Rap duo Statik Kxng combined East Coast production with West Coast rap stylings to create a focused collaborative effort on their eponymous 2016 debut. Like contemporaries PRhyme (Royce da 5'9" and DJ Premier) and Run the Jewels (Killer Mike and El-P), the pair brought back the classic "Golden Era" MC/DJ sound of the '80s and early '90s. Prior to joining forces, producer Statik Selektah (born Patrick Baril on January 23, 1982, in Lawrence, Massachusetts) and rapper KXNG Crooked (aka Crooked I, born Dominick Wickliffe on September 23, 1978, in Long Beach, California) established themselves with their own projects. Statik released his first solo album in 2007, laying down production for a full roster of guest rappers like Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, DJ Khaled, KRS-One, the Alchemist, and Jadakiss. He would go on to produce seven albums before hooking up with Kxng Crooked, who had been rapping on mixtapes since 2003. In addition to multiple EPs, Crooked also released one album with Death Row Records and a pair of albums on Eminem's Shady Records with his rap crew Slaughterhouse. The Statik Kxng debut was released in February 2016 on Penalty Entertainment/ShowOff Records and featured a guest spot by Selektah collaborator Termanology. ~ Neil Z. Yeung