“HITstory” by Hit-Boy

“Paris” by Watch the Throne was one of the biggest hits of 2011. “Cray” and “Ball So Hard” were regrettably some of the most overused phrases in pop culture within the past year. Nevertheless, the mastermind behind that beat was California native Hit-Boy. Since then, his career as a producer has taken off to say the least. Various placements on rap projects and a producer deal to G.O.O.D. Music are a few of the achievements from this past year. Let’s not even mention the circles of hip-hop royalty that he runs in. The first beat I ever heard from Hit-Boy was on Kanye’s “Christmas in Harlem” from the G.O.O.D. Fridays series. I respected him ever since then.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Hit-Boy released a video for his debut song as a rapper called “Jay-Z Interview” in June. The blogosphere went crazy. This video, featuring footage from the Watch the Throne tour, studio sessions with various rappers, and Hit’s life in general surprised everyone. Nobody at the time knew that Hit-Boy was a rapper. Everyone thought he was just an up and coming producer. Two months later he brings us his free album, HITstory. HITstory shows Hit-Boy reflecting on his childhood, struggles with women, becoming successful, and life through his point of view. The album has features from Kid Cudi, Big Sean, John Legend, Chip tha Ripper, Bun B & Stacy Barthe. Production on this album is done mostly by Hit-Boy and B!nk produced “Jay-Z Interview.” Some stand-out tracks on this album are:

• “HITstory” – The track starts with Hit saying “When you up they answer quick/When you down they got a broken phone/Some sh*t you just can’t forget when you’re coming from a broken home.” From the first line of the album, he is giving listeners insight to his personal life. This song is his intro to the rap world. He tells the story of his life up until the part he produced “Paris.”
• “Old School Caddy” featuring Kid Cudi – This track features the first Kid Cudi rap verse that I’ve heard in a while. I always love hearing Cudi rap. Hit-Boy talks about his addiction to women and his addiction with chasing success on this one. This is smooth music you can cruise to in your car.
• “East vs. West” – This is probably my favorite song on this whole project. Hit gives his perspective of the whole Biggie and Tupac feud. I thought this was so dope. This is a touchy subject still and most rappers wouldn’t want to touch it, but I think Hit did a good job. He rapped what each rapper was probably thinking right before they died. During his verse on Tupac he says “Slumped in that B-M-Dub/Suge had to sit him up/Then they wanna blame it on that first line in ‘Hit Em Up’”.
• “WyW” featuring John Legend – In this track for the ladies, Hit enlists the help of G.O.O.D. Music labelmate John Legend. He speaks to the ladies and tells them that he’s down to do whatever they want to do. John Legend on the hook makes this track pretty smooth.
• “Jay-Z Interview” – This was Hit’s intro track to the rap world. This track produced by B!nk was an instant favorite of mine. It took me by surprise. He flows well over this beat and establishes himself as a rapper.

HITstory isn’t perfect but it’s a solid debut album for Hit-Boy. He definitely made me a fan with this one. For more information on Hit-Boy, follow him on Twitter.

By Malcolm J. Gray

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“Channel Orange” by Frank Ocean