Akrobatik

American rapper (born 1974)

Musical artist

Jared K. Bridgeman,^[1][2] (born May 3, 1974) better known by his stage name Akrobatik, is an American rapper from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.^[3] 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.^[3][4]

Career

In 1998, Akrobatik released his first single, "Ruff Enough", on Boston's Detonator Records label. It was followed by "Internet MCs" and "Say Yes Say Word".^[3]

His music has appeared on television series such as HBO's The Wire and ESPN's Playmakers, in films such as Date Movie and Wholetrain, and in video games such as NBA Live '06, Amplitude, Frequency, EA Sports UFC, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted.^[5]

In 2003, Akrobatik released an album, Balance, on Coup D'état.^[6] It ranked at number 4 on CMJ's "Hip-Hop 2003" chart.^[7]

In December 2005, Akrobatik signed to Fat Beats Records.^[8] The Brooklyn-based label released his second studio album, Absolute Value, in 2008.^[9] It received positive reviews from AllMusic,^[10] HipHopDX,^[11] Okayplayer,^[12] and PopMatters.^[13]

In 2011, Akrobatik suffered a ruptured heart valve and was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he underwent an emergency valve replacement surgery.^[14] In 2014, he released an album, Built to Last, which was listed by Spin as one of the 40 best hip-hop albums of the year.^[15]

Discography

Studio albums

• Balance (2003)
• 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)

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)
• "Adapt and Prosper" (2017)
• "Verbal Assault" (2017) (with Edo G and King T)

Guests appearances

• Mr. Lif – "Avengers" from Enter the Colossus (2000)
• 7L & Esoteric – "State of the Art" from The Soul Purpose (2001)
• Mr. Lif – "Intro (Missing Person's File)" from Emergency Rations (2002)
• 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)
• The Mighty Underdogs – "Escape" from Droppin' Science Fiction (2008)
• Effect – "Crush the Competition" from Fine Tuned Tantrum (2008)
• Fabio Musta – "I Still Want More" from Passport (2009)
• Virtuoso – "No Fear" from The Final Conflict (2011)
• Mister Jason – "Mister Jason Has a Posse" (2011)
• Snowgoons – "The Real Talk" from Black Snow 2 (2013)
• DJ Nefarious – "Classic Mindset" from Classic Mindset (2014)
• Golden Brown Sound – "Fight" from Great Man Theory (2014)
• N.B.S. – "We on That" from Budavets (2014)
• Thoughtsarizen – "Trippin (Kelly Dean Remix)" from Traveling Dragon Man (2015)
• Reks – "Plane Gang" from The Greatest X (2016)
• Ripshop & Reel Drama – "Real as They Come" from Regime Change (2016)
• L'Orange & Mr. Lif – "The Scribe" and "Strange Technology" from The Life & Death of Scenery (2016)
• The Funk Junkie – "Touch the Ground" from Moondirt (2017)
• Ben Shorr – "Over The Bullshit" from Pyrokinesis (2017)
• Craig G - "Wake up Dead" from The 20/20 Ep (2020)

References

1. Kergan, Wade. "Akrobatik – Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
2. "BALANCE". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
3. Rausch, Andrew J. (2011). I Am Hip-Hop: Conversations on the Music and Culture. Scarecrow Press. pp. 11–18.
4. Eustice, Kyle (May 30, 2017). "Is New Music From Mr. Lif & Akrobatik Of The Perceptionists On The Way?". HipHopDX. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
5. "Akrobatik – Biography". British Hip Hop.co.uk. February 13, 2008. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
6. Shepherd, Julianne (May 15, 2003). "Akrobatik: Balance". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
7. "Hip-Hop 2003 (Covering 1/7/2003 to 12/9/2003)". CMJ New Music Report: 20. December 29, 2003.
8. Strock, Owen (December 23, 2005). "CMJ News Story". CMJ. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2007.
9. Faraone, Chris (June 8, 2011). "Akrobatik: Down But Not Out". The Phoenix.
10. Brown, Marisa. "Absolute Value – Akrobatik". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
11. J-23 (February 20, 2008). "Absolute Value – Akrobatik". HipHopDX. Retrieved July 9, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. Lynn, Ginger (February 27, 2008). "Akrobatik". Okayplayer. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
13. Martin, Andrew (March 2, 2008). "Akrobatik: Absolute Value". PopMatters. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
14. Caballero, Martín (June 10, 2011). "Feeling the beat: Local rap community rallies around Akrobatik after his heart scare". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
15. Gubbels, Jason (December 12, 2014). "Akrobatik, Built To Last (Self-Released)". Spin. Retrieved July 9, 2017.

External links

• Akrobatik on SoundCloud
• Akrobatik at AllMusic
• Akrobatik discography at Discogs