Statik Selektah
100 Proof

Written by Dominick. Published: Monday, February 15, 2010.

For his 3rd album in as many years, Lawrence, MA raised DJ, Producer and Showoff Records label head, Statik Selektah drops a new batch of sample heavy tracks that feature an ample amount of the game’s most notable MC’s. Statik’s heavy connections are abound on “100 Proof” and coming into this project the now Brooklyn-based DJ is seemingly at the top of his game.

While things start off admirably enough with a poignant message about whom one keeps in their inner circle, the weighty fodder that you’d expect to ensue after a directive with that type of righteous sentiment proves maybe to be just talk. Statik has never had any trouble securing big name guest spots for his albums and that capability might just of hindered him from crafting a more congruent album. There’s moments when he over achieves and churns out heavenly soundscapes for all of the forlorn 90′s heads; like the shining “Critically Acclaimed”, with it’s certified bangin’ backdrop and rough neck cast of MC’s in Lil’ Fame, Saigon and Sean Price. It’s probably the biggest and best example of how Stat’s updated Boom Bap sound coupled with the right performers can yield golden results. “The Thrill Is Gone” also mirrors Selektah masterfully re-interpreting some of yesteryear Hip-Hop’s better qualities to a tee, while Styles P and Talib Kweli let loose, complimenting that pure golden age goodness easily.

We don’t run into many speed bumps until Statik tries in vain to cover ground that he should just step around. Tracks that suffered from meandering sonic and vocal themes would be “Laughin’”, “Night People”, “Follow We” and “Drunken Nights”. None of them could hold my interest and frankly they all sounded like things we’ve heard again and again from Stat. Like lost pieces of an aural puzzle that just didn’t fit anywhere and were forced into the mold. I mean if you have a chance to work with some of these huge names why not make sure the direction that was taken in the writing matched up with the energy of the beat? Or at the very least that the overall sound of those tracks wasn’t so belabored?. I mean come on, we wanna hear you break out the same top notch goodness for Smif N’ Wessun that Kool G Rap and them got!

It’s not that some of the beats weren’t good, not at all, it’s just that a good share of em’ seemed to be in the wrong place, matched with the wrong artist. Even “The Coast”; a song that had great verses from CA acts Evidence and Fashawn and a wonderous beat, managed to come up short in the chorus area because care wasn’t taken and Showoff artist Kali wasn’t pushed harder to come up with a refrain that was headier. That’s something that just shouldn’t happen to an opus that potentially could be the strongest on your album.

Some of Statik’s experimentation worked out well though…In fact “Life Is Short”; The upbeat and reflective banger that features longtime Native Tongues wordsmith Consequence had a great sound and proves that there are other avenues that Selektah can travel down besides the raw route if he chooses to. Perhaps he should begin considering limiting the number of artists on a track instead of continually throwing 3 guys on the same one the majority of the time. Less is more? Maybe so in the case of a supremely wired DJ that in all liklihood has the phone number of every artist on a major that’s worth checkin’ for nowadays.

All in all there’s a fair share of highly bumpable music on “100 Proof“, and if Statik Selektah’s Liquor License was under review he’d of retained it no question. However, now that he’s three albums deep and he seems to be committed to one specific formula, it’d be nice to see him fully delve into that formula. We all know Statik Selektah’s talent is glaring; there’s a reason why legends like Premo co-sign him and have passed him the torch. All we want to see is that talent be more willing to weed out music from his projects that doesn’t belong and push those MC’s he’s working with to their fullest potential. I’m confident Statik can do both, but when exactly it’ll all come together is another question.

$17.50 out of $20

-Dominick “BIG D O” Ledezma

Category: Reviews