I got a story to tell about this one.
In the summer of 2016 I ran into Statik Selektah during one of my gigs in New York, and our conversation would eventually steer toward his just-released collaboration with 2 Chainz, “Smoke Break.” Eventually, Statik told me that he was working on an EP with Young Tauheed, which he had hoped to put out the following fall.
Well, fall — then winter, then spring — came and went with no EP, or anything for that matter. Ultimately, Statik would sign a management deal with Roc Nation and announced 8, his first album since 2015’s Lucky 7, which was originally planned as Statik’s final studio album.
He has now released the first single from 8, “Man of the Hour” with Wiz Khalifa and — not surprisingly — 2 Chainz. I don’t know if this was one of the tracks from their shelved EP, but seeing has 2 Chainz is back to his “ripping every beat in his path” ways on this one I’m inclined to believe that it is.
Listen below.
