Othello and DJ Vajra met in 2004 while Othello and The Procussions were on tour in Japan. At the time Vajra was DJing for the group. He and Othello discussed getting together on a project and they finally broke ground in the summer of 2008. Othello came through Denver on tour where they met up, exchanged ideas, listened to beats and got a feel for the direction of the project. They recently finished their first full-length LP together, The Required Taste, and this 12" single offers a sneak peak of what to expect from the rest of the album. The Required Taste represents Vajra's production debut, and both cuts here demonstrate that he’s more than just a phenomenal live DJ, but an extremely competent producer as well. Othello's verse on "Active Balanced" is well supported with features from progressive hip-hop trio Now On and an extremely catchy hook from Mayer Hawthorne. The B-side, "Same Team Suckas", is nothing but straight up funky, high-energy hip-hop. While Othello and featured artist Theory Hazit both put down dope verses, perhaps their strongest showcasing is when the two trade back and forth during the third verse. Both sides also include instrumental and acapella versions of both tracks, so everything here is ripe for remixes.