This is a quick adaptation of a review that I did for KTRU. The rating system is something like this:

• /- go back to the drawing board. This song blows.
• / it's barely passable as music goes.
• /+ or //- solid effort. decent track, but doesn't stand out.
• // this shit is pretty good.
• //+ permanently blaze this into your head.

Artist: Akrobatik
Title: Balance
Label: Coup d'Etat
Genre: hip-hop

1. -- (2:01) Prelude to Balance - short intro speech and rhymes; tight chill beat
2. // (3:49) Balance - club banger with underground vibe; positive message
3. //- (2:48) Hypocrite - fat bass, pretty standard battle rhymes
4. //- (2:35) The Hand That Rocks The Cradle - staccato trumpet line; feels disjointed because happy trumpet feels weird with aggressive battle rhymes
5. //+ (4:00) Remind My Soul - latin-esque guitar line, very introspective and thoughtful song.
6. //- (4:00) Front Steps - sparse vibraphone line over an intricate drum line. pretty decent rhymes.
7. // (3:25) Feedback feat. Diamond - produced by and guest rhymes by Diamond D (of D.I.T.C), solid, chunky beat.
8. //- (3:55) Cooler Headz - rubber band bass line. battle rhymes, but also a guide to life. cooler heads will prevail.
9. //- (3:13) Wreck Dem feat. Mr. Lif - solid track, solid battle rhymes
10. /+ (3:34) The Bonecrusher - mediocre beat, decent battle rhymes.
11. // (4:35) Woman Pt. II - chilled out beat, funny story about maturing (slightly)
12. //- (3:17) Always Bet On Ak - pretty standard battle rhymes
13. //- (4:02) Limelight - a little faster, still chill, an interesting urban tragedy
14. // (4:00) Time - very nice beat, nice rhymes
15. // (10:07 - 6:10) Here and Now - the thank you track; very nice jazz influenced beat with piano and trumpet lines.
16. //- (4:08) bonus hidden battle track. it's ok.

Akrobatik is one of the better MCs to come out of the new Boston movement (Mr. Lif, 7L & Esoteric, REKS, and more) and he's enlisted some top notch help on the beats (Illmind, Fakts One, D-Tension, Edan, and more). While a lot of the songs are the standard battle rhymes that bore after a while, he's also got a couple of nice stories to tell on this album.

Solid beats and solid rhymes on hip-hop's newest up and coming label. This is going to be a classic of 2003.