Akrobatik

Akrobatik
Akrobatik performing in Denmark in December 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Jared Bridgeman
Born	March 1, 1975
Origin	Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Hip hop, East Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Fat Beats Records Rawkus Definitive Jux Coup D'etat
Associated acts	The Perceptionists

Jared Bridgeman,^[1] better known by his stage name Akrobatik, is a rapper from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.^[2] He has collaborated numerous times with many fellow Boston rappers such as Edo G, Guru, Slaine, M-Dot, 7L & Esoteric and Termanology. He is also a part of the hip hop collective named The Perceptionists with Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, which released Black Dialogue in 2005.^[2]

Career

In 1998, Akrobatik released his first single, "Ruff Enough", on Boston's Detonator Records label. His second single was released on the independent New York label Rawkus, "Internet MCs", and later released "Say Yes Say Word".^[2]

Akrobatik's music has appeared on HBO’s The Wire, ESPN’s Playmakers and in films such as Date Movie and Wholetrain. He is also featured on Snacky Chan's album Part of the Nation, as well as in the games NBA Live ’06, Frequency, Need for Speed Most Wanted^[3] and the PlayStation 2 game, Amplitude, where he raps in the song, "Out the Box", as well as providing voiceovers for tutorials.

He released the solo album, Balance, on Coup D'état in 2003.^[4]

Akrobatik raps the daily sports news to Boston via the "Sports Wrap-Up", broadcast on the Ramiro and Pebbles Morning Show, on Boston hip-hop radio station JAM'N 94.5.

In December 2005, Akrobatik signed to Fat Beats Records.^[5] The Brooklyn-based label released his second studio album, Absolute Value, in 2008.^[6] It received positive reviews from Allmusic,^[7] HipHopDX,^[8] Okayplayer,^[9] and PopMatters.^[10]

Akrobatik's 2014 album Built to Last was named one of the 40 Best Hip Hop Albums of 2014. In 2014 and 2015, Akrobatik served as a visiting lecturer for the University of Massachusetts Boston Honors College. He co-taught a course titled, "Hip Hop: History and Practice" with Department Chair and Professor of American Studies Rachel Rubin.

In September 2016, NESN began airing a commercial featuring Akrobatik promoting the Red Sox run to the 2016 MLB playoffs.

Discography

Studio albums

• Balance (2003)
• Black Dialogue (2005) (with Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, as The Perceptionists)
• Absolute Value (2008)
• Built to Last (2014)

Compilation albums

• Detonator Records Vol.1 Compilation (2002) (with C-Rayz Walz, Breez Evahflowin, and Snacky Chan)
• The Lost Adats (2003)
• Essential Akrobatik, Vol. 1 (2007)

EPs

• The EP (2002)
• Antihero EP (with LX-Beats) (2016)

Singles

• "Ruff Enuff" b/w "Woman" (1998)
• "Say Yes Say Word" (1999)
• "Internet MCs" (2000)
• "U Got It" (2001)
• ”Hypocrite" b/w "Strictly for the DJ's" (2002)
• "Remind My Soul" (2003)
• "A to the K" b/w "Beast Mode" (2006)
• "Put Ya Stamp on It" (2008)
• "Alive" (2012)

Guests appearances

• 7L & Esoteric - "State of the Art" from The Soul Purpose (2001)
• Mr. Lif - "Post Mortem" from I Phantom (2002)
• Push Button Objects - "Fly" from Ghetto Blaster (2003)
• Raw Produce - "Rick Cerrone" from The Feeling of Now (2004)
• Mr. Lif - "Mo' Mega" from Mo' Mega (2006)
• Effect - "Crush the Competition" from Fine Tuned Tantrum (2008)
• Fabio Musta - "I Still Want More" from Passport (2009)
• Snowgoons - "The Real Talk" from Black Snow 2 (2013)
• N.B.S. - "We on That" from Budavets (2014)
• Reks - "Plane Gang" on "The Greatest X" (2016)

References

1. Kergan, Wade. "Akrobatik - Biography". Allmusic.
2. Rausch, Andrew J. (2011). I Am Hip-Hop: Conversations on the Music and Culture. Scarecrow Press. pp. 11–18.
3. "Akrobatik - Biography". britishhiphop.co.uk.
4. Shepherd, Julianne (May 15, 2003). "Akrobatik: Balance". Pitchfork Media.
5. "CMJ News Story". CMJ.
6. Faraone, Chris (June 8, 2011). "Akrobatik: Down But Not Out". The Phoenix.
7. Brown, Marisa. "Absolute Value - Akrobatik". Allmusic.
8. J-23 (February 20, 2008). "Absolute Value - Akrobatik". HipHopDX.
9. Lynn, Ginger (February 27, 2008). "Akrobatik". Okayplayer.
10. Martin, Andrew (March 2, 2008). "Akrobatik: Absolute Value". PopMatters.

External links

• Akrobatik on SoundCloud
• Akrobatik discography at Discogs