statikselektah

On the underground, Statik Selektah is becoming more of a household name. Due to producing plenty of compilations and “one producer/one rhymer/group” offshoot projects, his name is ringing bells at the moment. Now, he is doing what he does as always: put out more music. This time, we get Extended Play. After a thorough listen, this is a compilation that is only for those that love/respect hip hop from 1993-1995.
Meaning: this is a no frills hip hop album filled with banging beats, lyricism of different kinds, and no shots at commercial appeal.
The album begins with that above thematic in mind. Pain In Da Ass creates the throwback atmosphere with his hilarious quips on “Reloaded”. Soon after, Action Bronson, Terminology, and Tony Touch go in on the rhymes like they always do. After that, every track follows suit. From the Black Thought show stealing verse on the Raekwon and Joey Bada$$ featured “Bird’s Eye View” to the equally enthralling Styles P, Bun B and Hit Boy featured “Funeral Season”, the music firmly stays hip hop. Thus, the entire album remains consistent in its refrain.
Yet, it is the production is the real reason why everything stays musically focused. Let’s have a qualifying example with the Joell Ortiz featured “Bring Up Dead”. Joell Ortiz hasn’t sound that good in a while (no diss). Another example, “Gz, Pimps, Hustlers” shows how much production is important to the ambiance being set by the lyrics. The smooth sampled production and scratches make things that much easier for Slaine and Wais P to do their thing. So, there is no doubt that Statik Selektah is as big as a contributor to the quality of this album as the rhymers are.
Conclusively, Statik Selektah has added another notch in his belt as far as production and compilations go. The lyricists worked to do what they do best. In collaboration, Statik beats that complimented the lyrical approach of each song. Extended Play may not have been the most hyped released of June 18, 2013. Yet, it may be one of the better offerings amongst the albums of hype.