Statik Selektah - “The Imperial (prod. Statik Selektah)” feat. Action Bronson, Royce da 5'9" & Black Thought

I mean, we could talk about how Statik Selektah continues to be the one artist who actually fulfills those dream collaborations thrown around in the depths of Reddit and KanyeToThe (like, you really couldn’t make up some of the lineups for his tracks). Or we could talk about how Black Thought steals the show on yet another star-studded Selektah track (like he did on his verse-of-the-year for last year’s “Bird’s Eye View”): there might not be a better verse-structurer in the history of hip-hop. There’s a lot of things going for Black Thought that throw him into contention for top five (top one?) rappers ever, but the almost textbook-brilliance and flair that infuses each of his tracks is what really sets him apart (today, it’s probably really only Freddie Gibbs and maybe Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica who rival this aspect of Thought’s multifaceted talents). Each syllable perfectly placed, his cadence perfectly floating up and down and revving the accelerator/smoothly hitting the brakes in perfect sync with each of his fifty-plus bars.  Absolutely perfect.