Four Reasons Why Statik Selektah Is One Of The Top Hip-Hop Producers

Statik Selektah is one of the most revered producers in hip-hop, after working with a Who’s Who of artists that include Big Sean, Joey Bada$$, Eminem, J. Cole, 50 Cent and many, many others.

In his spare time, Statik also hosts a hit show on SiriusXM called “Showoff Radio,” named so, in honor of his Showoff Hip-Hop brand.
Statik took some time away from the studio to thoroughly break down the process of producing a hip-hop record.
While some people, like David Crosby and Gene Simmons, dismiss the genre, Statik Selektah detailed the complexities that go into making an authentic song for the genre.
Here are some things we took away from Statik’s lengthy interview with Business Insider.


Statik Selektah Is Always Listening


Statik is always ready to create. He takes advantage of his downtime by listening to samples. And if he’s out and about, he uses technology like Shazaam to quickly identify a song that he finds interesting, which he may want to draw some inspiration from.


Statik Selektah Stays True to his own Production Style


Statik has remained true to his own production aesthetics, even though new copyright laws have dramatically altered Hip-Hop’s soundscape regarding samples. “If you look at the music now it’s pretty dumbed down. Sampling is very important for me. It’s the backbone of hip-hop,” Statik Selektah explained.


Statik Selektah Avoids Legal Issues In Advance


While Statik is aiming to produce more sample free music with that authentic Boom Bap sound, the producer refuses to give up sampling entirely. So, when he does sample, Statik is smart about his choices, while taking the advice of legendary A&R executive Faith Newman, who works with Statik at the music/publishing company, Reservoir. Reservoir owns a huge catalog of music, which Statik can sample legally without any risks of lawsuits.


Nothing Replaces Hard Work


Hard work and hustle are paying off. For instance, Statik produced the song “Detriot vs. Everybody” featuring Eminem, Big Sean, Danny Brown, Trick-Trick, DeJ Loaf and Royce da 5’9″, because he knew his brand-new apartment cost twice as much money. Distress over his impending bills forced the producer to get to work, which got his creative juices flowing, and eventually led to a hit record.


Read the full interview on Business Insider.