for the now vacant position. Otto stated he was an artist, but also a very good guitar player. Fred had noticed him playing at clubs, and also wanted to recruit him. At first there was some tension on Sam's side, due to some differences he had with Wes in the past, but they eventually all agreed on what they decided would be a worthwhile venture. Fred was going to Philadelphia, and he instructed the other members to talk to Wes, and see if he'd join the band. Wes accepted, and the very night Fred came back to Jacksonville, a show was scheduled. Fred and Wes met for the first time, practiced for a half hour, and then went and played the show, that night.

The band continued to play around Jacksonville. Fred Durst had met members of the band Korn when they first started touring, and became friends with them. One incident occurred where Fred insisted on showing his tattooing skills to the band, and gave Reginald Arvizu and Brian Welch tattoos. While Arvizu's turned out fine, Welch's, which was supposed to be a "Korn" logo, ended up looking terrible. Durst had given Korn the band's first demo tape with Rob Waters, and they shrugged it off as nothing special. But when Wes came into the picture, a second demo was recorded and this time Korn was impressed. This three song demo included the tracks 'Counterfeit', 'Stuck', and 'Pollution', all of which would end up on Three Dollar Bill Y'all. Reginald Arvizu passed the demo tape onto Ross Robinson, who produced for Korn, and was also very impressed. Ross contacted Limp Bizkit, and stated his intent to produce for the band. Also, at a Garbage concert, Fred had met Jordan Schur and played his demo tape for him in Schur's car. He was impressed, and wanted to sign Limp Bizkit to his label, Flip. About this time, they became friends with rap music's House of Pain, when the group booked them as the opening act for a small Florida tour. When House of Pain disbanded in 1996, DJ Lethal decided to join Limp Bizkit.

Before Limp Bizkit signed their record deal, Wes actually quit the band for a small period of time. He neglected to take pills prescribed for his ADHD, which caused him to lash out against his fellow band members, and ultimately he quit the band. At first Fred intended to go on without Wes, but everyone soon realized how instrumental he was to the band. Fred begged Wes to return to the band, and at first Wes rejected, but after Wes worked out his personal issues he returned to the band, and they went off to record their first album.

Another major event that shaped the destiny of the band occurred before they were signed. It's not exactly clear when it happened due to conflicting accounts. Apparently it occurred after Wes had quit the band, and when the remaining members still wanted to go on without him. The band had gotten an offer from major record label Mojo, a derivative of MCA. Seeing a bigger opportunity from Mojo, the band decided to choose them over the smaller label, Flip. Durst called Jordan Schur, and said, regretfully, that he had decided to choose Mojo over Flip. He also said that the band was going in a van to Los Angeles to sign the record deal, and that the only way they weren't going to sign was if the van flipped. Words that proved to be an omen of sorts, as while the group's van was driving through Texas, the driver fell asleep at the wheel, and the van flipped. The van rolled several times, before landing on its top. While everyone managed to esca

1. Stevenson, Jane. "Durst takes the Bizkit". Toronto Sun, October 26 2000.
2. "Bite at the Bizkit!" NME.com, retrieved May 31 2006.
3. Erlewine, Stephen. "Results May Vary". allmusic, retrieved May 31 2006.