membersonly206.bandcamp.comListen here. Ski Team is a rising L.A.-based production group who have worked with MCs from around the country, like Hollywood Holt, Freddie Gibbs, and U-N-I. Seattle’s-own State of the Artist has also worked with them on a number of occasions, and in Slopes, the two groups have come together for a full-length venture. There was little fanfare surrounding this release, and I think they’re over that for now. Their formal debut Seattlecalifragilisticextrahelladopeness was a massive production (and name, although it’s usually shortened to SeaCal), with a large-scale promotional push and guests on every track–a cool one-off experiment, but they seem to be finding their groove elsewhere here; they’re simply enjoying the after-party. Ski Team’s instrumental contributions are polished and super-easy listening, using piano and finger snaps, shakers, light synths, and easy guitar to set the scene for HY, Thaddeus, and Parker Joe’s after-hours rhymes. They’ve toned the swag down a bit, and lyrically, the tracks are very listenable. There’re aren’t a lot of hard-hitting bars or eye-popping punch-lines, just playful innuendo to help the rhythm along on its course, and although there are a few dull moments (“Jeopardy,” for example), the SOTA boys keep the party going, which at this point sounds just right for the group.Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.