The Spark - Music

Establishing His Own Spot Amongst The Ranks Of East Coast Hip-Hop's Seminal Figures DJ/producer Statik Selektah Utilized His Turntabling Skills And Ingenuity In PR And Promotions To Break Some Of The Region's Most Promising Artists Bearing His Own Influence On The National Mixtape Circuit. Born January 23 1982 In Lawrence MA Patrick Baril Was Exposed To Production Equipment At A Very Early Age Tinkering With His Parents' Eight-Track Machine Cassette Recorders And Turntable. By Middle School He Was Already DJing School Functions But He Was Inspired To Be A True Wheels-Of-Steel Artiste After Hearing DJ Premier Scratch And Mix Records On Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 Radio Show. Soon After At 14 Years Old He Purchased His First Turntables And Mixer. Calling Himself DJ Statik The "Selektah" Surname Came Later He Started To Work Clubs And Private Parties Up And Down The New England Coast. In 2000 After Living In New Hampshire He Moved Back Down To Massachusetts To Enroll In The Audio Production Program At Boston's New England Institute Of The Arts. That Same Year Selektah Started Putting Out Mixtapes Namely His Spell My Name Right Series. With His Mixtapes And DJ Gigs Selektah Never Passed Up The Opportunity To Champion Local Hip-Hop From Boston And The Surrounding New England Area. In Particular Selektah Was Responsible For Introducing Fellow Lawrence MA Native Termanology To The World Helming His Hood Politics Mixtapes In The Mid- To Late 2000s. Managing All Of These Tasks Became Much Easier When He Established In 2003 His Own PR/marketing Firm ShowOff. In 2006 He Turned ShowOff Records Into An Official Record Label With Termanology & Producer DC's Out The Gate LP As Its First Release. By This Time Though Selektah's Prestige Had Grown Considerably. His Radio Shows Were Playing In Several Places From London To Mobile AL He Produced Beats For Many Artists Including Foxy Brown AZ And Joell Ortiz And Most Importantly The DJ Dished Out Tons Of Mixtapes With Big Name And Up-And-Coming Artists Such As Nas Q-Tip John Legend Royce Da 5'9" The Bar Exam Co-Hosted With DJ Premier And Saigon. Statik Dropped His First LP Spell My Name Right In 2007 And His Follow Up Stick 2 The Script Album In 2008. Other Artists He Has Produced For Following That Include Talib Kweli Bun B Styles P Consequence Freeway M.O.P. And Jadakiss. Rockstar Games Reached Out For Statik In Late 2008 To Enlist Him As DJ And Producer Of The Grand Theft Auto IV Update "the Lost And Damned" As Well As 2 Songs For Midnight Club Los Angeles. In March 2008 Selektah And Saigon Recorded All In A Day's Work In A 24 Hour Period And Was Acclaimed By Critics. He Also DJed For Q-Tip On His 2009 Renassaince World Tour. Statik Just Dropped His Third Studio Album 100 Proof The Hangover On Showoff/Brick Records. In 2010 Statik Selektah Released His Fourth Album Population Control On Duck Down Records To Critical Acclaim Boasting Features From A Mix Of Up And Coming MC's And Well Established Veterans. Statik's Fifth Album Extended Play Was Released On June 18 2013 And Features Joey Bada$$ Action Bronson Raekwon Sean Price Mac Miller Black Thought Noreaga Lecrae Lil' Fame Styles P Mike Posner Termanology Freddie Gibbs Bun B Joell Ortiz Posdnuos Of De La Soul Talib Kweli Troy Ave. Hit-Boy Smif-N-Wessun Flatbush Zombies And Many Many More. read less