Emergency Rations (EP)

Emergency Rations
EP by Mr. Lif
Released June 25, 2002
Recorded June 25, 2002
Studio Bandulero Sound, Berlin; Boston Butta Beats, Boston; The Pool Room, New York City
Genre Hip hop
Length 28:18
Label Definitive Jux
Producer Mr. Lif, Edan, DJ Hype, DJ Fakts One, El-P
Mr. Lif chronology
Enters the Colossus
(2000)		 Emergency Rations
(2002)		 I Phantom
(2002)

Emergency Rations is the second EP by American rapper Mr. Lif, released on June 25, 2002, by Definitive Jux. It was recorded on February 28, 2002, at Bandulero Sound in Berlin, Boston Butta Beats in Boston, and The Pool Room in New York City.[1]

Music and lyrics

Emergency Rations is a concept album whose premise centers around Mr. Lif's fictional kidnapping presumably by government agents. It showcases his defiant perspective on themes such as civil rights, censorship, and U.S. foreign policy.[2] He also raps about societal ills such as gender socialization, the vapid state of pop culture, and the dehumanizing effects of capitalism.[3] Lif's thoughtful, confrontational lyrics are backed by Akrobatik and El-P's dissonant production, which evokes feelings of paranoia and alienation.[2]

Critical reception

Emergency Rations received positive reviews from critics. In The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin highlighted the EP's "solid blast of social consciousness" and wrote that it possessed "a raw, unfinished quality that more than lives up to the urgency of its title".[3] AllMusic's Martin Woodside called Lif "a thoughtful, often incendiary lyricist", while giving Emergency Rations four out of five stars and calling it "a provocative, well-crafted album that proves hard to ignore."[2] Robert Christgau from The Village Voice found Mr. Lif "funny" and an "angry guy" while giving Emergency Rations an "A–". According to him, Lif used the EP as both a set up for his subsequent concept album, I Phantom (2002), and as "an excuse to drop random science about the place of hip hop in the military-industrial complex."[4]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Intro (Missing Person's File)" (featuring Akrobatik and Brotha PC) 2:22
2."Jugular Vein"Mr. Lif3:19
3."Heavy Artillery"Edan3:41
4."Home of the Brave"Mr. Lif3:46
5."Pull Out Your Cut"DJ Hype3:30
6."Get Wise '91" (featuring Edan)Edan3:21
7."The Unorthodox"DJ Fakts One4:00
8."Phantom" (featuring El-P)El-P4:18

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[5]

  • Akrobatik – vocals
  • Keith Atkins – engineer
  • DJ Hype – cut, producer
  • Edan – producer
  • EI P – producer, vocals
  • Fakts One – cut, producer, vocals
  • Ray Boy Fernandes – engineer, mixing
  • Marc Johnson – engineer
  • Dan Ezra Lang – art direction, design, illustrations
  • Mr. Lif – primary artist, producer
  • Nasa – engineer, mixing
  • Ghazi Shami – development

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[6] 38
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[7] 28

References

  1. ↑ "Mr Lif - Emergency Rations CD Album". CD Universe. Muze. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Woodside, Martin. "Emergency Rations - Mr. Lif". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Rabin, Nathan (October 18, 2002). "Mr. Lif: Emergency Rations EP". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (February 11, 2003). "Consumer Guide: The Prelude". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  5. ↑ Emergency Rations (CD liner notes). Mr. Lif. Definitive Jux. 2002. DJX030-2.
  6. ↑ "Mr. Lif - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Mr. Lif - Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.