1982 (Statik Selektah & Termanology), 2012

Statik Selektah and Termanology follow up their 2010 1982 LP with 2012, a second installment of Term’s socially conscious bars and Stat’s throwback beat selection mixed together in one harmonious blend. Here, the two grab strong features from familiar faces Lil Fame and Bun B (both featured on 2010) and some new guests, including Crooked I, Freddie Gibbs, and Mac Miller, all of whom shine on their respective efforts.

On “Lights Down,” perhaps the most memorable cut, Term looks back on the path he’s taken over serene, light percussion courtesy of Stat. It’s a sincere, unpretentious look at the space he’s made home within the hip-hop landscape, as he raps, “In and out of labels all the time, had to change up my ideas, had to switch up my design/Went from dreams of being major to the independent grind/When you come to think about it, I’m doing just fine.” The quick-tongued rapper's look inside continues on the concept record, “Dear Money,” where he examines an up and down relationship with the root of all evil.

Term widens the scope from his own personal introspection to broader worldview on “Time Travellin,” a record that crosses into a Jadakiss “Why”-esque territory. Terms travels take him everywhere from saving Jesus Christ, to preventing the deaths of Big L, Pac, Aaliyah, and The Notorious B.I.G., to warning BP before the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Throughout the release, the duo uphold a strong level of consistency, though the LP lacks a proper standout, instead running together smoothly as a whole. But that’s always kind of been the case for these two, who’ve found comfort and success as under-the-mainstream-radar artists. With 2012, the Lawrence, Massachusetts twosome have another one to add to their collaborative catalog. —NMB