Biography
Within Boston’s Massachusetts hip-hop community, the Perceptionists function like the Justice League of America among superheroes, uniting elite talents to direct their abilities toward shared goals. The lineup centers on rappers Akrobatik, born Jared Bridgeman, and Mr. Lif, born Jeffrey Haynes, with DJ Fakts One, born Jason Goler, joining them at the outset. Mr. Lif’s pointed political stance, already evident on his 2002 album Emergency Rations—one of the earliest hip-hop releases to confront the erosion of civil liberties in post-9/11 America—blends seamlessly with Akrobatik’s own incisive, socially aware perspective, showcased on the 2003 solo project Balance, while Fakts One’s inventive productions supply additional sonic layers. The three had known one another since their initial years on the regional circuit and began collaborating on Fakts One’s college-radio program during the late ’90s, adopting the Perceptionists name in 2000. Their first underground offering arrived with the 2004 mixtape The Razor, followed by the official debut Black Dialogue on Definitive Jux in early 2005. That album included the singles “Memorial Day” and “What Have We Got to Lose?,” the latter built around an inventive sample of Joy Division’s “She’s Lost Control,” and also featured appearances from Guru and Digital Underground’s Shock-G. Once Black Dialogue appeared, the members pursued separate paths. In 2017 Akrobatik and Mr. Lif reconciled and reactivated the Perceptionists, issuing the reunion album Resolution through Mello Music Group.
Albums
