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Mo' Mega

Mr. Lif
1 disc

1. Collapse
2. Medley
3. Brothaz
4. Fries, The
5. Take, Hold, Fire
6. Murs Iz My Manager
7. Washitup!
8. Long Distance
9. Come Up, The
10. Lookin' Up
11. For You
Code: QZZQ
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 129
Credits

Producer El-P
Engineer
Boston-bred emcee Mr. Lif is a formidable hip-hop artist who makes a virtue out of not following trends. Lif's brand of socially conscious rhymes is the antithesis of hip-hop's current climate of escapism and consumerism in the new millennium. His 2006 effort, MO'MEGA is an agit-prop magnum opus--a galvanizing treatise against the societal ills of materialism and political obfuscation. Taking to task such targets as the Bush administration, the media, and corporate behemoths like McDonald's, Lif's imagist raps flow like stream-of-consciousness poetry over producer El-P's hard-hitting beats.
Mixing acerbic rhymes with clear political intent, Lif creates stark, apocalyptic images that come across like the "black CNN" of Chuck D and Public Enemy. On the menacing rock dirge "Brothaz," Lif describes the darker side of urban life as a cycle of self-destruction approaching near genocide. "Washitup," on the other hand, takes a lighter approach by riding a rolling dancehall beat over a humorous rap about hygiene. Combining the worlds of politics and entertainment, MO' MEGA is an engaging and powerful statement by an artist at the height of his powers.
Critic Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e reflects on the tangled state of his personal and professional affairs..."
Spin (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Dropping a sci-fi dancehall booty song to tempt nonconverts, his furious, frantic monotone dramatically collides with producer El-P's postindustrial beats."
Entertainment Weekly (p.161) - "It's his more outraged political rhymes, enunciated over producer El-P's barrel-chested beats, that you'll replay."
Q (p.115) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Lif's mental agility and provocative rhymes are matched by the production skill of label boss El-P..."
Alternative Press (p.224) - 4 out of 5 -- "Mega's phenomenal beats are delivered mostly by El-P, who twists his familiar grimy drum sounds into an old-school, '80s-Def Jam-vintage swagger."
The Wire (p.45) - "[P]robably his most accessible work to date....It marks Lif's stylistic return to the brusque, heavy mental sounds of his debut EP..."
CMJ (p.4) - "'Ultra/Mega' ticking with El-P's warped record production, seems like a stand against the three C's -- commercialism, capitalism and consumerism."