Mr. Lif

Editor's Review:

There are already advance copies of Lif's forthcoming full-length, Emergency Rations, all over the Internet, but if you're not down with the "promotional-only" rants of Def Jux's Promobot 3000, wait for the retail version of the album and go pick up this 12" single. "Home of the Brave" is a scathing comment on the post-9/11 world, a war for oil and the general issues of self-expression, dissonance, patriotism and freedom ("Here's what the history books won't show / you're a dead man for fucking with American dough"). The slightly muted, hard snap of a snare intertwines with a short, crisp cymbal hit to create a whip-like percussive track, while a mid-tone synth loop lurks among anchoring bass bombs. "The Unorthodox" is more of a straightforward hip-hop track, full of boastful lyrics that smack of a unique East Coast flavor perhaps indicative of this MC's Boston roots. Steam-valve cymbal tracks and rock steady drum patterns stamp out a simplistic but catchy beat that is filled in by a ton of slick yet understated scratching.
- Max Sidman



Write Your Own Review

Bookmark:

Record Label Definitive Jux Released June 2002

Tracks Home of the Brave The Unorthodox