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Hi-Tek - Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip

Rating

RIYL

Jay Dee
Pete Rock
Madlib
DJ Premier

Tracklist

1. The Oracle
2. The Chip
3. Keep It Moving
4. Think I Got A Beat
5. Can We Go Back
6. Josephine
7. March
8. Where It Started At (NY)
9. 1-800-Homicide
10. Money Don't Make U Rich
11. Baby We Can Do It
12. Let It Go
13. People Going Down
14. So Tired
15. Music For Life

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Recent Ratings
Rick Gebhardt

Hi-Tek made his first major collaborative splash with the classic Talib Kweli joint Reflection Eternal, only two years following the classic Kweli and Mos Def collaboration, Black Star. Oh, and by the way, he’s produced tracks for Tha Eastsidaz, Blackalicious, G-Unit, the Game, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Ghostface Killah among others. Yeah, he’s okay.

So for only the second time in his 10-year career, Hi-Tek returns with The Chip, a solo album featuring a slew of hip-hop’s best emcees, including Q-Tip, Kweli, Ghostface, Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Common, the Game, and Nas just to name a few. This roll call alone – and the fact that it is an independent release – should suggest the caliber of Hi-Tek’s reputation and production skill.

With such a wide array of styles coming from the aforementioned standouts, Hi-Tek composes versatile beats for each of the featured rappers, showcasing his strength and compatibility with nearly anyone. On The Chip, there’s a dabble of everything from the soulful tracks “Can We Go Back,” featuring Kweli and vocalist Ayak and “Josephine,” featuring Ghostface, the Willie Cottrell Band, and Pretty Ugly to the classic Busta Buss stomp “March.” For the most part, the album leans on the former style: soulful R&B hooks, superb production, and lyrically poignant flows from the industry’s best. The album’s best tracks – “Can We Go Back,” “Josephine,” “March,” and “Where It Started At (NY)” – displays Hi-Tek’s versatility, hitting on all marks with every feature. The mixtape styling on The Chip is its greatest strength as the 15-track album never gets tired, redundant, or questionable – with the exception of one track.

The only noteworthy dent in The Chip, is The Game featured track “1-800-Homicide.” As usual The Game is a total hack despite being a skilled and silky west coaster. Overt and obnoxiously name-dropping as usual, The Game is easily the album’s worst feature, where in a less-than-two-minute single verse The Game drops Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop, Jay-Z, Suge Knight and Tupac. Take away any rapper better than The Game, and I’m sure he’d have no career. But besides the hack, even Hi-Tek’s beat is weak, impersonating Dr. Dre as best he could. Overall, this track shouldn’t have ever been made.

But besides the single, blatant speed bump, The Chip is ultimately solid, and suggests that Hi-Tek has plenty left in the tank, even if it is another five years until Hi-Teknology 3.

--Kamran Rouzpay

Author

Kamran

Last updated: 09/29/2009 08:55PM