Hi-Tek

  • Cincinnati, OH
    hometown
  • Hip-Hop/Rap
    genre
  • 1996
    started
  • Bio
    full story
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About Hi-Tek


Hi-Tek played a major role in the highly admired golden-age revivalist sound affiliated with the Rawkus Records collective, crafting many of the label's initial breakthrough releases. While Hi-Tek's production style owes a debt to New York's finest beat-makers from the early '90s -- DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor -- the producer actually arose from Cincinnati's low-key hip-hop scene rather than the streets of Brooklyn. Local mentors such as Ravi T, J-Fresh, and Sen Sai showed the aspiring youth how to craft beats, and by 1992 he had crossed paths with Mood, one of the Midwest city's premier hip-hop groups. Hi-Tek collaborated on the song "Hustle on the Side" and helped the group score a record deal. Years later, the producer befriended Talib Kweli, who was in town working with Mood. This affiliation eventually spawned the Reflection Eternal duo, one of the first acts to put the Rawkus label on the map. But it was Hi-Tek's work with Kweli and Mos Def on the milestone album Black Star (1998) that first made the producer a hot commodity. He next collaborated exclusively with Kweli for Reflection Eternal (2000), an album that crossed over from the b-boy camp to the mass market and became a critically championed coast-to-coast success. Then came Hi-Tek's solo spotlight on Rawkus, Hi-Teknology (2001), which featured a broad range of up-and-coming MCs, including some of his Cincinnati peers. Between releases he produced tracks for a broad array of rappers, including such notables as Snoop Dogg, Blackalicious, and Raphael Saadiq, all the while shopping around for labels to issue his second solo album, finally settling on Babygrande. Hi-Teknology 2 (2006), which included verses from Nas, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, and of course Kweli, was followed by a much less star-studded Hi-Teknology 3 late the next year. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi

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Music

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  • Where It Started At (NY)
    hi-tek
    Video
    Where It Started At (NY)
  • 37665
    SoundStream
    SoundStream
    song name
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    All the music you want, just 10 bucks a month. Try it free.
    • So Tired (Feat. Dion, Bun B., Devin The Dude & Pretty Ugly)
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/3/4/6/3/4/106143643.mp3
    • The Sun God
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g2/9/9/5/2/5/904552599.mp3
    • Music For Life (Feat. J. Dilla, Nas, Common, Busta Rhymes & Marsha Ambrosius Of Floetry)
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/0/4/1/4/4/106144140.mp3
    • Can We Go Back
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/8/4/1/6/9/199796148.mp3
    • God's Plan feat. Young Buck & Outlaws
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/2/0/7/6/4/106346702.mp3
    • Back On The Grind feat. Riz, Sean Kingston & Dion
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/4/7/6/4/8/106984674.mp3

Interviews & Exclusives

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  • Reflection Eternal Talk About Their Summer Plans
    hi-tek
    video
    Reflection Eternal Talk About Their Summer Plans

Photos

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  • Rawkus
    Hi-Tek
    Rawkus
    Tyler Borich

News

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  • Hi-Tek
    Busta Rhymes Joins The "Twerk It" Movement With Album's Lead Single
    VH1 Tuner
    May 16, 2013
    Pharrell and Busta Rhymes cooked up a strip club/club banger for the summer with "Twerk It," the lead single from Busta's upcoming 10th album. Ther...
    Read More
  • Hi-Tek
    DJ Hi-Tek guest blogs @ XXLmag.com this week
    prefixmag.com
    This is a true blog-recognize-blog moment. After some good (Unkut.com, Mistah FAB) and not so good (Lupe Fiasco, DJ Drama) moments on the XXL celebrit...
    Read More
  • Hi-Tek
    Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek Mix New And Old On Reflection Eternal Mixtape
    MTV News
    This Week's Main Pick Street Kings: Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek) Holding It Down For: NYC and Ohio Double Mixtape: The Re:Union Real Sp...
    Read More
  • Hi-Tek
    Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek Reunite for New Reflection Eternal Album
    www.pitchfork.com
    . Res] 03 City Playgrounds 04 Strangers [ft. Bun B] 05 In This World 06 Got Work (Fame) 07 Midnight Hour [ft. Estelle] 08 In the Red 09 Lift'in Off 10...
    Read More
  • Hi-Tek
    Watch Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek Perform With the Roots on "Jimmy Fallon"
    www.pitchfork.com
    In the underground rap landscape, Talib Kweli and the Roots are old allies; I saw Kweli guest at a Roots show in Central Park back in 2000. So when Re...
    Read More
  • Hi-Tek
    Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek Re-Team for New Reflection Eternal Album, Tour
    Paste
    Just in time for Paste editor Rachael Maddux's month of rap, Reflection Eternal, the hip-hop duo of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, is gearing up for the May ...
    Read More

Discography

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  • Hi-Teknology 3 (2007)
    Hi-Tek
    Hi-Teknology 3 (2007)
    Babygrande Records
  • Hi-Teknology 2 (2006)
    Hi-Tek
    Hi-Teknology 2 (2006)
    PGD
  • Hi-Teknology (2001)
    Hi-Tek
    Hi-Teknology (2001)
    Rawkus Records
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