Each time I am sent a hip hop record to review, it usually takes a couple songs before I have Black Thought on the mind, chanting “nothing new, nothing new, they ain’t saying nothing new” as I yawn through the remainder of a twenty-song album.
Endorsed by the politically eccentric Immortal Technique, Akir is a surprisingly laissez-faire philosopher, who rarely thinks very deeply and mostly excels at on point flow. Unfortunately, Akir does not do the favor of at least selecting incredible instrumentals to compensate for a lack of depth. Instead, he sticks to rapping over a snooze-fest of poor man’s D.I.T.C. beats; the stuff Buckwild trashes. Akir’s producer, Southpaw, seems less a crate digger than a dumpster diver.
“Politricks” features the cleverest production on the record, but Akir slips into the usual banter regarding the government’s treatment of black people. The interview samples of former black army members speaking on false denial of voting rights is far more enlightening than any knowledge Akir attempts to drop on us. Although, note to Akir: You heard correct, there are “a lot of jobs and fine ass hos in Ohio,” but make sure you move to Cincinnati. Its racial tension should fuel your socio-political lyrics, but be careful where you say “ho”, as it is a taboo word these days.
I have never cared for Immortal Technique’s soap box rap, but I cannot deny his enthusiasm for his words and the thought that goes into his songs. Of the political rappers today, Technique is ahead of the curve, which is why it is baffling that he would endorse a watered down version from Akir.
