Hi-Teknology²: The Chip


Hi-Teknology²: The Chip is a sequel album to Hip hop producer Hi-Tek's first album, Hi-Teknology. Born as Tony Cottrell, He had spent most of his time in the low key hip-hop scene of Cincinnati, Ohio who eventually ran into Mood in 1992. Working with them kickstarted his career and affiliated himself with many MCs. He is best known for his collaboration with Talib Kweli on the album Reflection Eternal. He rose in popularity with the underground hip-hop scene and has worked alongside many talented even Grammy-nominated artists such as 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes. Although working with many talented artists and having a huge impact working with Rawkus Records Collective, it was time for him to show off his own unique abilities which led to his three solo albums. The release of his sequel album Hi-Teknology gained quick recognition and was soon to be sought after by many up-and-coming artists to produce their own albums.

Album History

There are two versions of the album; one was recorded during Tek's record deal with MCA but never saw a release, and the second version which was released by Babygrande Records on October 17, 2006. It is produced entirely by Hi-Tek and, unlike the first album, has Hi-Tek rapping on more of the tracks. A special edition version of the album was released at Best Buy, featuring the three omitted tracks and a bonus DVD, featuring the music video for "Where It Started At " and footage of Hi-Tek producing "The Chip" from scratch. It reached #38 on the Billboard 200 chart position and #12 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart position where US sales reached 51,782.

Album Appearances

Album guests include Pretty Ugly, Q-Tip, Kurupt, Talib Kweli, Ghostface Killah, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Papoose, Raekwon, The Game, Strong Arm Steady, Bun B, Devin the Dude, Nas, Common and Marsha of Floetry .

Track Information

The final track listing has been whittled down from 18 to 15 tracks, omitting the songs, "How We Do It", "Time Is Now", and "We Get Down". The late producer, J Dilla, makes a cameo appearance on the song "Music For Life". The album's lead single is "Where It Started At ", which features MC's Jadakiss, Papoose, Talib Kweli and Raekwon, and utilizes a sample from the Andy Williams song "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story". The three omitted tracks were leaked on the internet on October 23, 2006. Both "Time is Now" and "How We Do It" were previously available on The Beautiful Mixtape Vol. 2. "Time is Now" was a shorter version.

Covers

The album track "Let It Go" was later covered by British singer Ama Lou under the title "We Tried, we tried." on her 2019 EP, Ama, who?.

Reception

Later on, Hi-Tek blamed the label for the lack of success of the album: "Hi-Teknology 2 was a prime example of a classic album, which just went down the drain as no one heard it. That’s not my fault; that is the label’s job to make sure people heard it. I get out and do every interview and all the press, but it was more a case of when they recouped, they were cool with that and it went no further. I had nine Interscope artists on that album and the only reason I got that was because of my relationship with Dre and Interscope. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to get that, so why not capitalize off that relationship?"

Track listing

#TitleProducerPerformer
1"The Oracle "Hi-Tek*Interlude*
2"The Chip"Hi-TekHi-Tek
3"Keep It Moving"Hi-Tek, Daniel Jones
4"I Think I Got a Beat"Hi-TekLil' Tone
5"Can We Go Back"Hi-Tek, Firstman ProductionsAyak Thiik
  • rapping: Hi-Tek
  • rapping: Talib Kweli
  • Chorus, Singing, Co-writer Verse: Ayak Thiik
    • 6"Josephine"Hi-Tek,The Willie Cottrell Band
    • Intro/1st verse: Ghostface Killah
    • Chorus/Bridge: Willie Cottrell
    • 2nd verse: Pretty Ugly
    7"March"Hi-TekBusta Rhymes
    8"Where It Started At "Hi-Tek
  • Chorus: Dion
  • 1st verse: Jadakiss
  • 2nd verse: Papoose
  • 3rd verse: Talib Kweli
  • 4th verse: Raekwon
    • 9"1-800-Homicide"Hi-Tek, Eric "Lil' E" Coomes
  • Chorus: Dion
  • Verse: The Game
    • 10"Money Don't Make U Rich"Hi-Tek
  • intro: Xzibit
  • First Verse: Phil da Agony
  • Second Verse: Mitchy Slick
  • Third Verse: Krondon
  • Chorus: Strong Arm Steady
    • 11"Baby We Can Do It"Hi-Tek, Young & RichCzar-Nok
    12"Let It Go"Hi-Tek
  • Singing & Chorus: Dion
  • Rapping: Talib Kweli
    • 13"People Going Down"Hi-Tek,The Willie Cottrell BandThe Willie Cottrell Band
    14"So Tired"Hi-Tek
    15"Music for Life"Hi-Tek
  • 1st message/3rd message: Jay Dee
  • 1st verse: Nas
  • 2nd verse: Hi-Tek
  • 3rd verse: Common
  • Chorus: Marsha
  • 2nd message: Busta Rhymes
    • 16"How We Do It" Hi-Tek
  • 1st verse/Chorus: Talib Kweli
  • 2nd verse: Hi-Tek
  • 3rd verse: Slim Thug
  • 4th verse/outro: Snoop Dogg
    • 17"Time is Now" Hi-TekReflection Eternal
    18"We Get Down" Hi-Tek
  • Rapping: Mos Def
  • Chorus/bridges: Raphael Saadiq
  • Final verse: Bootsy Collins

    • Additional credits

    The Chip
    • Guitar - Josh Edmondson
    Josephine
    • Drums - Big D
    • Drums - Eric "E Dub" Isaacs
    • Guitar - Larry Cottrell
    • Keyboards - Carolyn Isaacs
    March
    • Guitar - Glen Jeffreys
    • Keyboards - Daniel Jones
    Let It Go
    • Guitar - Glen Jeffreys
    People Going Down
    • Bass - Carolyn Isaacs
    • Guitar - Larry Cottrell
    • Keyboards - Carolyn Isaacs