Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.10.2005, Page 12

ARTIST
The perceptionists
PLACE: GAUKURINN
TIME: 23:00
>>>toccata and Fugue in D Minor... no
You Didn’t <<< DJ Therapy stepped up and
began working a pair of turntables with
incredible dexterity, warming up the crowd
for the other two members of the hip-
hop act that literally brought tears to my
eyes, The Perceptionists. MC Akrobatik’s
booming baritone and Mr. lif’s nasal
growl accompanied each other perfectly,
delivering rapid-fire rhymes backed by a
bare bones, bass heavy beat. They were
able to work the crowd into a loyal frenzy
with repeated calls to “make some noise,”
bumping fists with people in the front row,
and the occasional references to Iceland
even within the rhymes themselves. And
props definitely need to be given to DJ
Therapy, if for no other reason than the
man spun the first few bars of Bach’s
Toccata and Fugue in D minor on top of a
hardcore beat – and made it succeed with
flying colours. In terms of lyrical content,
Akrobatik and Mr. lif had no problem
swinging from old school party rhymes
(“Pump your fist like this / like what? / like
this!”) to more political numbers (“Where
were the weapons of mass destruction?
/ We’ve been looking for months and we
ain’t found nothin’”) seamlessly. Concise
beats, complementary voices, great stage
charisma and the ability to get the crowd
up and keep them up, The Perceptionists
are everything hip-hop is supposed to be.
PAul F nIkolov
THE PERCEPTIONISTS PHOTO BY ÁRNI TORFA
{ 14 }Grapevine Airwaves 2005 Friday October 21 – Issue 1 of 3