Review: STATIK KXNG - @StatikSelekt & @CrookedIntriago; A Niles P. Joint

Statik Selektah announced in 2015 that Lucky 7 would be his last compilation-type album since he pretty much mastered the format.  When I caught up with him at a Sean Price memorial fundraiser in Brooklyn, he mentioned that he had an album with Long Beach rapper Crooked I (now known as KXNG Crooked) coming out.  I was perplexed at first because of the regional musical contrast.  But after hearing a couple of songs, I was interested enough to preorder the album on iTunes and call dibs on the review.  There was potential there, I just needed to hear the finished product.  When the smoke cleared, STATIK KXNG stood out as a bright release of the still-young year in Hip Hop

I Hear Voices leads off and has the most Statik-like beat on the album.  Crooked starts hot and throws down over a traditional boom-bap type beat.  Magic & Bird is more bouncy than anything I’ve heard instrumentally from Statik Selektah.  The percussion still sounds natural and Crooked matches the intensity with his cadence.  I just wished it was longer.  The tone of the album becomes much more West Coast with Lost a Fan.  The lyrics have depth, touching on gentrification and prioritizing substance over anything.  KXNG Crooked is more interested in saying real shit than retaining superficial friends.  

We get a conventional California beat on Everybody Know, which was the second single.  Authenticity is the topic and Statik greatly extends his range and creates an instrumental that sounds like it could've been doctored (haha, see what I did there) by a legend in the G-Funk era.  The Cali classic vibe continues on Dead or in Jail, which was the first song I heard off of the album.  It retains its freshness and is one of the most well rounded songs here.  Stop Playing is interesting as it combines a guitar that would be right at home on a smooth jazz station with Crooked’s lyrics that have a kick and a flow with a sense of urgency.  Juxtaposition is the real king on this one.  The duo takes us to church on the next track Good Gone Bad, opening with a prayer and culminating with an organ and sampled choir on the instrumental.  That combined with an uptempo flow from Crooked makes for one of my favorite songs on the project, along with one of the best.

Let’s Go sees Statik lay down some of the best drums I’ve ever heard from him, which pairs well his trademark use of horns.  KXNG Crooked attacks the beat in an impressive combination of toughness and finesse.  Termanology makes an appearance as the only guest emcee on the album and continues to impress with violent yet tactical bars.  He’s one to watch.  The pace slows down a little for the penultimate Bitch Got Me Fucked Up.  The instrumental is more minimalistic than anythings else that’s been heard thus far but I’ve preached the importance of change-of-pace songs and this is a prime example.  Everything comes full circle with the closing song Brand New Shit.  Once again Statik ventures into comfortable territory with a jazzy beat with an understated yet prominent trumpet and piano.  It tells a story of Crooked’s dealings with a woman that’s looking for more.  This song actually reminds me of Scratch Off from Statik’s last album in its timbre.

The biggest issue I have with the album is the length.  At 33 minutes, it’s just over the half-hour threshold from EP to LP.  It goes quick and I can’t help but wish that they added a third verse to some of the shorter songs.  Otherwise this was an unlikely musical match made in heaven.  East and West blended better than I could’ve hoped for, and my expectations were high after covering the first single.  Even though some of the themes repeat, there’s enough depth and experimentation to cover everything.  This album is also a good primer for new fans that aren't familiar with either artist and need a starter pack.  It simultaneously showcases KXNG Crooked’s talents as an emcee and lets Statik Selektah expand his repertoire as a beatmaker.  An unofficial companion piece to PRhyme, I’d love to see the other Slaughterhouse members do collaboration albums with producers before they form like Voltron for another group album.  Until then, take your ass to iTunes and coronate STATIK KXNG into your music library.

Rating: 4.50 out of 5.

Listen: Dead Or In Jail - STATIK KXNG (@StatikSelekt & @CrookedIntriago) feat. Jessica Quintero; A Niles P. Joint

Statik Selektah is having a hell of a year.  After producing on some of the best albums of the year and releasing your final producer compilation album that’s stupendous in it’s own right, how do you top it?  Well you could head westward and make a collaboration album with one of hip hop’s most criminally underrated emcees.  That’s what the Boston-based producer/DJ did, connecting with Long Beach’s resident lyrical assassin KXNG Crooked (formerly known as Crooked I.)  While it may seem like an odd pairing on the surface, in this case the artists’ talent trumps any possible questions.

Dead Or In Jail is the first single from the upcoming album STATIK KXNG.  While Statik Selektah is chiefly known as an East Coast boom bap impresario of sorts, he displays his ability to craft a smooth beat that’s as relaxing as a California sunset.  Crooked has always been one one of the most underrated spitters in spite of solo offerings and his work with Slaughterhouse.  He continues this onslaught, dropping quotables left and right.  Jessica Quintero sings on the inspirational and lowkey celebratory and joyful chorus and adds some sensual Spanish on the intro.  This track makes such a good first impression I’m mad the album doesn’t come out until February 12th via Showoff Records.  It has potential to be one of the better and more intriguing releases in 2016.

Check out Dead Or In Jail after the break and look for our review of STATIK KXNG in the near future.

Opinion - My Krazy Life by YG album review by Niles Cavanaugh

"So this YG album I have to review sucks kind of.  Beats all sound the same."
"Well it's probably made to sell."

That was a conversation I had with my homegirl Jazzy about My Krazy Life. When Ramsey assigned it to me he described it as the gangbanger perspective to the same Compton Kendrick Lamar spoke about in his debut album.  Listening to it on the long and taxing drive home from Cherry Hill, I found that Ramsey was right about it.  This album tells a story, albeit loosely, of a day in the life of a Tree Top Piru Blood in Compton.

Being that West Coast hip-hop has been on an upswing the last couple of years (especially with ScHoolboy Q dropping Oxymoron a couple weeks ago), I was intrigued by this concept. As I listened on my trip home, I was sorely disappointed.

My Krazy Life does loosely tell a story of a day in the life of a blood in Compton, or Bompton if you choose. Lyrically and content wise, you aren't being sold a false bill of goods here. The subject matter is somewhat repetitive but makes sense. Smoking drinking, partying, fighting shooting, hanging out with your set f*ckin chicks are apparently what happens in a typical day for a blood around the way. I have no issue with that because you can tell YG isn't bullsh*ttin' listeners in any way shape or form. He's just speaking on what he knows on songs such as BPT or the blood-coded Bicken Back Being Bool. He also frequently uses interpolations of throwback West Coast hits in his rhymes. While he may not have the same lyrical technique and flow finesse as The Game, any of TDE, Fashawn, Crooked I, Murs, or any other left coast MC out there, YG still speaks in authentic language and comes from the heart in most of his raps. He's not going to be in anyone's top 5 dead or alive list, but tolerable lyrically, albeit average.

The main trouble with My Krazy Life is the beats. If you're going to be an average newcomer newcomer in a hip-hop scene that seemingly sees thousands of releases per week, you have to be carried by top-notch production if you don't have the necessary wordplay to stand out. YG doesn't have that. Out of a possible 17-18 songs (depending on the edition you purchased) the aforementioned DJ Mustard either solely produced or at least had a hand in produced or at least had a hand in producing 12 of them. The beats stay true to the album's California roots but largely get repetitive and boring after awhile. I understand that you want any album to have a consistent vibe when it comes to production, but almost all of this sounds the same. In an interview with Hip-Hop DX review, DJ Mustard compared the album to Dr. Dre's classic The Chronic. while that album had a consistent vibe and formula, you could at least tell the songs apart. I got the feeling that the beats were like a modern day g-funk soundtrack of an old video game or something. Combined with the subject matter that's standard at best, you aren't looking at anything Earth shattering.

There are a few gems here, don't get me wrong. I Just Wanna Party is pretty good and comes with a double assist by ScHoolboy Q and Jay Rock. Really Be shows that YG can avoid getting completely eaten alive by current California hip-hop king Kendrick Lamar. 1 AM is too short yet solid, and Sorry Momma is the best song on the album. It's an introspective joint co-produced by Terrance Martin and DJ Mustard that survives an appearance by new guy Ty Dolla Sign. Even the bonus track Bompton has replay value. Overall this album has a lot of filler, and like Jazzy implied, this album was seemingly made to sell. There's an obligatory Drake appearance on Who Do You Love? and the radio smash My N*gga (or My Hitta as heard on the radio) sounds like your average irritating hit hip-hop song of today. The original features label boss Young Jeezy and fellow new act Rich Homie Quan. The remix on the deluxe edition features Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Meek Mill. Clearly this was built for spins and nothing else.

Overall, this album fell short of the expectations that I had. While it does show a gangster's view of Compton, it ultimately sputters once you realize that gangsters don't do much and seemingly don't leave the neighborhood in which they reside. Put these stories over mostly bland beats, and you don't have much of a memorable album. It doesn't compare to good kid, m.A.A.d city or Oxymoron because it lacks the rich production and lyrical diversity to keep up with it's peers. This album will have and audience though. Fans of a new school radio rap will find it catchy. People from Compton and like areas in Cali (shoutouts to Tori who also put me on the album) will be able to relate to some of the culture and references and therefore embrace it. At the end of the day, My Krazy Life sounds like other albums before it and will eventually sound like other albums after it. It won't go down as a classic, or make my top 10 of 2014. It'll just kind of something that happened. It was an album that was made to sell and it shows.

Short backstory: hailing from Compton, YG is a Tree Top Piru Blood who is signed to Jeezy's CTE World/Def Jam. He released a number of mixtapes and frequently collaborated with producer DJ Mustard starting in 2010.