Black Star, Reflection Eternal’s Train of Thought, and Hi-Teknology: what do these albums have in common?  Several things, such as record label (Rawkus), all feature Talib Kweli and Mos Def. But one that resonates most among them all is the man behind the boards- Hi-Tek.  Not since Hi-Teknology have we seen Tek, on a grand scale, but he is back at it again with the release of Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip.

Hi-Tek is back behind the boards making that traditional Hi-Tek sound which we had grown to love from 1998 to 2001.  Much like the original, The Chip contains several guest appearances such as Talib Kweli, The Game, Kurupt, Ghostface and Nas just to name a few.

Do you know “Where It Started At”? Hi-Tek seems to know, or at least several New York emcees seem to proclaim, that it started in New York over what is probably the best beat on the album.  Other album highlights include an incredibly smooth love song to Hip-Hop that begs the question “Can We Go Back”?  The best song on the album is a flute-laden track “Music for Life” which features Nasty Nasir Jones and Lonnie Rashied Lynn- or to most people they would be known as Nas and Common.

The overwhelming flaw in the album is that when it comes to art and the artist, constant elevation is something that work will be judged on, and unfortunately Hi-Tek sounds the same today as he did in 2001.  The only attempt to go outside the realm of what we already knew as Hi-Tek was “1-800-Homicide”, which features The Game rhyming over a beat that sounds very stereotypically west coast.

All things considered it’s a solid effort. So sit back and listen to some vintage Hi-Tek beats with some quality emceeing and singing.