Audio Akrobatik
"Front Steps Pt. II (Tough Love)"

During the past 10 years, Akrobatik has gone from a local favorite to an international player. Part of the storied late-'90's indie 12-inch renaissance, he has recorded quality material for many key labels, including Rawkus, Def Jux, and his current home, Fat Beats. His latest solo album features collaborations with Talib Kweli, Chuck D, Dilla, and many others. Absolute Value is in stores now.

MP3: So let's talk about the new album, man, Absolute Value. What do you got on there for us? Akrobatik: Well, I mean, I like to call it an orchestra, man, like a symphony. I feel like it's a symphony. You know, I've got 10 different producers on the record and, I don't know, somewhere from, like, six to eight different guest artists. And there's a lot of different contributions and a lot of different collaborations on the album. But, it's not a compilation record. It's definitely an Akrobatik album.

But once you dig into it, you'll see that, like, I don't try to, like, flood the album with guest appearances, even though there's a lot of names there. Everybody just, kind of, comes in and gets in--short and sweet--and comes out, and it just keeps moving all the way throughout. You know, I just think the album's real funky. I think the beats are real hot, and I think that people will dig it. Right on, man. What's the significance of the title, Absolute Value? How did you come up with that? Well, me and my man...I was on the phone with one of my boys, and somehow, I said the phrase, and he was like, "Yo, that's your album title right there." And you know, I thought about it for a little while and I was like, "Yeah, he's right," because I was going through a lot of tough things in my personal life around the time that I was trying to get this album out. And that's, like, part of the reason why it took so long to get it out.

And "absolute value"--the term itself--is from math, and it's just basically, like, you know, any number, whether it has a positive or negative value. It just has an absolute value. So, like, it just says the value of seven is seven and the value of negative seven is also seven. Right. And for me, you know, I take that and apply it to any negative situation that you might be in; you can take it and turn it into a positive. And so that's the whole point of that. And then, you just also have the fact that the album has absolute value itself because of the fact that it's a group of artists assembled that hasn't really been done before on a hip-hop record. If you love hip-hop, I think it's definitely something that you'd want to check out. And to me, it's worth the money and that gives it that value. Right on. Now I noticed in terms of production, you've got Da Beatminerz on the "Soul Glo" track. Yep. How did you hook up with those guys? Have you worked with them before or had you been knowing them or what? Yeah, Da Beatminerz did a track on my first album, Balance, called "Always Bet on Ak." And, you know, I've been cool with Evil Dee and Walt ever since, man, I went out...the first time I went out to their house and recorded with them, met their mom, and all of that. So, you know, those cats are my boys. I just saw Evil Dee the other night. He came out at the release party here in New York. And, you know, it's the same thing. We already talked about doing it again for the next one. I like the tradition that we're making. Cool. I know you got a Dilla track on there, as well. Yep. How were you able to get that cracking? Did you know Dilla before he passed away or what? I didn't know him. I met him, you know what I mean. But I didn't know him. I can't say I knew him. You know, he worked out a deal with Fat Beats. So access was there for me to possibly use one of the beats. And, I mean, it's one of those things where any rapper is going to jump at the opportunity to rhyme over a Dilla track, first and foremost. Of course. But for me...I took it really seriously because I just felt as though--with the album--everything was just coming together in a certain way that just everything was happening right. You know, from a certain point, it just felt like "All right, this is the project that I need to be doing right now." And I really started to believe it in and it all started to come together. And then, when the Dilla track came through, that was just, like, icing on the cake. If anything, that was--to me--an omen, like, yeah, this is really popping right because I needed the track to bring to Talib. You know, I got the Dilla track, like, right before I was going to see Talib. So it all just worked together well. And now, are you going to be doing a big tour to support the album or what? I know that you tour a lot and you do a lot of international stuff. Are you going to be setting something up? Yeah, I mean, I'm really busy these days and, like, I want to say, yeah, I'm going to just go on some, like, crazy tour that never ends. But you know, right now, I'm just focused on doing shows when I can...doing as many as I can, but trying to get some rest too because, you know, I just came off the road. I was on the West Coast for a couple weeks and now I'm doing, like, some of the major markets in my area surrounding the release. You know, I'm already thinking about going to some international dates leading up in the next month or two. I mean, I'm going to be doing a lot of shows. I just don't know how much of it's going to be, like, proper touring where I just go on tour and hit the road because it's, like, I also work on the radio back home and I have, like, half a million listeners to think about. I hear you. There's a lot going on, but I'm definitely going to hit every market that says they want me to come through between now and the end of the year. I like the fact that the album dropped in the first quarter and I could really just take this entire year just promoting the hell out of it and, in the meantime, work on other projects that I have coming up later on in the year and next year also. Right on, man. I've got to ask, too, what's up with The Perceptionists? Are you guys going to do a second album together? Yeah. That's one of those things, I mean, that's currently on my mind in terms of, like, one of the next two steps of my career...is getting up with those guys and just making sure that we knock out another record--if not this fall, then definitely this time next year--and getting that out there. I mean, you know, we still tour together. And just about every time I go overseas, I'm with Lif and Therapy.

So we definitely have something going. We got a good thing going, and we realize that. And we want to get another record out real soon. I mean, it's already been three years since Black Dialogue dropped. Yeah, I liked that record a lot. I thought that was dope. Thanks, man. We're definitely proud of it. So we'll definitely try to put something out within the next 12 months. It's just a matter of negotiating things and making sure we put it out the right way. That's key, definitely. So now you've been...I mean, your first single dropped 10 years ago now; 1998. Yep. You've come a long way. You know, you've done a couple different labels, and you had placements and stuff like that in the TV and movies, and your radio stuff. Do you feel that you get the props and the respect that you deserve or do you feel that you're still kind of slept on? How do you feel about, like, your place right now? I mean, it's real easy to say, "Oh, you know, people are sleeping, da, da, da, da." I really feel, like, if people are sleeping on me, it's because I haven't given them ample opportunity to get into me and what I'm doing. And what I mean by that is just that it's 2008 and, like you said, my first single came out 10 years ago. But I'm only putting out my second solo album right now. Mm-hmm. So it's just like, you know, I'm just thankful that I still have fans leftover from all my early work and that I'm able to get new fans now. You know, I can't put the blame on the listener for me not being necessarily, I don't know, as famous as I could be, if that's what we're talking about. I'm just saying that I need to put out more music. Yeah. And that's what's going to get people to say, "OK, yes. This dude's doing his thing," because, you know, one album every three years or every five years is just not enough of a profile in this day because people are...you know, it's a competitive business and people are putting out records. You got some real prolific artists out there, you know, a cat like Ghostface or a cat like Nas. I mean, you're talking about guys with, like, five to eight albums out there. I got two. So I just got to pick up the pace as far as my releases.

And in my defense, it's also tough when you're an independent artist because you've got to get up a lot of money to put an album out and, you know, it can be a long process, especially if you're going to do an album like Absolute Value where you're involving so many people. It's a long process.

So I'm keeping that in mind, too, and I just try to balance all that out. And I know I'm doing a decent job, but I just want to spend these next two or three years really making sure I can put out at least one full-length album a year. Right on, man. Now, are you still in Boston? Are you still living in Boston full time or are you in New York or what? No, no, I mean, technically, I live in Boston. I don't get to spend as much time there as I probably need to, but that's where I'm at. Do you feel like the Boston scene...I mean, it's always kind of bubbling, but at the same time, you know, it doesn't have as big of, like, a national profile as a lot of cities. Do you feel like the scene there is getting better or getting worse or always kind of on the come-up or what? Yeah, I mean, I think it ebbs and flows, man. But the problem with Boston is that, you know, as much as there might be a lot of talented artists there, there's really no industry. Right, totally. And I think that when I first came out...that was the reason why I was able to get a national and international audience because Boston had its own little industry going. There was an independent record label, kind of, explosion where there was, like, for of five indie labels all coming out of Boston where people could get heard and the artists from each label was working with each other and stuff like that. So it was easier to build up the excitement at that time, whereas now there really aren't any labels in Boston that are, like, getting it. So it makes it a little tougher. You know, it's like Lif and I both signing New York labels. You know, a lot of other artists in the area that are getting to certain levels in their career...they're also signing to labels from other places, like Edan has signed to a London, England, label I believe. Right. You know what I mean? So also it's...we have to outsource our music because the labels aren't there. For me, even though I have my own little imprint...I'm not really right now trying to be a label CEO. I'm just trying to make the music, you know what I mean, and work hard. It's like doing all this work that I'm doing for myself...it definitely goes beyond just writing a few songs and spitting them in the studio. It's a lot of work. Mm-hmm. I hear you, man. I also want to talk a little bit about Boston sports because I'm actually from Massachusetts myself, and I know you're big sports guy. OK. You think the Celtics are going to go all the way this year or what? I mean, I think they've got as good a chance as any other team. I mean, they're looking a little slow out the gate in the second half right now. Yeah, I went to the game last night, the Golden State game, which was tough, man. Last second craziness. Yeah. It was. I didn't see it. I've just been so caught up in this album release. But yeah, you know, they'll have a tough time down the stretch because, like, you know, it's like what we saw with the Patriots and just like we see over and over again. And man, it's, like, when the opening day hits, man, you can have that team, you can have that squad, but, you know, cats got to stay healthy. It's all about who finishes strong. No doubt. You know, and our players...although our players are great, they're all over 30, those three guys. You know, you might get a bum knee here and abdominal strain there, but you don't know what's going to happen to hold those three guys together. But if that nucleus goes into the playoffs and maybe we pick up some type of backup point guard, it would be nice. But the team is good, man. They've got the best record in the league and that's for a reason. You know, they're well coached. Doc Rivers does a good job with them, and I'm excited to see how far it goes, man. I know they're going to get to the playoffs, man, and they're going to make a run at the title. And it's going to be a lot of fun, and Boston hasn't seen that in over 20 years. It's been way too long. That would be amazing. Totally. I hear you. What do you think about the Sox? Do you think they can do it again this year? Yeah. I mean, that's another team...it's like, you know, they're getting a little older, though. Like, Curt Schilling has already confirmed that he'll be out past the All-Star break. Yeah. So we're going to need to address...we're going to definitely need another quality first-string pitcher, wherever we find him from. But I'm happy about Clay Buchholz, you know? I'm obviously happy about Beckett. I'm obviously happy about Daisuke. I mean, you know, we got a great team, and they're the champs. Totally. We're bringing back just about everybody, you know what I mean. And Santana going to the Mets instead of the Yankees was huge. Yep, definitely. So, I mean, unless somebody makes some type of ridiculous unforeseen power move, I don't see any reason why the Sox won't be right back there and again next year. It's a good time for Boston sports, man. Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Well, you got anything else you'd like to say to the people out there that's going to be checking out the album? I mean, you know, I'm just excited to be able to drop something else, and I promise it won't be another five years before we do it again. And just, you know, I hope people enjoy this record and remind themselves too of, like, some of the great music from some of the artists that are on there that...you know, like Cypress Hill and Public Enemy and...like, go back and check those records out too. Totally. Right on, man. Well thanks for taking the time to do this, Ak. I appreciate it. And good luck with the album and the tour and all that. Thank you very much, my man. All right, take it easy. All right, brother. You too. I'll talk to you soon.