At one time there was a very fine line between a producer and an emcee. Then came artists such as Dre, who blurred that line. It's been a minute since The Chronic, and shit's been ridiculous. Most beat makers without lyrical skills want to step to the mic. Out of the smoke and haze that has been caused by the catastrophes comes DJ Hi-Tek. Not only does Hi-Tek come with refreshing, organic production, but he redraws the line(at least between himself) between emcees, and producers.

Hi-Tek stays original, and limits his appearances to a couple bars in the beginning of the disc. Not only does Hi-Tek separate himself from the aforementioned labels, but he also shows the list of artists he can work well with can lie outside of Rawkus Records. He displays his range by enlisting the aid of comrades such as Cormega, Buckshot, and Slum Village(to name a few). DJ Hi-Tek leads us into his sonic soundscape with the first track, "The Drum Beater", an instrumental to whet our appetite and lead us further into the disc. Of course usually suspects like Talib Kweli and Mos Def show up on a few of the tracks. No one can deny the chemistry between Kweli and Hi-Tek on "Get Back RMX". Not only is the chemistry the tightest since Guru and Premo, but Kweli comes packin' heatboxes with lines like, "I take out all the competition from like A to Z cuz I can fly more frequently/Than a travel agency/That's what I'm made to be/Hip-Hop through my artery/An important part of me..."

Mos Def shows up along with Vinia Mojica on "Git To Steppin'". Mos Def pulls an "Umi Says"-like performance(check Mos's 'Black On Both Sides'. For y'all who don't know, now ya know). Hi-Tek breaks out of the Rawkus mold and luckily gets away with Premier-like style of sampling hooks on tracks like "Breakin' Bread"(feat. Donte, Main Flow, Bryain Digby, JR & Crunch). On the smooth ride through Hi-Tek's latest opus, you will hit a pothole, as far as production is concerned. "L.T.A.H."(feat. Slum Village), hits hard as far as lyricism goes, but doesn't hit at all with bouncin' and bubbling bassline.

Hi-Tek quickly rebounds with Cormega on "All I Need Is You"(sound familiar?), with 'Mega spittin' thug poetry to the woman in his life(familiar yet? M-E-T-H...). Whether the idea is recycled or not, the track glides smoothly, lacing Cormega vocals to make a perfect fit. Speakin' of thug, Buckshot(The BDI Thug) shows up to drop bars on "The Illest It Gets". The throbbing breakbeat is so simple, it is the illest. Buckshot comes weaving in and out of stories of the street, to straight battle rhymes, with verses like, "Man, listen/In some hoods you end up missin'/Snatched with your pants down, while you pissin'/It's like an intermission/Or better yet, like a song/Cuz I got you listenin' that long/And all my true fans, I stick by y'all/All you fake niggas, I lick fire/When I melt hot rocks and spit lava..."

Just when you think Hi-Tek's shown us all he's capable of, he comes with "Round&Round", featuring Jonell. What makes this track so different is the fact it's a hot, straight R&B joint.

Hi-Tek's latest endeavor will satisfy the thugs, backpackers, and Hip-Hop purists alike. Every track is different from each other, but not enough to break up the fluidity of the album. Hi-Teknology is a dime, cop it while you can.