''Absolute Value'' is the second studio album by Boston rapper Akrobatik. It was released on February 19, 2008 by Fat Beats Records. The album features guest appearances by hip hop artists

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

, Chuck D, and B-Real, as well as production by

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Illmind Ramon Ibanga, Jr. (born August 28, 1980), known professionally as Illmind (often stylized as !llmind), is an American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Illmind has co-written and produced hip ...

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon vari ...

, and

Da Beatminerz Da Beatminerz are a hip-hop production crew from Bushwick, Brooklyn, and are known for their dark, gritty sound that is very popular with the underground hip-hop scene. History The crew, originally composed of brothers Mr. Walt (born June 2, 196 ...

. Despite receiving rave reviews, the album sold about 600 units in its opening week.

Critical reception

Marisa Brown of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

gave the album 4 stars out of 5, commenting that it "mixes his socially conscious messages and his battle-honed cadence, healthy ego, and energetic production (courtesy here of Illmind, Dilla, J-Zone, and 9th Wonder, among others) into a palatable but intelligent creation that entertains as much as it educates." She added, "''Absolute Value'' has a few requisite tracks -- the melancholy 'Rain,' the sweet 'Back Home to You' -- but it also has a lot of sharp, thoughtful, fun material that knows how to keep the audience moving, both in body and mind." J-23 of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' gave the album a 4.0 out of 5, saying, "you won't find anything on this album that will have you reaching for the skip button." Andrew Martin of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' gave the album 7 stars out of 10, calling it "a strong representation of Ak's versatility as an emcee." Max Herman of ''

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Sea ...

'' gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, writing, "the MC leaves the greatest impression when he balances his hard-hitting approach with focused subject matter as he does on the Little Brother-assisted 'Be Prepared,' a soulful examination of the rap game."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. * Akrobatik – vocals * B-Real – vocals (1) *

Illmind Ramon Ibanga, Jr. (born August 28, 1980), known professionally as Illmind (often stylized as !llmind), is an American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Illmind has co-written and produced hip ...

– production (1, 5, 9, 12) *

– production (2) * DJ Evil Dee – turntables (2) *

– vocals (3) *

– production (3) * DJ Jayceeoh – turntables (3, 4, 6, 10, 14) *

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...

– production (4) *

Brenna Gethers Brenna may refer to: People * Brenna Hassett, American British bioarchaeologist * Brenna O'Brien (born 1991), Canadian actress * Brenna Sakas (born 1984), American beauty queen * Giuseppe Brenna (1898–1980), Italian cyclist * Troy Brenna (born ...

– vocals (5, 9) * Little Brother – vocals (6) *

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a J-Zone Jay Mumford (born February 26, 1977), better known by his stage name J-Zone, is an American record producer, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and writer from New York City. Career Known for his quirky lyrics and trash talk style of rapp ...

– production (7) * Willie Evans Jr. – vocals (8) * DJ Therapy – vocals (8), production (8, 14), turntables (13) * Chuck D – vocals (9) * Tzarizm – production (10) *

Mr. Lif Jeffrey Haynes (born December 28, 1977), better known by his stage name Mr. Lif, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts. While being praised because of his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on Definitive Jux and one ...

– vocals (11) *

DJ Fakts One Fakts One (born April 6, 1977) is an American hip hop DJ & producer from Boston, Massachusetts. Fakts One was a founding member of the hip hop group The Perceptionists with long-time collaborators Akrobatik and Mr. Lif but left the group shortly ...

– production (11) * Bumpy Knuckles – vocals (12) * Baba Israel – production (13) * Yako – production (13) * Buttaskotch – engineering * Lucy Fernandes – engineering * Ray Fernandes – engineering * Sir Bob Nash – engineering * Mark Donahue – mastering * Alphabet Arm Design – art direction * Billy Nunez – illustration * A. Garcia – photography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Absolute Value (album) 2008 albums Akrobatik albums Fat Beats Records albums Albums produced by 9th Wonder Albums produced by Da Beatminerz Albums produced by Illmind Albums produced by J Dilla Albums produced by J-Zone