The professor has returned! Students receiving guidance from pupils past can rest assured: the course remains the same. Teaching materials, however, are not identical. The class being taught may posses a code beginning with 'HAT' - and a specialty group of upper-class students may be the target - but no one is interesting in passing on the finer points of becoming a 'Hater.' The best educated musician on the internet will not merely peddle a self-help course. It only takes one look at the syllabus to notice that the good professor used his sabbatical wisey. Case-study after case-study, intensely research before publication: you are watching scholar at work. Where ivory towers are concerned, the structure is more status symbol than metaphor. It remains to be answered question when exactly the solid gold drawbridge will be installed.
Silkky Johnson's pseudonym has been subtly altered. Some may say it is still a reference Dave Chapelle's character at the Player Hater's Ball. But this producer is more than a novelty. Internet born, and Harvard trained, Silkky Johnson has three beat tapes under his belt and only one is titled Player Hater of the Year. His body of work - rounded out by Instrumentals, Vol. 1 and Debauched Legend - can best be described like a sizable portion of cloud-rap circles: a codeine-marijuana cross-fade. But compression aside, Silkky is different. His beats have reached legends of the Bay like Green Ova and Lil B, and Houston disciples like Western Tink and A$AP Mob because it is more than ambient voices speaking words indistinguishable from a screwed-up birdsong. Silkky uses a wide breadth of influence and inspiration to his advantage, avoiding standardized drum tracks all the while.
Silkky's first published work in a year does not look to avoid his collegiate legacy. Rather, "Werk That," expands on the past. The main contrast to previous tracks is the collaboration with a female R&B vocalist. Alas, the track's texture is bears a notable resemblance to Johnson signatures. An ambient haze is felt alongside the synth's depth. Peripheral sounds provide elements of surprise and aesthetics. The rhythm section, though, best reflects of the beat's quality. Mica J's voice - pleasant, though not excessively noteworthy beyond the odd vocal run - is never overshadowed. This is a pragmatic beat. The bass is stern but the finger snaps are soft as the snare rolls are not overused, fitting comfortably into their role as a cue for the chorus. It can senselessly be said that the song ultimately reeks of an an artist development firm. But truth be told I would rather be unobjective and say the clean, pop-friendly vibes are just one step closer to the man's goal of working alongside Rick Ross.
- John Noggle
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