I think Statik Selektah was around studio album number fifteen when this collaborative project came out: is the second and final chapter made with rnb singer from Great Neck, Long Island, Jared Evan. The production is credited to Statik and Evan, while guests are Michael Christmas, Nick Caution, Dessy Hinds and Ransom.
The tape is opened by "Still Blue", the title track: Statik's great jazzy boom bap, with soul vibes and blues, Jared Evan provides a rnb hook and delivery with uncertain flow on a sensational beat. The second track boasts a great jazzy-blues boom bap rhythm, inspired delivery singer. Evan's singing sounds bad in "Baggage Claim", on a rhythmic production; Michael Christmas is the first guest of the edition, he adds some lines in rapping here. Statik Selektah makes a good light jazzy boom bap in "Moneyball", hook by Jared Evan, then delivers in rapping by Dessy Hinds: Brooklyn's MC delivers with fresh style and has a voice reminiscent of Jay-Z. After the hook, the song is closed by Nick Caution's rapping verse, slow, smooth, decent. "When in Rome" has a good upbeat jazzy boom bap, Evan also decides to rap after singing for most of the track, but his flow is mediocre and his rapping performance is low level.
"The Background" has a slow rhythm, close to ballad, on a jazz lounge background, Evan tries again the hybrid singing + rapping which didn't work even on the previous record. In the seventh song, the beatmaker highlights kick and snare drum as the musical backdrop for Evan's light singing. The eighth cut is the last with a guest: Ransom's intro is a sudden flash in the middle of the night, dazzling and surprising, he makes a sick entrance and brings out an incredible performance with a spatial flow, basically overbeat because the rhythm is very light and devoid of a drum, providing a delivery superior to almost all those of the artists in both albums labeled Statik & Evan; Jared Evan's rnb hook, then Ransom returns to put the track under pressure with another great delivery, flow from another era, his track is the culmination of this project. "Layover" has a good production, however, Evan here is unfit, out of tune with the boom bap rhythm chosen. The tenth joint features honest rhythm, Evan delivery that looks rapping, choked, sounds bad and weakly.
10 choices, just over half an hour of listening. The album is a misstep compared to the previous effort: Statik Selektah production loses brilliance and almost all the blues it had previously, most of these rhythms are simple light and minimal jazzy boom baps, with some blues hints, Jared Evan rnb hooks, and again a mix of singing and rap that here, as in the first chapter, just doesn't work. Unlike the 2013 record, Evan also suffers during his sung performance, on several occasions he sounds poorly and weakly, perhaps not quite supported by the producer's minimal rhythms. The whole album is very thin, from the minutes, to the musical choices, to the guests, who are few here: Dessy Hinds is among the best performers of both records, while Ransom makes a great gift to this project, it's a shame that his track is one of the few things that can be saved on the entire album. Not recommended.
Rating: 4.5/10.
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