March 9, 2005

{ The Perceptionists "Black Dialogue" }

Yo. And now, some shit from the ill side. These guys sound like lasers coming through my speakers. In the sphere of the more conscious hiphop, I have been following Lif and Akrobat for some time now as masters of (quite accessible) powerful political activist and spiritually inclined hiphop. And finally, I gots to see them live with Fakts One yesterday night @ Paradiso venue, Amsterdam. I'll tell you man, it was mayhem from track one. An interesting mush of tight, rich, almost lush production tactics, mixage and fearless honesty. Respect to these cats to the spinal core, spreading awareness and discussing universal topics with vision on corporate power in global society, right media information cutoff and artistic complacency. Universal rap soldiers of the true path. Supported by Guru, Humpty Hump and Phonte, their album Black Dialogue drops March 22nd. "Memorial day" is a beautiful revolutionary demonstration song, with Lif and Ak on top of the masses and mics, rippin: "Where are the weapons of mass destruction? We been lookin' for months and we ain't found nothin' Please Mr. President, tell us something We knew from the beginning that your ass was bluffing!" An alongside sounds-like sampled organ makes it to a very vibrant piece. Ak sang his song for the ladies "Loveletters". "You don't even know I exist". It was quite fun seeing those cats keeping their head up in such a masculine energy that oozes out of most underground hiphop crowds. At the same time revealing their vulnerability in their feelings for a girl he is in love with on a distance, insecurity was definitely noticeable. That's just cute. 'Black dialogue', a historical impression on powerful colored and how a lot of shit is going down the capitalist drain nowadays. Inspiring ppl to catch up with the vibes of Malcolm, Wonder, Brown, Chuck D and others. Look out for the impressing 5 o' clock (feat. Phonte) with sweet pop sensibility releasing memories of Fresh Prince (whut?!, yes.) sunrays in soul "Summertime" or Common's "New Wave" with Stereolabs' Latitia Sadier. Discussing day job dissatisfaction, and 'security, the illusion created by institution'. My favourite. The tune definitely expresses the joy that arises from artistic satisfaction. Overall a nice balance in roughness and sensitivity, a fresh, inspirational, critical and positive, down to earth album. Tight production crossing old and new skool borders. And hell, I gots me a shirt! I never do that! Keep your ears open for these guys in the future. There's some incredible potence here. ************************Here's some of the brotha's words for yer ambience of Amsterdam and the show. March 6, 2005 2:40 am So, I'm in a coffesshop/internet cafe...Sitting with my newly aquired bag of truama and a bong.....America needs to get with it...... It's a beautiful Sunday morning...The air is crisp, the sun is beaming...I have a full belly, and I'm in a beautiful city (Amsterdam, NL). The show last night was fresh... We were really worried that noone was gonna show up..After we did soundcheck and left the venue, we didn't see anyone outside. However that was not the case when we got back at showtime...The crowd was thick, and live. It's always a difficult adjustment doing European shows, because there are no regulations on smoking indoors. by the end of the 1st song, my throat was already burning, and water wouldn't quite douse the flames. It took a lot of extra effort to hold it down, and I hate being distracted by shit like that when I'm on stage. The raw energy of the crowd justified the suffering though, and it took about an hour after the show to handle all the autographs and merch sales...heads really showed love out here, and I'm glad, because this is a place I always wanna be able to come back to...Especially for extended days off like this, where I have no interviews, no show...just relaxation. Tomorrow we fly to London to rock a show out there...you know what...Fuck it! I'm bout to get a beer... I'm having a conversation with this cat about walnut flavored mushrooms. I don't think I'm gonna venture down the psychadelic road right now, because I've already achieved complete peace of mind....Oh yeah....Imma get that brew though. -Lif **************************

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By Alan Smithee in Live, Music