Statik Selektah has never been the loudest name in the room — he has been the one behind the boards making the room sound right. His new album Expensive Taste, out now via Mass Appeal, is the proof: a posse-cut masterclass that pulls together three generations of elite lyricists and makes it sound effortless.
Statik set the foundation by bringing back the all-star posse cut with the album's two lead singles: "The Louvre," featuring Westside Gunn, Joey Bada$$, Stove God Cooks and Rome Streetz, and "Champagne Wishes," bringing together three distinct voices across generations in Ab-Soul, Raekwon and Freddie Gibbs. The full album is an exquisitely curated blend of elite lyricism and production that combines the culture's most legendary artists with some of its brightest emerging stars — collaborations with Busta Rhymes, Westside Gunn, Joey Bada$$, Freddie Gibbs, Killer Mike, Raekwon, Cordae, Stove God Cooks, 2 Chainz, Ab-Soul, Styles P, Boldy James, Logic, G-Eazy, AZ, Bruiser Wolf, Rome Streetz and Pharoahe Monch, among others.
"I'm happy I took my time with the album. The feedback has been amazing," Statik said. "Expensive Taste isn't about the cost of things; it's the lifestyle of quality and enjoying the fruits of all this work."
That patience is the whole point. Statik has spent two decades as one of hip-hop's most trusted producers and curators, the guy other artists call when they want a record that sounds like the culture at its best. Expensive Taste is that record at album length — no filler, no chasing trends, just bars over beats that let the MCs do what they do. He has also unveiled an Expensive Taste video series, with Statik reviewing restaurants in New York and abroad alongside celebrities and collaborators from the album.
The DAOS take: in an era of algorithm-chasing singles and 18-second hooks, Statik just dropped a full album built on the oldest formula in the game — great beats, great rappers, everybody bringing their best verse. Rome Streetz on the same record as Raekwon and Pharoahe Monch is exactly how a culture stays connected across generations. Press play, turn it up, and let the lyricists work.
Sources: Blackout Hip Hop
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