The producer compilation album is a rite of passage within rap music. It’s one thing to create instrumental albums that stand on their own or collaborate on a project with a single artist, but the compilation album comes with a different set of requirements. Catering beats to different artists across one project requires sharp balancing skills that not every producer possesses, and great recent examples—like Metro Boomin’s 2018 album Not All Heroes Wear Capes or Black Noi$e’s 2020 effort Oblivion—use several voices and styles to create mosaics grander than the sum of their parts.
Brooklyn-raised producer Tony Seltzer has spent the last few years proving he’s worthy of the mantle. He started making beats for friends as a Meshuggah and J Dilla obsessed 16-year-old, and he spent the next decade establishing himself within New York’s rap underground. Though he’s recently spread his wings on collaborative albums with artists like D.C.’s WiFiGawd and Atlanta tastemaker Key!, he still retains a strong connection to the city that raised him. Hey Tony, named for his eponymous beat tag, is Seltzer’s first attempt at bringing a variety of artists together under his name. It’s an entertaining ride through the sounds of one of New York’s most underappreciated producers.
Seltzer brings a jagged approach to his compilation, purposely avoiding easy flowing transitions. Several tracks bleed into the next but unlike a typical DJ set, not every transition on Hey Tony is seamless. Opening track “Reloaded” featuring Cleveland rapper Zelly Ocho segues into the brooding Lucki-featuring “One Minute,” but the thread is cut before “Wyd,” a showcase for North Carolina rapper Mavi, can begin. This staggered flow splits the project into sections, neatly spacing out the staggering amount of talent across its 14 tracks.
Matching the unique nature of his production, Seltzer embraces a diversity of voices on the album, leaving equal room for vocalists and rappers of all stripes. There are regional stars who Seltzer’s worked with before like Key!, Virginia rapper-producer Lil Ugly Mane, and fellow New Yorker Wiki. There are up-and-comers like Mavi, Atlanta firebrand SlimeSito, and Inland Empire firestarter Hook. Formal vocalists like HAWA and Eartheater even get in on the action. Culling so many performers from across genres with different styles is a tall order, but Seltzer allows each one to breathe, utilizing each artist as a disparate building block as opposed to a symbol of his wide-ranging music taste. Seltzer’s beats definitively run the gamut without ever ceasing to be the framework of the piece.
Similar to New Jersey producer GRIMM Doza (who has a co-production credit on “Keep It Low”), Seltzer can adapt his sound to match a particular artist’s sensibilities without having his voice made indistinct. The chirpy synths and warbling drums of “Wyd” and “Dun Dun” gel with the muted thump of “New Drip” and “Keep It Low.” The wailing horn sample at the center of “Whatever” feels like it’s in conversation with the chopped guitar sample fueling “Blood Covered Tiles,” even though they’re split by the relatively sample-free but still raucous “Keep It Low.” I expect nothing less from someone who’s successfully made beats on the fly while sampling from video cassettes.
Though Hey Tony displays his curatorial powers and his sheer range as a producer, the project’s collaborative nature remains its strongest highlight. Seltzer has a sole production credit on only three tracks, giving room for friends and collaborators like A Lau, Capncrunch, and Vinny Fanta to flex their talents. He’s produced for everyone from Princess Nokia and Jay Critch to Ski Mask The Slump God and Rich The Kid, so it’s not exactly surprising that he was able to bring two dozen artists together on this album. Yet the fact that the end product does not run amorphously like a spilled Slurpee is proof that he is as cohesive as he is conceptual. It’s a testament to a vision that’s been eagerly awaiting its just due.
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