Rating: NNN
The backpack brigade’s producer of choice returns from wildly successful sessions with Talib Kweli and Mos Def with this eclectic solo debut. Wisely, the DJ himself does not pull a Timbaland and get on the mike himself, instead leaving MC duties up to an all-star cast including Common, Kweli, Mos Def, Slum Village and Buckshot. Crisp, jazzy beats flow through as expected. Less successful, though, are Hi-Tek’s excursions into dreary R&B and the tough-guy Brooklyn talk that upstarts like Jinx Da Juvy bring. Maybe Tek just got tired of being portrayed as the good guy.
