S-T-A-T-I-K__S-E-L-E-K -T-A-H (Spell My Name Right - Statik Selektah)

Member Name: XICripZ

Product:	Spell My Name Right - Statik Selektah
Date:	04/11/08 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great production and rhymes

Disadvantages: A few weaker tracks

"Spell My Name Right" is the debut album from the Massachusetts Hip Hop producer and DJ, Statik Selektah. It came out late in 2007 and has him do all the beats, for which several guest MCs do raps over.

1. "Spell My Name Right" (Intro) (feat. DJ Premier and Termanology)

2. "Stop, Look, Listen" (feat. Styles P, Termanology and Q-Tip)

For the opener to the album, we have a banger as you get some of the top tlanet from out of the East Coast as the older Q-Tip is joined by a more recent act in Styles P, who gets a newcomer of Termanology aiding him as they go on some lively prodcution to get you pumped for this album.

**Five Stars**

3. "Express Yourself '08" (feat. Termanology, Talib Kweli and Consequence)

On this one you get a new "'08" version of the N.W.A classic cut "Express Yourself" (despite the fact this came out in 2007). You can't dislike anything about this, as Termanology initially kills the beat, before the other tow, Talib Kweli and Consequence even get a chance to flow on the remixed beat.

**Five Stars**

4. "6 In The Morning" (feat. Joell Ortiz, Kool G Rap and Sheek Louch)

This was my first real chance to see what Joell Ortiz was capble of, and I was highly impressed by him on this one as he tlaks us though the life of a Hip Hop musician as everythign begins at "6 In the Morning" at the grind doesn't stop until you finally lay your head down at the end of the day.

**Four Stars**

5. "What Would You Do!?" (feat. Freeway and Cassidy)

For this one you get two of Philly's finest MCs, in the form of both Cassidy and Freeway, and both of them come with absoulte fire with their delivery and wordplay on what is a rather laid-back and chilled beat from the producer.

**Four Stars**

6. "Make A Movie" (Interlude)

7. "Bam Bam" (feat. Red Cafe, Termanology and Mims)

I was surpsied by the choice to have the Pop[ rapper, Mims included on an album filled with Hardcore MC, but for this one the "This Is Why I'm Hot" one-hit-wonder comes with a steady flow of decent raps along with Philly's Red Cafe and the Puerto Rican rapper, Termanology.

**Four Stars**

8. "G-S**t" (feat. Uncle Murda, Sev-One, Termanology and Jadakiss)

For this one you are given a full-on look into Gangsta Rap, and for me, the best non-West Coast names were chosen for such a tack as you get the names of Jada and Uncle Murda gving their accounts on how their lifestyle has influenced on the music which they make.

**Three Stars**

9. "Back Against The Wall" (feat. Royce 5'9" and Cormega)

Here you have a sombre one from Detroit's Royce Da 5'9" and New York's Cormega going on a soft beat. I don't often get to here the Detroit rapper do waht he does that often, I have to say that he definately shined on this piece over Statik's beats and Cormega's input.

**Four Stars**

10. "Hardcore" (feat. Reks and Termanology)

This one is dominated by a sample of Notorious B.I.G. saying "So you wanna be hardcore" in the hook, and this acts as the main focus of the piecec as we concentrate upon Hardcore Hip Hop vand all that comes with rough form of rap music, as done by Reks and Termanology.

**Four Stars**

11. "No Mistakes Allowed" (feat. Doug E. Fresh, Tony Touch, Scram Jones, DP-One, DJ GI-Joe, DJ Revolution and Esoteric)

I was excited by this one by simply looking at the line-up, and I didn't have to go past tthe first of the eight guets to get hyped as you have the legendary beatboxer Doug E. Fresh doing hat he did so well in the eighties on this one as others perform raps.

**Five Stars**

12. "Knockin' 'Em Out" (Interlude)

13. "Punch Out!" (feat. Big Shug)

You just know that Staik has wanted to make this one since 1987 as this one uses the beat from the classic Mike Tyson-lead video game "Punch-Out!!" and builds upon it with more Hip hop beats. I'm sure this throwback will draw in any fans of the game, and this acts as one of many great Hip hop remixes to video game themes.

**Five Stars**

14. "The Good Life" (feat. Lil' Fame)

M.O.P.'s Lil Fame gets a track to himself here and takes full advantage of it by going all out on the hot beat with some heavy raps, to represent the Mash-Out Posse. His energy shows how hard he wants to hold onto this Good Life", and to do so, he must hsutle everyday.

**Four Stars**

15. "Big Dreamers" (feat. Reks)

Reks, who has been featured earler on in this album fianlly gets to show off his full potential by having a fullt rack to work with without the aid of other guest MCs, and he does so nicely as he pours out his emtions over what aspirations he has had since early life.

**Four Stars**

16. "No Holding Back" (feat. AZ and Cormega)

The duo of Cormega and AZ, who are both well-known for their assocaition with Nas, come together on a hard beat to go for a rather laid-back track to just hav fun and tell people what's goign on in their lives, and so they MCs about tpical, everyday Hip hop themes.

**Four Stars**

17. "Got Me Goin'" (feat. Slum Village and Granite State)

On this one you get Slum Village takign over as they give some Detroit flavour and raps about their fascination with Hip Hop, and the journeies which they have taken with it from back in the days where they used to memorize and record the lyrics to Nas, LL and N.W.A.

**Four Stars**

18. "Time To Say Goodbye" (feat. Evidence and Alchemist)

This one wasn't as strong as a lot of the other tracks on the record, bu with so many high-quality tunes here, a few weaker ones were boudn to find themselves on here at some point. However I still enjoyed listening to this calm one from the West Coast's Alchemist and Evidence (both heavily associated with Dilated Peoples).

**Three Stars**

19. "It's Over Now" (feat. Termanology and A.G.)

On thi one you have a very calm beat, and it allows you to take more notice of the flows from the guest MCs, on it, they manage to get you goign, but not in away to make it stand out from any of the other material on this long album by Statik Selektah.

**Three Stars**

20. "Talk To Me" (feat. Jon Hope, Reks and Skyzoo)

It was quite annoyign that all of the weaker, and slower tuens on the album were simpely clumped together towards the end of the piece, and when you get this, you are imply brought further down with each track, and you are unable to get excited without some Funk in the prodcution, which you just don't get.

**Three Stars**

21. "Did What We Had To Do" (feat. KRS-One, Larry Cheeba and Large Professor)

For me, the album was edned off in a perfect way as you have it completed with KRS-One giving a few bars. I was surprised to find new material from KRS whcih I actually enjoyed as he tens to act as a teacher or something with what he does, but here, he was quite tolerable, and worked well with these modern beats.

**Four Stars**

In conclusion, I found this to be a great Hip Hop album and really showcases the talnet of the New School. Statik's beats are incredible pretty much all the way through and the artists chosen to work with them are the best of the East, Mid-West and elsewhere to show what today's Hip hop is about, whilst retaining the essence of the genre, unlike how the Dirty South can be said to be forgetting it.

Summary: Statik Selektah's debut album