DJ Hi-Tek, the musical mind behind hip-hop project Reflection Eternal, will release his debut solo album, Hiteknology, April 17 on Rawkus Records. The Cincinnati producer (born Tony Cottrell) has been behind the boards on a number of the hottest underground tracks from the past four years, but has never released a record under his own name. Beginning with Reflection Eternal's seminal debut, the 1997 12-inch "Fortified Live," which featured his infectious, gritty piano loop as the driving force behind the first collaboration between rappers Talib Kweli and Mos Def, Hi-Tek became the producer of choice for the dynamic duo. Hiteknology will mix equally instrumental and vocal cuts, including tracks with Kweli ("Get Ta Steppin' "), Common ("Tekzilla"), Mos Def and singer Vinija Mojica ("Theme from Hi-Tek"), and Slum Village ("Let's Talk About Her"). Hi-Tek also recently recorded a cut with Snoop Dogg, "Keep Goin'," which hasn't yet been confirmed for the final track listing, according to a source at Rawkus.

A song called "Suddenly" will feature Hi-Tek's Cincinnati group Mood, who released the hit underground LP Doom in 1997, followed in '99 by the Snakebacks/Secrets of the Sand EP, both of which featured Kweli rhyming on some tracks. Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, the pair's hit 1998 debut LP, featured Hi-Tek's beats on five of its hottest tracks, including the singles "Definition" and "Respiration." Mos Def also tapped the producer for a few tracks on his acclaimed 1999 solo LP, Black on Both Sides. In October, Reflection Eternal (Kweli and Hi-Tek) released their first full-length, Train of Thought, which revealed Tek as a master of many domains, from the horn-stab groove of "Move Somethin' " to the introspective vibrations of "Love Language" to the assertive thumps of "Eternalists."