Having produced for the likes of 50 Cent, Talib Kewli, Mos Def and The Game, Hi-Tek is still somewhat of an underrated beat maker. Having crafted the underground classic Train of Thought and his own Hi-Teknology album, the producer/producer returns with Hi-Teknology 2 - The Chip. The past few years being an in-house producer for the Aftermath/G-Unit Family and working with Dr. Dre has certainly developed Hi-Tek's production skills, as he has created one of the best albums of this year.
Hi-Teknology 2 keeps Hi-Tek's unique soulful hip-hop sound, while introducing a more instrumental feel to certain tracks. The excellent "Keep It Moving" is a great example of this, as Q-Tip and Kurupt trade quality verses over a beautiful jazz-fused sound scope, and R&B newcomer Dion (star of the album) simply destroys the hook. Hi-Tek and Talib Kewli finally reunite on "Can We Go Back" with a verse over a simple but effective piano and bass backdrop with Ayak adding her vocal presence with a verse of her own and a strong chorus.
A sign of Hi-Tek's evolution as a producer is the appearance of The Willie Cottrell Band on two tracks, the first of which "Josephine" features Ghostface and Pretty Ugly. You always know that Ghost will bring emotion and honesty to everything he does and his verse here is no different as he tells the story of a young lady whose life is destroyed by drugs. "I know this chick from the hood named Courtney Cox / and her brain is easy to pick like faulty locks... She used to be thick / its like where the hell the ass go." In all honesty his whole verse is a quotable, while Pretty Ugly shows his talent with a similar tale. "The Josephine that I knew had a thing for the rich guys / old fashion girl judge a man by his shoe size." The band also appears on "People Going Down," a track which sounds like it would be a joy to listen to live.
The New York posse cut and lead single, "Where It Started At (N.Y.)" featuring Jadakiss, Papoose, Talib Kweli and Raekwon with Dion on the hook, is a menacing, broody sound that fits perfectly with all those involved. The only possible gripe with this track is the fact that Papoose's verse is pretty average compared to rest, with Kweli and Raekwon sounding focused and Jada sounding hungry once again with lines like "Gotta lot heart / best part is I'm clever too / hand skills / hawk work / gun play / whatever duke."
Another collaboration with a diverse features list is "So Tired" with Bun B, Devine The Dude and Pretty Ugly with Dion supplying the hook once again. A slow, emotive beat complements Bun B's opening verse, taking us back to his Ridin' Dirty days: "Man day in day out it just the same old same / I'm trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents man / a lil purp in the swisha / a lil purp in the cut / a lil purp in the system and I can get myself up." Devine and Pretty Ugly both do a very good job, making this another standout track.
No album is ever perfect these days though, and Hi-Teknology 2 suffers from a few missteps. The soldier stomping sound of Busta Rhymes' "March" slightly disjoints the sound of the album. While it is not a bad track by any means, it does seem out of place. The same could be said for "Money Don't Make You Rich" featuring Strong Arm Steady, while the generic sounding R&B sound of "Baby We Can Do It" with Nok and Haze is fine without adding anything special. In these minimal errors Hi-Tek manages to show how diverse his production can be and proves that he can be experimental with his sound, notably demonstrating this when The Game shows up on "1-800 Homicide" for a short but potent verse on the Dr. Dre/West Coast sounding beat.
Musically, conceptually and artist wise, "Music For Life" is the best track on the album. Any track that features Nas, Common, J. Dilla, Busta Rhymes and the sweet vocals of Marsha from Floetry is always going to standout. Sadly, J. Dilla and Busta only appear as ad-libs on answer phone messages at the beginning and end, which is a shame. Yet, Nas, Common and Hi-Tek himself make up for that lyrically, with Nas stealing the show with lines like, "It started of with rhythms I heard listening to the wall / the bouncing of basketballs in playgrounds and all/the empty bottles is hollow / wind blowing inside em / the flow and the rhyming got my alignment to a science."
Barring a few tracks that seem out of place, the album is as consistent as any this year with its fresh production and excellent features list. If his album title means what it suggests, Hi-Tek has certainly upgraded his sound to that next level and is now in need of the major credit his work so rightly deserves.
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