Let’s Talk with Statik Selektah

Hailing from Lawrence, Massachussets, Statik Selektah (born Patrick Baril) is the product of hard work. Putting in time since 1995, Statik has recently achieved back-to-back years of success, heavily attributed to his debut (Spell My Name Right) and sophomore (Stick 2 the Script) LPs. No longer messing with mixtapes and frequently stepping up his production, Statik can’t help but taste success. Working with an endless list of A-list emcees from every level, a radio show on Shade 45, touring, producing, and of course, running his self-made Showoff Records are all in a days work for Mr. Selektah. The Showoff founder delivered some great responses including talk about his recent 24 hour LP with Saigon, DJ Premier, mixtape trash, and a desire to work with Nas and Kanye. A big thank you goes to our man J Master for hooking up a This Is Hip Hop exclusive interview with the one and only Statik, who was actually in Japan while doing this interview. The whole TIHH crew jumped in a served up some really great questions. Here’s how it went down…

TIHH: What’s up Statik Selektah… did I spell your name right? [laughs]. Let’s get right into this, because I have a ton of questions to throw your way. Let’s start with the album you just recently completed with Saigon, All In A Day’s Work. A whole album done in 24 hours?!?! First of all, how did the collabo with Saigon come about? Secondly, tell us about what happened in those 24 hours in the studio.

SS: We had been working on a few other things and he had been at my spot building a lot. He came through last Thursday and we just decided to pull it off. It was actually easier than we thought. I was knocking beats out real fast and he had rhymes for days. A lot of Henny and smoke fueled it too. There were people coming in and out all day too, so the witnesses will testify [Laughs].

TIHH: I know a lot of people are excited to hear what you and Saigon cooked up, but a lot of cats are skeptical because of how quick you put the album together. Do you feel anything was rushed? Is it still quality work? When can we expect to hear it?

SS: I think those people are gonna feel really, really stupid for doubting cats like me and Sai. Our track record speaks for itself. Cats are disappointed that his [album], Greatest Story Never Told, didn’t drop yet; but it was the label, not him. That album is dope and people are gonna hear it… but they will hear this first. Definitely by March I’d say. We are just getting the right deal.

TIHH: At a relatively young age you have quite the resume: employee of at least 10 radio/satellite radio stations, at least 33 mixtapes, numerous awards- mostly being nominated for two Justo’s Mixtape Awards- and two retail albums. What do you contribute your success too?

SS: Non-stop living this hip hop shit… and I still love it, everything about it. I’m in Japan right now about to go digging with Q-Tip, then we got a show tonight and tomorrow, and then Australia. It’s crazy. I just love seeing the fans enjoy it. [As far as] my consistency; I don’t take breaks longer than a day or 2.

TIHH: All in a days work, huh? On our site we had numerous end of the year list, one which listed numerous positive/negative trends (in our opinion) in hip hop. Number two on the list was “Bringing it back to the DJ”. You, along with Jake One, DJ Revolution, DJ Babu and others all dropped albums this last year. What are your thoughts about DJ’s playing a prominent role in hip hop in 2008 and beyond? What’s the overall role of the DJ?

SS: The DJ always was the backbone of rap music. For a while a lot of cornballs took over. We are changing that. I’ma hold skills as a requirement this year. Hip hop as a community should. Break [out] new artists and play quality music. Period.

TIHH: You’re production style is something I’ve spoken highly of for the last 2 years. Your work on your own album, as well as Reks’ Grey Hairs garnered you the number 2 spot on our 2008 Top 10 Producers of the Year list. At the number 3 spot is a producer that you seem to have drastically similar techniques and styles to; DJ Premier. Would you agree that there are things that you do (outside of the hook scratches) that relate to what Premier does?

SS: First off, thanks for that spot. Secondly, Premo is the reason I do all of this; so at the end of the day, I don’t mind comparisons [to him] because he’s my #1 influence. However, I think I got my own style, and I definitely don’t chop samples the same way or approach drums the same way [as Premier]. I try to make my cuts sound different usually too. But, I’ve spent a lot of time in the studio with Preem and I’ve adopted some of his techniques, definitely.

TIHH: Just as a follow up, how does it feel to be compared to DJ Premier, a DJ most respect as the foundation of the New York sound. How does it feel to carry a similar trait, but be out of Boston? After all, Premier was out of Houston. You arguably outshined two Mecca’s of hip hop Production on Grey Hairs (Large Professor and DJ Premier). Is that, at all, at least a boost of ego? It must be hard to keep that humble pie digested now Statik!

SS: Naw, I love being on the same tracklist with them. Legends. My life was shaped around their work. It’s an honor to be mentioned with them, and I hope I make them proud, being an offspring of their styles.

TIHH: Obviously Premo is a huge influence, who are your other influences on the production tip?

SS: Large Pro, Pete Rock, DILLA! Dre, Q-tip, Alchemist, Kanye, Just Blaze, Marley, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some.

TIHH: Moving on, you’ve clearly been involved with plenty of mixtapes. It’s no secret that Mixtapes, in 2006, 2007, and 2008 really took off. What do mixtapes provide people with that an album, an LP or even an EP, might not be able to?

SS: Eh, I’ve kinda moved on. Shade 45 is like my weekly mixtape, and I’ve been working on so many albums, it’s like “Why put out half ass shit?” Mixtapes are an excuse for most (not all) to put out their sub par material or an excuse why their music isn’t album material. We don’t play like that over here. Everything with my Showoff stamp on it’s gonna be official.

TIHH: Ah, you mentioned Showoff! Talk to us about Showoff Records. Surely, you must hold it dearly to you because it is something you can call your own. Why did you decide to develop a label of your own? What advantage does this give you and do you feel like there’s more in store for Showoff in terms of expansion, new acts, new projects?

SS: It’s my way of crafting hip hop. I want to be like Def Jam was in the 80s/90s; all quality music. Where, when you see that logo, you know what to expect. We got the 1982 (me and Termanology) album coming, my man JFK’s album, 2 Reks albums, the Saigon album, a Lil Fame [of M.O.P] project, and a Souls of Mischief project. Just a bunch of DOPE hip hop this year.

TIHH: All of those sound tempting to dive into, especially the latter, but going back to the topic of mixtapes; what’s your favorite mixtape that you put out? A personal fav of mine is 2006’s Look of Love with Q-Tip.

SS: Yeah, the Look of Love, my Nas Prophecy CD’s, the G-unit CD I did. Term’s Hood Politics!

TIHH: Since you don’t rap, even though you kind of dropped a couple of bars on Stick 2 the Script’s “Stick 2 the Script Intro,” how difficult is it too pull everyone together to craft a song? How long did it take to create the album?

SS: It took about 3 months. It was really really simple, too easy. I made a beat, then asked the artist, then mixed the records. I wish other things in life were that easy [laughs].

TIHH: Alright, we’ll try to make things harder then. You’d done loads and loads of collaborations, so hopefully you can answer if narrowed down, but you can’t be shy to just be blunt about it. Between your two albums, Spell my Name Right and Stick, what emcee has delivered the best verse or performance on a track that you featured?

SS: That’s hard because all of them came correct, but I’d say my favorite verses are Styles P, Fame, Jada, Freeway (both songs), Cassidy (both), Term of course, Consequence, Q-Tip, Bun B, Redman… shit I gotta stop because I could go all day! For real, I don’t put a verse on my album if I don’t like it.

TIHH: Is there a particular piece of production you’ve done that you are the most proud of? Could you pick your favorite out of the pieces you’ve done? Maybe give us 3 that are your favorites, production or even the song as a whole, and why?

SS: My favourites would be “Stop, Look, Listen,” “For the City,” and “To the Top.” But, I got plenty more. I just think those beats represent what I love the most.

TIHH: It’s become somewhat of TIHH tradition to ask producers this question. What track by someone has you saying, “Damn, I wish I had produced that!”?

SS: “Live Your Life” by T.I., “Watch How It Go Down” by Term. Pretty much all of A Tribe Called Quest’s shit. Any Gangstarr. I could go on for days.

TIHH: You’re obviously a fan of sampling. At KevinNottingham.com, one of the main things our site is known for is compiling sample sets of our favorite hip hop albums. The idea behind this is to help build a greater appreciation for the inspiration behind the music and to help display the roots of hip hop. We’d like to think of it as a sort of “homage” to the producers who flipped and chopped the sample. The response from hip hop fans has been overwhelming; however, there have been mixed opinions regarding this topic as some say we’re “ratting on” hip hop producers by giving up their sources. What’s your stance on these sorts of sample compilations?

SS: [Ponders]. I wouldn’t say [it's] ratting, but your definitely blowing spots. At the same time, I’d download it [laughs]. I don’t know. It’s the catch-22 of hip hop producing.

TIHH: You mentioned earlier that you were going to dig with Tip, are you an avid crate digger? How do you go about finding that perfect sample for that perfect beat?

SS: I don’t dig in as many vinyl spots any more because I am really allergic to the dust on old vinyl, but I dig all day, digitally or whatever the means. I’m always looking for old soul I’ve never heard. I have cats that send me albums too to check out. It’s all about knowing the music and not being creative with it.

TIHH: Speaking of knowing the music, the roots of Hip hop are engrained in soul and R&B. You might’ve already done so, but do you plan on venturing into R&B production? It had a great year in 2008 and production, in large part to people like Polow Da Don, JR Rotem, and Stargate, in the genre has stepped up to an extremely important level. Your thoughts?

SS: Yeah, I wanna bring some hip hop soul back to R&B. I’ve been working with the kid Josh Xantus, who had a big record with Jadakiss. He’s gonna be a star and we got some DOPE records on deck!

TIHH: Because you always are planning for the future, who are some artists you would like to get on your next album? A top 3?

SS: I’d love to finally get Nas. Kanye would be ill. Jay Electronica too.

TIHH: That could be something special. We have many faithful viewers who are producers that visit the site daily. What advice can you give them on trying to break into the business? For example, submitting tracks to artist, networking, building relationship, making sure they get paid, etc.

SS: First impressions are everything. Don’t fall off. Be visible and don’t take the first offer you get. Value your music.

TIHH: This has been great Statik. Thanks so much for hanging with us. We wish you continued success and you will always be welcomed on our site! Any shout outs or closing words?

SS: Shout out to ya’ll! And all those not listening to garbage or following trends!

• Statik Selektah on MySpace
• Showoff Records

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