Praising his bandmate for giving him 'loads of freedom on the top-line melody', the band's frontman explains why he refuses to include the hip-hop infused portion written by the former.

AceShowbiz - Roger Daltrey refused to record a rap written by his The Who bandmate Pete Townshend for the group's long-awaited new album.

Who is the group's first record of fresh material in 13 years, and Daltrey is grateful to his collaborator for allowing him to nix whatever he felt wasn't working during the creative process, including a hip-hop infused portion of a track Townshend wrote.

"Pete always gives me loads of freedom on the top-line melody, which I arrange to suit myself," he tells Billboard, noting he shot down an attempt to add a rap-like lyric to "All This Music Must Fade".

"I ain't going there (sic)," Daltrey shares. "I love people that do that. It's incredibly clever. It's incredibly technical and they're brilliant, but if I did it, it would be laughable. I could probably do it, but it would be pastiche."

"I had to convince (Townshend) to cut it out; I said, 'You're welcome to leave it in if you do the rap.' Obviously he didn't feel comfortable doing it, either."

The honest creative process between the two seems to have paid off, as Daltrey is convinced the release offers some of the iconic group's best work in years.

"I think it's some of our best work since the '70s. I really do," Daltrey says. "It's really good stuff. It shows that Pete hasn't lost his bite as a songwriter, which is important. It's not just a product and stuck in the '60s; He's very much a man of today, and (the songs) reflect that."

"Who" was released on December 6.

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