HHS: For those that aren’t familiar with Earatik Statik, what is the group’s background?

Earatik: The Group is made up of two emcees Abstruse & C-Low & DJ Rude One (of Single Minded Pros) is the resident DJ.  We have been doing it in Chicago for a minute now as far as releasing 12″, but this (Feelin’ Earatik) is our first full length album.

HHS: What can people expect from the album? What should people expect from Earatik who may have never heard your tracks before?

Earatik: People can expect a solid album from start to finish.  This record really has a little bit for everyone.  Check it out and you won’t be disappointed!  We have solid tracks, solid lyrics which results in solid songs.  One thing about us is that we don’t really sound like anyone else.

HHS: On your debut album, Feelin’ Earatik, you hooked up with several legendary Hiphop artists such as Kool Keith, EDo.G, K-Solo and Diamond D, as well as underground favorites like Pacewon, Akrobatik, and Rise & Shine. How did you connect with such a strong lineup of collaborators?

Earatik: We connected with people in many different ways. Some cats we toured with like Pacewon, some artists we met through different cats and some we just ran into.  Thanks to everyone who did help make our collabos happen like DJ Rude1, and Black Silver, who’s a friend of ours who linked us with Kool Keith.  DJ Rude One linked us to Akrobatik, Pace & EdO.  Emmaculate of Conglomerate Music who produced a track on the record linked us with K-Solo.

HHS: What were some of the collaborations and studio sessions that stuck out in your mind?  Any personal favorites?

Earatik:  We had a lot of fun recording with Pace. He is one of our personal favorites.  We also had an opportunity to tour some of Europe with him in 2004 around the same time we recorded joints with him, so that was cool.  Also Edo.G is a legend to us and definitely one of the most talented cats in the Industry.

HHS: As a group that’s getting ready to drop its debut LP, what was it like being in the studio and working with some of the artists who have influenced you?

Earatik: It was definitely a lot of fun working with all of these cats. Ed.o & Diamond influenced us early on and they still do for that matter. So working with them was a blessing. We actually went to Diamonds crib twice & communicated with Ed quite a bit. We did another joint with Ed that will be on The Gravel Pit, which is the production album by Kaz 1 of Gravel Records.

HHS: You work with several different Chicago producers on the record and they display a lot of versatility and style. Who did you hook up with from Chicago, and how important was it for the group to connect with a range of Chicago producers?

Earatik: Our deejay Rude One is one-half of Single Minded Pro’s and the other half, Doc West, is pretty much a member of Earatik. So working with them was easy because we’re always around each other anyway. Rude also did all the scratches on the record.  We worked with His-Panik from The Molemen.  We always liked his shit and he blessed us. He is a true professional!!  The Opus did 4 tracks “Evil Is Timeless”, “Smile”, “Getta Grip” & “Still Got It”.  I’m very happy we got down with the Opus.  They added a lot of diversity to the album with their style of beats.   We actually put out a scorching 12″ with them in 2000 entitled “Hot Lava” B/W “Natural Disaster” featuring Thawfor.  Overall everyone from Chicago we worked with we knew and kick it with so it was easy to get down.

HHS: What’s the group’s song-writing process?  And what role does your deejay, Rude1 (of Single Minded Pros); play when deciding on concepts and ideas for tracks?

Earatik: Honestly, we both write differently. C-Low always writes in advance and comes prepared ready to spit, except for the EdO.G song that we all wrote on the spot.  Early on in the recording process I (Abtruse) wrote in advance.  After the first two songs or so I started writing in the studio.  We are about to start recording the second record once we get back from touring in late April & Rude will be executive producing that record, which will be a little more conceptual than this one.  On this record, we touch on a lot of things, which we think is dope because their are songs for everyone.  Their are some concept songs like “Evil Is Timeless” and “Smile” to some straight ill shit like “Illstatik” & “Still Got It,” to some introspective shit like “Keep Rockin”.  The next record will be different sounds but more driven on one concept, maybe even a story.

HHS: Let’s talk about some specific tracks. What’s the concept behind your single “Evil Is Timeless”?

Earatik: “Evil Is Timeless” is basically speaking on a lot of things that one may deal with in inner city life.  It touches on everything from crooked cops, to violence and narcotics, to jail and different aspects of known evil forces of power that are in positions to alter your focus or life.

HHS: Earatik has recently been getting some good burn on video shows throughout the country with the video for “Evil is Timeless”. How was the shoot?

Earatik: The Video is a pretty straight forward.  We linked with our guy, Video Director Charles Guant, and came up with the idea to just stick to the basics on some early 90′s ‘Yo MTV Raps’ shit.  Just us in the city spitting!!  The feedback has been pretty good.  The video is currently featured on www.Heavy.com alongside new videos from De La Soul and the Beastie Boys so were very happy. Respect to Charles Guant, who made it work with probably the smallest video budget in history.

HHS: Do you have any tour plans?

Earatik: Yes, we will be touring from March 9th to April 9th with Tableek from MasPyke. The tour, “Video Trapped: The Rapper Tour” will take us from goes from Burlington, Vermont to San Antonio.

HHS: Any last words?

Earatik: Make sure you cop Feelin’ Earatik. It is the kind of CD you can listen to all the way through and gets a little better every time ya hear it.  Check us out at www.earatik.net or www.gravelhiphop.com