Mr. Lif
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- For other uses, see LIF.
Life
Mr. Lif grew up in the neighbourhood of Brighton in Boston, MA. For two years he attended Colgate University, dropping out after becoming enamored with the hip hop music being produced at the time. He became a performer in 1994. In 2000 and 2001 he won the ''Kahlua Boston Music Awards for Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Act''.Origin of Mr. Lif's name
According to Mr. Lif, his pseudonym comes from a song he heard at a Phish concert. As Lif recounts in an interview "They had this song, 'Liftedly Man', with this incredible bass line. I don't know what it was, but the character really got to me. I thought of him as the 'ultra you', someone that is perceptive, trying to gain knowledge of self, surroundings, and situations". Later some friends of his added the "Mister".Music
When Mr. Lif began making music, the rap scene was, as it is today, heavily commercialized with little emphasis on substantive matters. In his music, Lif consciously defies this status quo by incorporating social, political, and spiritual elements into his lyrics. Much of his early music consisted of battle raps. Later albums put more focus on social and political criticism with markedly progressive themes. Some of his more interesting works extends powerful battle rap metaphors into political diatribes. For example, the single Farmhand starts with an attack on another rapper who threatens Lif lyrically. Halfway through the track, when Lif is finished with his counter-attack against the rapper, he is asked "So what happened when you took it to DC?". Lif replies:Yo, Watch this
I step up in the oval office
The president's nauseous
He better be cautious
Before Lif launches
Another assault his
Weaponry's too advanced
He's dead in a glance.
In his lyrics, Lif often implies that his music has the same effect as powerful weaponry with regard to effecting social and political change. Other songs in this vein are Earthcrusher on I Phantom, Avengers on Enters the Colossus and Triangular Warfare on Sleepyheads (click [here] for a video of Triangular Warfare) .
Lif has also put out two concept albums: Emergency Rations and I Phantom (mentioned above). Emergency Rations tells the story of a corrupt post 9/11 American government which seeks to oppress its people in the name of security. I Phantom details a character's experience as he rises from desperate poverty, enters a demoralizing workforce, and then encounters the trials and tribulations of success and family. The album proceeds with a discussion on the never ending quest humans have toward mastery over the world and then finally ends in an apocalyptic nightmare.
Discography
Studio albums
- I Phantom (Definitive Jux - 2002)
- Sleepyheads (Thought Wizard Productions - 2003)
- Mo' Mega (Definitive Jux - 2006)
Live albums
- Live at the Middle East (Ozone - 2002)
Singles/EPs
- Enters the Colossus (Definitive Jux - 2000)
- Cro-Magnum b/w Fulcrum 12 (Definitive Jux - 2001]))
- Home of the Brave (Definitive Jux - 2002)
- Emergency Rations (Definitive Jux - 2002)
Collaborations
- The Perceptionists, Black Dialogue (Definitive Jux - 2005)
External links
- [Official Mr. Lif Website]
- [Official Definitive Jux Website]
- [Definitive Jux page that contains the videos for Live From the Plantation and Return Of The B-Boy]
- [LifOnline.com-An Unofficial Mr. Lif Website]
- [Mr. Lif Lyrics]
- [Mr. Lif in Okayplayer]
- [Mr. Lif on Myspace]
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