Hip hop began almost 50 years ago, and it’s changed more and encompassed more than any musical or lyrical aesthetic in that time that I can think of. Careers rise and fall, styles change and grow, but one thing remains the same: a great voice, clear delivery, a range of subjects, and intelligent insight as a package will almost guarantee immortality.

For years I hosted a radio show called Asiko Phantom Pyramid: Global African Musics Led by Headcharge of Hip Hop, and when it came to hip hop acts I’d play again and again, the list always include Public Enemy, KRS-One, Paris, and my guest today, the Boston-based rapper Akrobatik, and his partnership with the superb Mr. Lif in the crew called The Perceptionists. Akrobatik grabbed my imagination with 2003’s Balance, his first album, and proved he was no flash-in-the-pan with the 2005 Perceptionists album Black Dialogue. His music has appeared on HBO’s The Wire, in films such as Date Movie, and in video games such as Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

As a result of a ruptured heart valve, Akrobatik has also transformed himself physically, determined as he is to stay alive for his family, and to offer his gifts to the world. Those gifts include albums such as Absolute Value, Built to Last, and Resolution.

Akrobatik spoke with me by Skype on April 10, 2018 from his home in Boston. We discussed:

• The influence on his life of his favourite teacher
• The discipline required to keep creating entertaining and insightful lyrics
• Whose hip hop skills and careers he would like emulate
• How he came to teach at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and how he balances that with his music career