11. Space Odyssey

Seamless emceeing. That's what this album is giving you. Emceeing on a level that we haven't heard in a little while. This is not going to talk about space ships, or it will not be throwing dictionary excerpts in your direction. There's a straight forwardness about this. The topics are kept close to the home of hip hop, one is tempted to say. The beats are not restrained to simply be a carpet, but at the same time, they are not pushing into the foreground, dominating the emcee. And so, what we are getting is a pure hip hop record, in a traditional kind of way. However, in a strange way, that's also it's biggest flaw.

You will realize that Akbar might be just a little something different to your regular backpack's favorite, once he opens with "Hip Hop Is...". The track starts dramatic and essentialist, before Jun TME is dropping the piano heavy beat. First Ak' urges you to "pay attention son, as when I'm done there might be a pop quiz", before he's dropping probably ingredients, definitions and elements that make hip hop the special something that it actually is. So right from the bat you get meaning, a whole lot of meaning in the content of this very track. Then "No Suckas Allowed" is going for a more straight braggadocios approach. The M-Boogie production is fitting this seemingly more lighthearted approach. Then again, an elitist could even find a message in the pureness of this rhyming, that is rhyming in a crowd control fashion, with punchline galore, that is ready to be recited on stage, but just as much fun to listen to at home. We are then continuing on the bragging tip on "Bigga Dey Come", a track produced by Fred Ones, who's also handling the cutting. There's a Caribbean instrument in there, however, the track is still mostly complimenting the emcee's purpose. The second verse is then getting more serious, with Akbar actually talking about what he sees.

Next up is a little gem. "Take It There" happens to be quite clever, as Akbar is adopting the delivery of yesterdays legendary emcees. So he does his reminiscing with an MC Shan flow, or with a Melle Mel flow, and what will be lost to the grasshoppers, the old cats will actually appreciate, this being a well done homage to his own and hip hop's beginning, as well as the the first and following steps. DJ Revolution is handling the production on "5th Element", a quicker track, that has Akbar giving us some more punchline verses, throwing in the jewel here and there, putting both the neck, as well as the gray mass muscle into motion. "Driftin' Thru Space" is then used by Akbar to talk about his believe, as he dedicates this track to Allah. However Ak' goes further, making this an equivalent of the chapter of Genesis, with him talking about the world's beginning. So this easily could be a lecture at the mosque, however, with the Fred One beat, it happens to be a dope hip hop cut. We are further talked to on the "Akbar Speaks (Interlude)". This is very interesting in deed, as Akbar is giving us a lot of wisdom, urging us to breathe right, stop eating meat, amongst much else. While this will be considered to be quite preachy by too many, it should actually be the moment for you to reflect on this at least, if not to adopt a few of these understandings.

With "Those Who Say", produced by This Kid Named Miles, we are getting a very dope beat. While nothing seems to be brilliantly groundbreaking, it's incredibly common though. And again Ak' messes with our head, with him dropping dope verses, making him an angelic figure. The previously released "Hot Ya Hot (M-Boogie Remix)" is coming on next, where Akbar is giving a side bout to all those that shouldn't even be listened to, as long as there are folks like him. We then continue on into a story telling offering, appearing in the form of the DJ Shame produced "Mothaship". The beat once more complements the rhyming, making this another humble success. We then continue on to check out the Parker Lee produced "Space Odyssey", where the strings allow Ak' to float away, hovering some thousand miles above his usually ground bound self. Then there's the Thes-One (from the People Under The Stairs) produced "Live Long". Here Ak' talks about a reliable life style, where he manifests his conclusions and his understanding, intending this to give you an upstart.

Continuing on, we get another Parker Lee produced beat, that is used on the track "Hold On". Now here the beat is not impressing us in any way, while the lyrics once more express a self reliance, a self respect and self support, making this the hug for all those in the struggle. The guitars on "Dedication" once more make the track a success, as Omar TME is giving us a slightly melancholic beat, perfectly fitting these almost despairing lyrics, that are asking for God to give strength, at times when such is necessary. We then return to lyrics that we have already heard, as we get the "Hot Ya Hot (Original Version)", as well as the "Those Who Say (DJ Revolution Remix)". While the first one seems to be just a calmer version, that then got made more energetic on the remix, the latter is quite a change, with this suddenly getting some jeep beat sounds.

There's not much else to add to this, apart from that this record can easily be approached with bad opinions, and with an uttering on one's lips, that it's not too impressive after all. It does get held back by regular beats at times. But the flow contains clever word play, with a more complex rhyme pattern and the content is deep. That's why we enjoy this record.