Four years ago, Mr. Lif snuck into the world of hip-hop by delivering a fresh and futuristic album about the day in the life of your average Joe on the last day of the world. Funny, yet poignant, Lif showed that he not only belonged alongside the stars of the day, he was actually years ahead of his time. That might actually explain why his follow-up lacks the vision of his last release. Maybe in the future they have given up on vision and instead they prefer being disjointed to being cohesive. That's not to say the album is bad. It's not. It's very well made. But it isn't as easily accessible as the last one and does have that driving momentum of I Phantom. Of course, with hip-hop in such a sad state, I'll take a well-made album disjointed album over any the crap the labels are pushing.
1. Collapse – Remember that Judgement Night soundtrack when rappers and rock bands made songs together? That was a novelty then…it’s just played out now.
2. Ultra/Mega – Mr. Lif borrows some off-beat beats from Madvillian. I like it.
3. Brothaz – This is what I imagine rap would sound like in the future after the apocalypse...as citizens travel the countryside looking for food and shelter.
4. The Fries – The hottest disco track you’ve heard since 2020.
5. Take, Hold, Fire – If the Terminator (not Arnold) the actual character was a DJ, his beats would sound something like this.
6. Murs Iz My Manager – Murs breathes a breath of fresh air into this one with a wild dance track that would make Rerun jump up out of the grave and cut a rug…wait, is Rerun dead?
7. Washitup! – A little drummer boy beat provides the ride on this track that rides the line between hit or miss.
8. Long Distance – About ten years ago, Rakim made a comeback album, which is crazy considering that was ten years ago when he was celebrating being around for over ten years and now it’s been twenty years and…oh yeah, the song. It sounds like something from that album.
9. Mo’ Mega – A meoldy that is mo’ mega than what the song called for. Right now it’s at about a 9 and this songs really needed to be at a 7.
10. Lookin’ In – A futuristic bare bones melody barely keeps this track afloat.
11. For You – Is it just me or are the crazy beats distracting to the quality of Lif’s lyrics. It’s a shame because it’s like he thinks he needs the wacky beats to improve his voice wherein, his voice and lyrics are the dominate parts of the songs.
How it compares...
1. I Phantom - A-
2. Emergency Rations - B
3. Mo' Mega - C+
Hear it second....
1. Return of the B-Boy
Buy now...
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