By Ty
Producer/DJ Statik Selektah has been a one-man East Coast boom bap revivalist of the modern internet Hip-Hop era. While young MCs are being criticized for being “2000 and late,” Statik has been locked in the studio churning out a surplus of soul-tinged mid-90s thump productions for rappers of new era and old. East Coast rap vet Bumpy Knuckles has been quiet for the past few years, last seen cutting the rhyme up with John Cena on Monday Night Raw. Now, in the span of one month, Freddie Foxxx returns with his second album of the year after tag-teaming with KRS-1 earlier this year. Bumpy pairs himself with Statik Selektah on Lyrical Workout.
Right out of the gate, Bumpy is here to let us know that he “Still Got It.” With deep pounding keys, and a “Still D.R.E.” vocal sample for the hook, Foxxx sets the tone for the rest of Lyrical Workout. The album flows right into “Animalistic” in which Knucks stacks the battle rhymes and waves the flag for “Real Hip Hop.”
Statik has gained a large following with his new millennium version of 90’s rap and does not disappoint those fans, delivering dependable, if perhaps unspectacular, beats for Bumpy to spit all over. The beats usually pound with hard, sparse bass drums, layered with horns, the occasional soul sample, and subtle, stabbing keys. “Rock Solid” flows with upbeat drums and horns, with a short high-pitched vocal sample.
However, some of the album’s strongest highlights come when Statik tries for something slower and more subtle. “Beats On ‘Em” is a bubbling quiet storm of a beat that lingers while Bumpy spits viciously. “Don’t Fake It” has hard, piercing drums that underscore its smoothly flowing horn-filled front. Statik also DJs the hell out of the album, with some expertly done scratch work that is sorely missing from modern rap music. “For You” features a freshly scratched-up intro and hook while “Who Did The Beat!?!” stands as another show-case for Statik’s turntable wizardry.
As dependable and well-crafted Statik’s production is, some diversity would be nice. Statik does not push his own envelop production-wise until the album’s final two songs, “The Grand Finale” and “Not What I Say,” to showcase something more soulful and diverse. Perhaps that is what Bumpy Knuckles wanted though, because Bumpy sticks to the script, rapping about his usual subjects, leaving a lot to be desired from long-time fans that have been listening to Foxxx push this rhetoric for years and have been yearning for more from the talented MC.
In the end, you get exactly what you would expect from a Bumpy Knuckles and Statik Selektah collaboration. Depending on your penchant for this brand of Hip-Hop, subtract or add a star to the final rating of this review. The album is exactly a Lyrical Workout for Freddie Foxxx, while Statik provides the gym and equipment. If that sounds good to you, grab a weight and jump right on in, just do not expect any new results.
3.25 Out of 5
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