Customer Reviews

Balance

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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

Akro's debut album Balance gave him the jumpstart he needed into the hip hop scene. His style is made up of confidence,poise,messages and a decent flow to match. As an MC, he talented, although he isn't the greatest. This album is good because of it's diversity with song content and creativity. There are tracks with messages, stories, and a few where he just displays his talent. On the latter, he comes close but never truly "rips" up a track. One of the major flaws with this album are the beats. While none are terrible, most are just mediocre. A few are good, but not great. The only exception is the incredibly smooth beat on Remind My Soul. Overall, fans of true hip hop will enjoy it, but it's nothing fabulous. Worth the money.

Get this album if you appreciate quality hip hop, total lyrical ability, and top-of-the-line flow.

a really good album..promising artist..his flow is out of this world...a topical album...stretching from old school emcee battle raps, to the essence of time, to hypocritical behaviour..the bonus track is just [great]...

a really good album..promising artist..his flow is out of this world...a topical album...stretching from old school emcee battle raps, to the essence of time, to hypocritical behaviour..the bonus track is just the [best]

This guy is one of the best in Modern Rap because Akrobatik has the dopest beats, and all with original, meaningful, and inspiring lyrics. Akrobatik doesn't rap about the Money, Cars, the Women, or the hood. Instead, he rebels against it. Hence, the title track, "Balance." The minute you hear that track, not to mention the rest of the album, you're listning to one of the most underrated rap artists today. The guy is also clever enough to include all the names of the album tracks rapping it all in one verse on the intro. And he's the best rapper I've heard represting BOSTON BABY, YEAAAH! Yes, it's true, this guy really would murder Benzino in a battle!

I was on a Gang Starr fansite a few days ago (which surprisingly had little information about Gang Starr, but that's another story), and it told us to download "Front Steps", the new single from Akrobatik. I had never heard of him before, but I said, "What the heck?" I listened to the song, and I said, "Hey, this is great!" so I picked up the album.

Balance is Akrobatik's first full-length album, and it's full of great stuff, especially because Ak is on point with every verse he spits. Songs like "Remind My Soul" and especially the title track has him dropping the best political science this side of Talib Kweli. Ak is also a great storyteller, as evidenced by "Front Steps" and "Woman Pt. II". And the lyrics in "Hypocrite" will probably have reactions ranging from "Right on!" to "I'm glad HE said it first!" All I'm going to say about it is that I really like the line "I won't bite a rhyme if I think the beat's wack."

When guest stars show up, things get a little off track. Diamond (D) drops a pretty good beat on "Feedback", but then he raps pretty lazily through it, making you wonder if that's really him. Mr. Lif's verses on "Wreck Dem" are okay, but to say that the line "I am like Trans" is lame would be an understatement.

"Always Bet On Ak" is a decent song, but it doesn't work that well thanks to the boring music that Da Beatminerz lay down (which isn't really surprising after that lackluster Brace 4 Impak album). And the hidden track neither helps nor hurts the album. But in short, Balance is a great debut record. I'll be looking forward to Akrobatik's next release.

This album could have been a lot better. Akro has some nice MC skills, but I was disappointed with the beats. The only exceptions are the songs: The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and Front Steps. But compare the tracks on "Balance" to his collaboration on the song Fly with Vast Aire on the Push Button Objects album "Ghetto Blaster." What a difference a good DJ makes!

Lots of potential. Hopefully he will hook up with more skilled visionaries like Vast Aire and PBO next time.