Celebrating The Perceptionist’s “Black Dialogue,” released 20 years ago.

Here comes The Perceptionists!

I’ve written before how the early to mid-2000s were a pretty creatively-barren time for mainstream hip-hop. Much of what major labels were offering centered on the acquisition of material wealth and the dispensation of violence. This left an ocean of opportunity for independent artists from across the country and around the world to appeal to audiences looking for alternative to what was dominating airwaves (back when people still listening to the radio) and TV (back when people still watched videos).

In this climate, many “underground” scenes in many different cities and regions managed to thrive and generate droves of talented emcees, DJs, and producers. One of the strongest of these scenes during to the first decade of the 2000s could be found in Boston, MA. And two of the best artists that came out of that city were Jared “Akrobatik” Bridgeman and Jeff “Mr. Lif” Haynes.

Lif and Akrobatik had done serious work in the Boston hip-hop scene through the back-half of the 1990s. Both would release numerous nationally distributed 12”s and performed extensively, building a following. The pair had solid chemistry together, recording numerous extremely dope tracks together as guests on each other’s project. These included songs like “The Fat Shit” parts 1 and 2, “Inhuman Capabilities,” and “Avengers.”

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Soon afterwards, the two would team with another frequent collaborator, Jason “DJ Fakts One” Goller, to form The Perceptionists, and signed with the Definitive Jux label, headed by the legendary El-P and already home to Lif. As a unit, their first offering, “Medical Aid,” appeared on the Definitve Jux Presents 3 compilation (2004), showing amazing chemistry. They followed it up with their debut Black Dialogue, released 20 years ago. It is one of the better lesser celebrated and doper projects of the 2000s.

Black Dialogue succeeds in allowing the three members of the group to display their ample talents in their respective fields. On the mic, Akrobatik and Lif stay true to the album’s title by addressing many of the issues confronting the Black community during the mid ’00s, be they related to current events or overall societal trends. They also give themselves the opportunity to cut loose as emcees. Fakts shines as a DJ and a beatmaker. He produces a quarter of the projects’ tracks and is adept as he lays down scratches on many of the songs.

The group starts things right with “Let’s Move.” Produced by Fakts One, it serves as their triumphant opening statement and rallying cry for the listeners to get behind the power of their music. In an interview with NE Hip-Hop, Lif explained how the song exhibited the trio’s natural energy when working together: the three went to the studio, Fakts made the beat on the spot, and Lif and Ak wrote and laid down the verses afterwards. Over blaring keys and thumping drums, the two emcees deliver a series of brief verses, with Akrobatik asserting “my flow is like torrential downpours, making steel rot / We pros whose credentials drown yours, on the real blocks.”

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Black Dialogue is also a product of its time, as much of the album’s content serves to rebuke the presidency and the policies of George W. Bush, particularly those involving the second Iraqi War. Their disgust is palpable throughout Black Dialogue, as the album features some of the best material centered on the anti-war efforts to be released during the protracted conflict.

The group takes things to the streets on “People 4 Prez,” their El-P produced motivational call to action. “Memorial Day,” produced by Cyrus the Great, centers on the thoughts of soldiers stationed in Iraq, depicting the sense of betrayal many felt as it became clear that the case for the war was built on a lie (the non-existent presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction). Ak is particularly effective as takes the perspective of one of the disillusioned enlisted-men. “I feel I’m being tricked even worse that the civilians,” he raps. “Nobody ever told me that we would be killing children / Feeling like the ones that sent me here are the psychotics / But if I say that out loud, I’m ‘unpatriotic.’”

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The pair deliver even more righteous anger on “What Have We Got To Lose?”, their second collaboration with Cyrus. They rail against the government and media, who they accuse of feed the larger population distractions and meaningless color-coded warnings as the pointless conflict continues to rage. “You don’t give a fuck about us, why should we give a fuck about you?” Lif declares. “The system works for the few.”

The album’s title track is keeping with the socially conscious spirit of much of the project. Producer Willie Evans, Jr. expertly chops and rearranges a soul sample to create one of the album’s best beats. Lyrically, it’s more contemplative than confrontational, as Ak comments on how even while Black culture continuously shape the whole of world culture, the Black population continues to be villainized in the United States. Meanwhile, Lif encourages communities to put their money into resources such as property and land, which will continue to hold its value when passed to future generations.

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Both Ak and Lif are also known for their ruthless pen game and could lyrically brawl with the best of them during throughout their careers. On Black Dialogue create a pair of their most ruggedly aggressive tracks here, each produced by El-P. “Blo” features El-Producto’s distinct sound, charging forth was wicked precision. “Freeze, don’t you move a muscle I said so,” Lif commands. “Stand to these, check to these, here come the dread flow.””

“Frame Rupture” is the album’s overall peak. The El-P crafted, siren-like track pulses, backed by atmospheric keys and strings. Each emcee utilizes their most evocative imagery and potent wordplay, with Lif describing “bloody acetate’s rising out the acid lakes” and later taking a sojourn in Hell to eat mashed potatoes with Mortal Kombat’s Kano. Ak delivers one of the best verses of his career, holding court as a righteous holy warrior. “Overthrowing so called kings that’s sitting in thrones,” he raps. “A coup d’etat to your fortress, we scorch shit / We roam the underground with a splif and a torch lit / Bringing light to those who be supporting that horse shit.”

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The group occasionally enlists some outside guests, both of whom are now tragically deceased. Boston legend Guru contributes a verse to the boisterous, Camu Tao-produced “Party Hard.” Even stronger is “Career Finders,” their team-up with Shock G. Over a bouncy Fakts One track, the three emcees act as consultants for a hip-hop job hotline, suggesting alternative forms of employment for rappers obsessed with committing violence, selling drugs, and flaunting material possessions.

Lif and Ak also delve into personable material throughout Black Dialogue. “Love Letters” plays like a relatively wholesome version of Craiglist’s “Missed Connections” post, with the pair addressing women that they met in passing, pondering what could have been and possibly could still be. “5 O’Clock,” featuring Phonte on the hook, features Ak and Lif encourages their listeners to pursue happiness and their dreams outside of their day jobs.

Black Dialogue ends with the Willie Evans, Jr. produced “Breathe in the Sun,” its most wistful track. While Ak reflects on taking a break from the grind of touring, hoping to “clear my head in the sun rays,” Lif addresses the dissolution of once close relationship. Rather than looking at things with bitterness, he acknowledges that while they brought out the best in each other, and is accepting of the fact that both their lives moved in different directions.

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Unfortunately, Black Dialogue was the only project the Perceptionists released as a trio. In fact, they were rarely able to work together a three-person unit outside of the studio, as Fakts One functionally retired for a time shortly after the album’s release. Though he did a European press tour with the group, he never went on the road to perform with both Ak and Lif in support of the debut. The pair of emcees would continue to work together frequently, it wouldn’t be until a decade until they came together as The Perceptionists again. They released the very dope Resolution (2017) through Mello Music Group, but Fakts was absent from the project.

Black Dialogue represents an excellent encapsulation of a time in world and history during the mid 2000s. Though some of it is directly related to the events of the time, the music itself is still powerful and often timeless. It was a further demonstration of how artists could go off the beaten path and still effectively provide a voice for the people.