Hi-Tek played a major role in the highly admired golden-age revivalist sound affiliated with the Rawkus Records collective, crafting many of the label's initial breakthrough releases. While Hi-Tek's production style owes a debt to New York's finest beat-makers from the early '90s -- DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor -- the producer actually arose from Cincinnati's low-key hip-hop scene rather than the streets of Brooklyn. Local mentors such as Ravi T, J-Fresh, and Sen Sai showed the aspiring youth how to craft beats, and by 1992 he had crossed paths with Mood, one of the Midwest city's premier hip-hop groups. Hi-Tek collaborated on the song "Hustle on the Side" and helped the group score a record deal. Years later, the producer befriended Talib Kweli, who was in town working with Mood. This affiliation eventually spawned the Reflection Eternal duo, one of the first acts to put the Rawkus label on the map. But it was Hi-Tek's work with Kweli and Mos Def on the milestone album Black Star (1998) that first made the producer a hot commodity. He next collaborated exclusively with Kweli for Reflection Eternal (2000), an album that crossed over from the b-boy camp to the mass market and became a critically championed coast-to-coast success. Then came Hi-Tek's solo spotlight on Rawkus, Hi-Teknology (2001), which featured a broad range of up-and-coming MCs, including some of his Cincinnati peers. Between releases he produced tracks for a broad array of rappers, including such notables as Snoop Dogg, Blackalicious, and Raphael Saadiq, all the while shopping around for labels to issue his second solo album, finally settling on Babygrande. Hi-Teknology 2 (2006), which included verses from Nas, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, and of course Kweli, was followed by a much less star-studded Hi-Teknology 3 late the next year. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
Hi-Tek started his rap career with hip hop group Mood and had a regional hit with "Hustle on the Side". That song was made for Mood's album Doom, which featured amongst others Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli. Talib and Hi-Tek clicked immediately, and Hi-Tek went on to produce most of Talib Kweli and Mos Def's Black Star (1998). In 2000, Tek and Kweli (under the name Reflection Eternal) released Train of Thought (2000) on Rawkus Records, with raps by Talib Kweli and beats by Hi-Tek. It enjoyed moderate crossover radio success with the singles "The Blast" and "Move Somethin'". The pair have yet to release a follow-up album.
2001-current
After signing to Rawkus Records, Hi-Tek produced for a number of the labels projects, including the popular Soundbombing series; a three-record compilation of mostly Rawkus-based artists. In 2001, he released his solo album Hi-Teknology on Rawkus. The album featured appearances by Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Vinia Mojica, Buckshot, and others, with all production handled by Hi-Tek. It received some critical acclaim and spawned a minor hit "Round and Round" with Cincinnati singer Jonell.
Although the record sold over 250,000 copies, Hi-Tek wasn't pleased with the promotion of the album, or lack thereof, and he left Rawkus shortly after its release. He then signed to MCA Records after the remix of "Round and Round" featuring Method Man, became an underground hit. While signed to MCA, Hi-Tek began recording his follow up album, Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip and produced Jonell's unreleased debut album for Def Jam.[citation needed]
Hi-Tek was featured on the cover of Beyond Race magazine for the publication's winter 2008 issue.
On the D12 single, "Just Like You," Bizarre references Hi-Tek, who produced the track. He says, "When Mos Def hear this, he probably gonna suffocate me, why you let Bizarre rap on hi-Tek track? All he gonna do is talk about ho's and smokin' crack." This is a reference to Hi-Tek's early career with Mos Def and Talib Kweli in Blackstar.
Singles: "The Express"/"Some Kind of Wonderful", "Move Somethin'"/"Good Mourning" & "The Blast"/"Down for the Count"/"Train of Thought", "Down for the Count"
