Search - Akrobatik :: Balance

Junkmedia.org Review - Stepping up

junkmedia | Los Angeles, CA | 06/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At the end of the '90s, as the hip-hop underground was bubbling up to the surface, Akrobatik, a native of Boston, MA, was a consistent presence at hip-hop shows throughout New England. The venues were almost always questionable, hidden from civilization; the sound was always bad, a mic was always dead. But Akrobatik would come through, work past the technical difficulties, and hit the audience off with an energetic set. In retrospect, I realize I had a front-row seat for Ak's "paying dues" period, a rapper's (expected) rite of passage. So I was excited to see that Akrobatik released Balance, his first full-length record. The record is a testament to those years of hard work. Balance is successful where much recent indie rap fails: rather than waxing nostalgic for hip-hop's golden age (be it '88 or '93), Akrobatik has made a record that sounds straight from that era, full of boom-bap and straightforward rhymes. Musically, this is due in part to the production efforts of Diamond D and the Beatminerz, who share board duties with younger talents such as Fakts One, Edan and Ak himself. But it is Akrobatik's emcee presence that is most reminiscent of early '90s hip-hop. His cadence is reminiscent of KRS-One without the excess bluster, and his flow is fluid and versatile -- check the smooth transition to and from a Jamaican patois on "Remind My Soul," or his rapid delivery on "Front Steps" for evidence. Topically, Akrobatik isn't charting out undiscovered territory, but that doesn't seem to be the mission here. As he lays out on the title track, Ak is trying to establish equilibrium between the essential and the progressive without playing "a nerd or a thug," today's common emcee prototypes. Balance is an appropriate name for this record; perhaps its only uneven aspect is the lack of guest rhymers -- Lif and Diamond D each appear only once. As nice as it is to hear a rap record that isn't saturated with posse cuts, it's hard for the best rhymers to carry a record on their own. That said, Balance is a solid return on dues paid, a document of a talented and hard-working artist's fruit of labor. And in putting it together, Akrobatik pulls off the considerable feat of evoking nostalgia for rap's golden age without taking a backward step. Rob Albanese
Junkmedia.org Review"

Awesome album

JCHYSK | 10/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I haven't heard of Akrobatik until recently and I just got this album. I thought it was great and I can't believe I haven't heard of this guy before. It's difficult to find good hip hop artists these days when all these no-talent clowns are being pumped up by the media. I think if you're a fan of Blackalicious or maybe even Michael Franti you ought to give this album a listen. I'll have to check out his other work since the other reviewers think it's a lot better than this."

Maintain Balance And You Won't Fall Off (4.5 Stars)

Norfeest | Washington DC USA | 12/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure what took me so long to get it, but I'm just coming across this album. It never made a blip on my radar I guess. Anyway, I saw it at a local record store in the used bin for $2.00 and it was hardly used -- even the jewel case was flawless (it looked like it was only played once and then taken back to the store). Obviously the owner before me didn't know what they had on their hands and the store manager didn't know either due to it's low price tag. Balance is a must have album without question. It came out in '03, I'm just getting it here in late '05 and it still sounds fresh. There are so many bangers on this album that listing them would make this a five paragraph review. Of the 16 joints (including the bonus track), I'd have to say that 14 of them are amazing. Akrobatik rhymes with an honesty and realism that is rarely heard in rap (even amongst underground emcees). The songs compliment and play off of each other without them all sounding the same.



I did mention that there were two songs that I could've done without. Those songs are "Hand That Rocks The Cradle" and "Always Bet On Ak". They aren't bad, but I find myself skipping them everytime I play this CD.



Balance is a must have LP. I still feel a bit cheated since I just found out about this album. There has to be some sort of promotion for this guy. I did get the Black Dialogue (Perceptionists) album and I knew about The Lost Adats and The EP, but somehow I completely missed this one. Don't be like me, if you haven't heard this yet, grab it as soon as you can. You won't regret it. This is one of the best albums on 2003. Highly reccomended.



Standout Tracks: Time, Woman II, Remind My Soul, Balance, Hypocrite, Limelight, Front Days, Here & Now, Wreck Dem feat. Mr. Lif, Cooler Heads, Feedback feat. Diamond D, and Bone Crusher"