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These days, Boston’s own Statik Selektah has a lot to celebrate. In more ways than eight.
His eighth studio album, simply titled 8, dropped today (December 8) via Showoff Records/Duck Down Music Inc. and features cameos from a slew of hip hop heavyweights such as 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, Raekwon, Run The Jewels, and Dorchester’s Cousin Stizz. Despite having a career that has stretched over two decades, he admits he still is in awe of working with certain artists. “I’m very appreciative to work with so many people that were heroes to me growing up,” he tells Vanyaland. “It’s priceless to get the respect of those that inspired you. It really means a lot.”
This past May, he signed a management deal with Roc Nation. When asked about this being his ultimate goal professionally, the DJ and producer revealed that there is always more work to do. “It’s just progression,” he adds. “I’m always trying to grow with every project. Having a professional team and resources is something I’ve needed for a while since I’ve solely been doing everything with my Showoff team from the beginning. But a lot of us got daddy duties now.”
Although Statik has resided in New York since 2004, he still pays homage to his hometown.
“I’ve always felt that when it came to hip-hop, Boston was always in New York’s shadow. The New York sound is definitely in my music, but I always try to go back and have a few Boston artists on every album.”
He also acknowledges that making a name as a Boston artist is difficult, but achievable. “It’s easier to do now than when I was coming up,” he admits. “You just have to be ready to show the world what you can do. But breaking out of Boston is very hard — especially since we’re hated on for how amazing our sports teams are!’
Soundtrack your weekend with Statik’s 8 below. Featured image by Evan Iskovitz via Facebook.