With the emergence of Chicago Hip-Hop courtesy of Kanye West and Com Sense, the mainstream is starting to take notice. Let’s not forget the numerous talented underground crews that grace the Chicago landscape, including All Natural, Grav (M.I.A.), and the one and only Juice.  Each of these crews has paid their dues in the underground much like Earatik Statik.  The crew which is comprised of DJ Rude One who handles production, and emcees Celo and Abstruss Tone have dropped the long awaited highly anticipated debut album “Feelin Earatik” on Gravel Records.

    The album starts with a strong a Intro echoing Notorious B.I.G.’s infamous lyrics on “Who Shot Ya” but giving us a Chicago, ES Twist.  The issue with Earatik Statik is they never fully materialize.  With an all-star cast of producers, including Diamond D, Doc West, His-Panik, and Chester Copperpot, one would expect much more from the album.   Don’t’ get it wrong, it has grown on this critic after the first couple of listens, but its not something that will be kept in decks for years to come.  Celo and Tone show signs of brilliance on the Bathgate produced banger “Makin Moves”.   Braggodocious rhymes are definitely their forte and Brother El cooks up arguably the best track on the album with “Keep Rockin” But, it’s when a more seasoned veteran jumps on the track with them, they get severely outshined, which is the case on “Illstate Massive” in which Akrobatik murders the track with a verse the will rival the illest of battle rhymes.  With so many guest appearances Celo and Tone get lost in the shuffle.  Having a lot of guest shots isn’t always a good thing.  The His-Panik (Molemen) produced “Stop Playin” is just plain boring and emcees Rise and Shine don’t do anything to help.  The lack of memorable tracks from standout producers is apparent with the Diamond D produced “People Like Us” which isn’t up to par with the Diamond D we all know and love and the usually on point Rude One falls way short with “Deconstruction Mission”.

     The main thing to remember is this is the first album from a very talented crew from an already immensely talented city.  They have much more up their sleeve so don’t count them out.  The album is good not great and could have been stellar if we hadn’t heard half of the album on their 12″ releases.