• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

THE PERCEPTIONISTS SURVIVE DEATH TO MAKE ‘RESOLUTION’

Written by GEORGE HASSETT Posted August 14, 2017 Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC

 

Resolution is the brand-new album from Mr. Lif and Akrobatik. After an 11-year gap between projects for their supergroup, the Perceptionists, and the near-death experiences that the MCs overcame separately in the intervening years, it’s an appropriate title.

 

“There’s a different tone to this album,” says Lif. “We’ve both been through some shit; resolution was the right word.”

 

Since the Perceptionists dropped Black Dialogue in 2006, Lif and Akrobatik have each faced a crisis that threatened their lives. For Lif, it came in 2006 when his tour bus fell off a 38-foot cliff. For Akrobatik, it was a ruptured heart valve in 2011 that left him in need of emergency surgery. To darken matters, shortly after the release of Black Dialogue, the group’s other member, Fakts One, left to focus on his production career.

 

“I thought we started something really special with Black Dialogue, and I felt like we had unfinished business,” Akrobatik says. “When I left the hospital, I thought, ‘What are we waiting for? Tomorrow’s not guaranteed.’ Making another album with Mr. Lif was one of the main things I wanted to do with my life. It really feels like a resolution.”

 

Although the project is their first full-length effort as the Perceptionists in more than a decade, Lif and Akrobatik have been frequent collaborators.

 

“There’s a symbiosis there,” says Lif. “I refer to Ak as my brother. Add in our contrast in voices, what we can do as solo artists, it’s a blessing.”

 

 

For their album release party on Thursday, Aug 17, the Perceptionists return to the Middle East, where they both helped kick-start the Hub’s vibrant underground rap scene in the ’90s. Looking back on old rhymes and accomplishments, Lif recalls his introduction to Akrobatik: “I heard of him on the Newbury Freestyle sessions and I was like, ‘Oh, this dude’s a beast.’”

 

The feeling was mutual.

 

“The first time I heard Lif was ‘Madness in a Cup’ on [WERS] 88.9 and said, ‘Yo, who is that?’” says Akrobatik. “He had his own sound; he was so confident. We became friends really quickly and before I knew it we were watching the Super Bowl together.”

 

In the time since, Lif and Ak have rhymed through recessions, wars, and presidential scandals. Nonetheless, their 2017 approach still manages to sound fresh. Take “Early Mourning” and “Hose Down,” for example, which open up the album with socially conscious messages over beats you can jam to.

 

“Lif and Ak were always about a party beat that can get you to dance, but if you listen to the lyrics you’ll realize we’re touching on some heavy topics,” Akrobatik says. “Not only does the song make you want to move to the beat, the lyrics are relevant.”

 

Resolution also sees Lif and Ak return to their battle rap roots—on “Let’s Battle,” they rip all wack MCs with a ferocity reflective of their legendary ’90s ciphers. At the same time, they show that they’re continuing to grow as artists; on “Grab Hold,” “A Different Light,” and the title track “Resolution,” they both get far more personal and introspective than they’ve ever been under the group umbrella.

 

“We had to deal with a lot of dark moments,” says Akrobatik. “This was our chance to talk about things. On ‘Different Light’ I get something very personal off my chest directed at one person.”

 

One person who isn’t called out by name—the current president of the United States.

 

“We made a conscious effort not to mention him by name,” says Lif. “We didn’t want the art to be stained with that. We now have the living, breathing embodiment of a corporation as president. But instead of doing protest songs, I thought to myself, I’ll turn inward and make music that resonates with the hip-hop community with positive energy.”

 

 

As they continue to release dope records into their 40s, both Lif and Ak eschew all talk of ageism in rap music. “I don’t think there’s a generation gap in hip-hop,” says Akrobatik, who teaches a course titled Hip-Hop: an Insider’s View at UMass Boston. “You’re dope or you’re not.”

 

Ak continues: “Teaching has helped me keep an open mind for beats like [album track] ‘Lemme Find Out.’ I’m always interacting with younger people. I have a class full of 19-year-olds, so I need to listen to Lil Yachty front to back so when they ask me about it I have an educated opinion.”

 

Adds Lif: “The legends are still bodying shit on the mic. As a writer, the more life experience I have, the sharper my blade gets.

 

“Ever notice how the older wizards in the kung fu flicks with the long white beards are the most dangerous cats? The young cats have more energy, but the elder can use it versus them and on the low is holding some magic dust he can blind you with.

 

“I’ve never been this excited to be an artist—my first record in ’97 was fun, but now I’m an engineer … My career up to now has been a warmup lap.”

 

THE PERCEPTIONISTS WITH EA$Y MONEY. THU 8.17. MIDDLE EAST DOWNSTAIRS, 472 MASS. AVE., CAMBRIDGE. 8PM/18+/$13. MIDEASTOFFERS.COM

GEORGE HASSETT
+ posts

George is a Boston-based writer and the author of "Gangsters of Boston."

    This author does not have any more posts.

Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC Tagged With: Akrobatik, battle, Black Dialogue, Boston Hip Hop, Boston rap, Fakts One, MC, Middle East, Mr. Lif, Resolution, The Perceptionists, UMASS-Boston

WHAT’S NEW

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”
  • Over Yondr: Are Cell Phone Pouches At Shows Liberating, Dangerous, Or Annoying?
  • Deep Cuts Brings Sandwiches, Craft Beer, And Live Music To Medford
  • Family Of Woman Killed By Commuter Rail Sues MBTA For Crash Records
  • Daring Greatly: TikTok Star Alden McWayne (aka Gucci Pineapple) On Scheming And Dreaming

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com