Ransom to Release the Best Project You’ll Sleep On This Year

New Jersey's Ransom has paired himself up with Statik Selektah for a joint project called 'The Proposal.'

The duo dropped a new single last night called 'Unexplainable.' The song finds Ransom spitting his heart out over another vintage boom-bap instrumental from Statik. A scratch hook separates the two verses, as the two stick to the tried-and-true formula and represent for real hip-hop heads around the world.

This is the most focused Ransom has sounded in a long time, and it comes at a very turbulent junction in his stalled rap career.

The long-time member of Fabolous' Street Family crew has been under media scrutiny for recently saying “Before Nicki was wearing those crazy wigs, I was doing verses for her, just hoping she made it big," on a song called 'Man Alone.' Nicki was asked about the line by TMZ, and her response was vicious. Ever since the incident, Ransom has been forced to defend himself by denying that he ever meant that he ghostwrote for Nicki, insisting that his line meant that he was doing feature verses for her.

Of course, the last time Ransom received this much attention online, he was in the midst of his beef with Joe Budden. While diss records went back and forth, the only memorable moment came when Ransom confronted a friend of Budden and slapped him on camera. Shortly thereafter, he was incarcerated, stalling any momentum he could have garnered from the beef.

It is a good sign that Ransom has been able to affiliate himself with Statik Selektah in the aftermath of the Nicki Minaj debacle. Statik has cemented his reputation as one of the best producers in the game right now, and his collaborative albums and EPs tend to be the standouts in rappers' discographies. His 'Well Done' album with Action Bronson set the stage for Bronson to become the rising star that he is today.

'The Proposal,' set to come out September 10th, will likely be the standout project in Ransom's career. After all, up to this point the Jersey native has really just put mixtapes and freestyles that have never managed to make an impact. He has shown his lyrical prowess in spurts in the past, but this will likely be a cohesive project with the perfect soundscape to show the world what he's capable of.

But the question remains: Will anybody care?

If Ransom were a new artist, 'The Proposal' would certainly get some attention from hip-hop heads curious to hear who Statik is cosigning next. Most would likely be impressed with the talent showcased on 'Unexplainable.' Unfortunately for Ransom, he is not a new name in the rap world. The controversy and the lack of material that could truly stand the test of time will prevent people from even wanting to click on any music he puts out now. The past does not get deleted.

The silver lining in all of this is that hip-hop's collective memory is very short. Nobody remembers that just three years ago, 2 Chainz was called Tity Boi. So maybe the Statik Selektah cosign is all Ransom needs to jumpstart what was never there to begin with. But more importantly, Ransom needs to stay out of trouble and controversy, in order to build a fan base that will ride with him through the drama, like his former enemy Joe Budden has.