Because of his odd choice for an emcee name, and even stranger choice for a title of his debut album (Big Bang Boogie, anyone?), Akbar’s debut release may be the most overlooked gem of the year. As one of the debut artists to represent M-Boogie’s Ill Boogie  roster, this virtually unknown talent comes out of nowhere delivering a surprising sleeper hit of the summer.

As evidenced on some of his little heard indy singles, “Hot Ya Hot” and “Live Long”, Akbar is a strong emcee, with not only a commanding voice, but wonderful control of his cadences, and undeniable skill in vocabulary gymnastics. His addicting train of thought, acrobatical rhyme schemes keep things forever interesting on tracks like “No Suckas Allowed”, as he bounces all over the beats with Mohammed Ali like braggadocio: “I freak the fly flows / hit the highs and the lows / Rip shows and flip flows with my eyes closed / And one hand behind my back, in fact / Hold the mic with the other to show these brothers they wack / Beat concrete down to grains of sand / Tear microphones to strands with my bare hands / Spit poems that hit domes and split chromosomes / I breaks bones and bricks and sticks and stones / When I bust I kick up dust like cyclones / hittin’ my no fly zone / don’t try this at home!”

Topically, he’s most interesting when expressing his love for the culture, as on “Hip-Hop Is”and the reflective “Take It There” - two exceptional classic joints produced by newcomer Jun. With a strong religious foundation, Akbar also explores ideas of creation and existence on tracks like “Driftin’ Thru Space” and “Those Who Say”. And however nerdy brushes with the devil and UFO’s may seem (“Bigga Dey Come”, “Mothaship”), Akbar’s natural mic presence keeps it interesting.

While the production sounds as if these tracks were left over from Gang Starr’s Daily Operation or Hard To Earn, (that’s not necessarily a bad thing), Akbar’s team of beatmakers, including That Kid Named Miles , Thes One of People Under The Stairs, and M-Boogie, have done a good job of keeping a uniform sound throughout the album. As an emcee, he definitely carries the potential to blow up commercially, but it’s unlikely that Akbar will ever abandon his deep-rooted love for hip-hop culture and religious ideals to do so. Due to the fact that he’s packaged himself and presented it to the hip-hop audience, rather than have created some new rapper-persona to capture the general public’s attention, Akbar may remain one of the most slept on emcees of his time, but there’s no doubt he’s kept every bit of his integrity.