Black Dialogue is the debut studio album by American hip hop group The Perceptionists. It was released on Definitive Jux on March 22, 2005.[1]
| Black Dialogue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 22, 2005 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 41:19 | |||
| Label | Definitive Jux | |||
| Producer |
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| The Perceptionists chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Dialogue | ||||
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Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | mixed[3] |
| Billboard | favorable[4] |
| City Pages | favorable[5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[6] |
| Exclaim! | favorable[7] |
| PopMatters |   [8] |
| XLR8R | favorable[9] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Black Dialogue received an average score of 81, based on 7 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[1]
Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying, "Lif and Akrobatik have a long history, so they sound natural as brainy verse-swapping partners, and they're sharp throughout, whether they have their sights set on the Bush Administration or are simply batting boasts back and forth."[2] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said, "on the whole, Black Dialogue emerges as a triumph, an impassioned 12-track hip-hop manifesto even a mother could love, assuming of course, she hasn't affixed a Bush/Cheney sticker on the bumper of the family station wagon."[3]
Dylan Hicks of City Pages called it "a leftist party record: alarmed but not paranoid, disgusted but not defeated, convinced that radicals are born on the dance floor and thus never guilty about composing love raps and having a good time."[5] Derek Beres of XLR8R said: "Social theory and musical aesthetic find kindred partnership on Black Dialogue."[9]
Rolling Stone placed it at number 36 on the "Top 50 Records of 2005" list.[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Move" | DJ Fakts One | 2:59 |
| 2. | "People 4 Prez" | El-P | 2:21 |
| 3. | "Blo" | El-P | 3:22 |
| 4. | "Memorial Day" | Cyrus the Great | 3:33 |
| 5. | "Love Letters" | Willie Evans Jr. | 4:11 |
| 6. | "Black Dialogue" | Willie Evans Jr. | 3:06 |
| 7. | "Frame Rupture" | El-P | 3:22 |
| 8. | "What Have We Got to Lose?!?" | Cyrus the Great | 2:46 |
| 9. | "Party Hard" (featuring Camu Tao and Guru) | Camu Tao | 3:50 |
| 10. | "Career Finders" (featuring Humpty Hump) | DJ Fakts One | 3:45 |
| 11. | "5 O'Clock" (featuring Phonte) | DJ Fakts One | 4:05 |
| 12. | "Breathe in the Sun" | Willie Evans Jr. | 3:58 |
| Total length: | 41:19 | ||
In other media
editA few of their songs from the album even appeared in several video games, mostly by Electronic Arts. "Let's Move" appeared in NBA Live 06 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted, while "People for Prez" appeared in SSX On Tour. "Party Hard" appeared in ATV Offroad Fury 4, DJ Hero 2 (as DLC), and Skate 3.
Charts
edit| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[11] | 41 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[12] | 42 |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Black Dialogue by The Perceptionists". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Black Dialogue - The Perceptionists". AllMusic. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
- ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (March 29, 2005). "The Perceptionists: Black Dialogue". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ Vrabel, Jeff (March 24, 2005). "The Perceptionists". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 26, 2005. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Hicks, Dylan (April 20, 2005). "The Perceptionists: Black Dialogue". City Pages. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ Endelman, Michael (March 28, 2005). "Black Dialogue (2005) - The Perceptionists". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ Cowie, Del F. (April 1, 2005). "Perceptionists - Black Dialogue". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ Heaton, Dave (March 16, 2005). "The Perceptionists: Black Dialogue". PopMatters. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Beres, Derek (March 1, 2005). "The Perceptionists - Black Dialogue". XLR8R. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ "Top 50 Records of 2005". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 30, 2005. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ "The Perceptionists Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "The Perceptionists Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
External links
edit- Black Dialogue at Discogs (list of releases)