This is the 11th studio LP from Boston, Massachusetts producer, DJ & radio personality Statik Selektah. Widely considered to be one of the most consistent & hard-working producers in all of hip hop for over a decade now whether it be his output as part of the producer/MC duo 1982 alongside fellow Boston native Termanology or entirely producing projects for the likes of Action Bronson & Paul Wall, even his 10 solo albums contain some outstanding material of their own ranging from Extended Play to #WhatGoesAround… & more recently Round Trip. He originally announced Expensive Taste to come out in January under his own label Showoff Records in tandem with Mass Appeal Records, but has finally dropped it 10 months later.
Ab-Soul, AZ, Boldy James & Bruiser Wolf all unite for the jazzy intro “Rose Tinted” talking about feeling like Hell despite Heaven being around the corner whereas “Generational” by Killer Mike, Styles P & 1982 kinda goes for a rap rock vibe so they can bring it hardcore. “Eye Shine” by Busta Rhymes, Nina Sky & Smif-n-Wessun brings everyone together to talk about glowing up prior to the 2nd single “Champagne Wishes” by Ab-Soul, Freddie Gibbs & Raekwon discussing their caviar dreams.
“No Time Soon” by 2 Chainz gives us another taste of what we can expect outta his upcoming 8th album Playaz Only Live Once arriving next month while the symphonic boom bap crossover “Growing Pains” by Joey Bada$$ talks about having no time to get caught up in the past. “Kings County” by M.O.P. & NEMS finds the trio aggressively representing the borough of Brooklyn just before “365” by Kai Ca$h, Paul Wall & Smoke DZA soulfully talks about what’s changed for them in the past year.
The Cool Kids, Jay Worthy & Rome Streetz all link up during “Real Player Baby” throwing jabs at those who can’t freestyle for shit while “Globetrotters” by Logic & Lørd Skø talks about their status traveling around the world over a soulful boom bap instrumental. “Good Vino” by Crimeapple & Monday Night kicks off the 2nd half detailing each of their luxurious preferences while “Choose Life” by G-Eazy talks knowing he had to flourish & grow.
“Is That You!” by Bruiser Wolf, Chris Crack & Wiki continues from there dissing the carbon copies of them for not being as fly as either of them while “Crown of Thorns” by Coyote & Dirty Sanchez ruggedly talks about people wanting their views now that they’ve climbed to the top. “Northside” by Northside Lord gives the Queens up-&-comer a couple minutes to show the world what he’s got over a piano-inflicted boom bap beat while “Tooth 4 Tooth” by Coyote, JFK, Lørd Skø, REKS, S.T.R.E.E.T. & UFO Fev references WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE Champion, 11-time WWE tag team champion, the inaugural WWE Hardcore Champion, CWA World Tag Team Champion & TNA World Champion Mick Foley.
Winding down the last leg of Expensive Taste, the song “I Tried” by Brother Tom Sos & Kota the Friend makes it clear how they’d rather sell dope in the streets instead of selling out while “Ain’t So Far” by Cordae jazzily talks about being up at 3am counting money & shooting shit in his backyard. “The Louvre” by Joey Bada$$, Rome Streetz & Westside Gunn speaks of flying their lovers out to Paris to hit the titular museum while “The Red Carpet” by Pharoahe Monch preceding the Hannibal Buress outro “Where Did the Shroom Guy Go?” ends the album connecting to what the culture says.
Thematically built around the idea where expensiveness doesn’t always deal in cost the quality of life you live, Statik Selektah makes up for the 10th month delay Expensive Taste suffered when the Legend Has It series was wrapping up with a full-length that feels as equally enjoyable as the one he put out a few years earlier. His soulful boom bap production gives room for every guest to provide their own perspective on the realities that come with success & ambition regardless of there being a few performers I could’ve done without.
Score: 8/10