I Phantom

''I Phantom'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Mr. Lif. It was produced mostly by alternative hip hop artist El-P, among others, at Boston Butta Beats in Boston and the New York City-based Steel Acres, The Danger Room, and Def Jux Studios. Mr. Lif composed ''I Phantom'' as a concept album about the working life of an African American who is pressured into pursuing the dubious rewards of the American dream.

The album was released on September 16, 2002, by Definitive Jux. A widespread critical success, it was acclaimed for El-P's sparse hip hop production and Lif's incisive, everyman lyrics.

Music and lyrics

''I Phantom'' is a concept album described as "an exploration of the dynamics of everyday life, and the pursuit of our dreams, in a rapidly decaying society." The narrative begins with death ("A Glimpse at the Struggle") and resurrection ("Return of the B-Boy") and ends with nuclear holocaust ("Earthcrusher", "Post-Mortem"). The liner notes provide instructions on how the story should be followed. Mr. Lif recorded the album at Boston Butta Beats in Boston and the New York City studios Steel Acres, The Danger Room, and Def Jux Studios, in the same sessions that produced his debut extended play ''Emergency Rations'' (2002). The album features beats made by alternative hip hop producers such as Edan, DJ Fakts One, and El-P, as well as guest raps performed by Aesop Rock, Jean Grae, and Akrobatik.

''I Phantom'' expands on the everyman persona that he debuted on ''Emergency Rations'', of which he said in an interview for the ''Chicago Tribune'': "We're wasting time if we're not talking about issues that affect us and the planet in our music. I grew up in an era when Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy and Eric B. and Rakim were dropping serious science on their records. They didn't ignore what was going on around them at the time, and neither should we. We're talking with each other through this music." While his debut EP was an intensely political diatribe on U.S. foreign policy and the Bush administration, ''I Phantom'' focuses more on working class black America.

Release and reception

''I Phantom'' was released by Definitive Jux on September 16, 2002, in the United Kingdom and on September 17 in the United States, where Mr. Lif had begun a national tour on September 14 to promote the record.

''I Phantom'' received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on 12 reviews. Moira McCormick of the ''Chicago Tribune'' called it "a heady, lyrically dazzling, unsparing" hip hop concept album told "with humor, heart and a sorcerer's way with words", while ''Blender'' deemed the record's funk-influenced beats "innovative" and Lif's rhymes "engaging ... ebrilliantly avoids the pitfalls of vacuous bling-drones and 'real hip-hop' whiners alike." In ''The A.V. Club'', Nathan Rabin called it "really audacious and ambitious", writing that it mixes El-P's "icy B-boy futurism with Lif's nasal-everyman flow, to powerful effect." ''Village Voice'' critic Robert Christgau said ''I Phantom'' showed an ambitious concept, specific insight into life working and raising a family, and a critique comparable to Boots Riley. He said the "musically pleasurable" album "fleshes out its cohesive narrative and cogent ideas with beats that respect the spare antipop ethos without abjuring such wayward rhythm elements as femme chorus, bass-drum-whoop jam, and $20 synth loop".

For the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll, Christgau voted ''I Phantom'' as the 15th best album of 2002. ''Kludge'' ranked it at number seven on the magazine's list of the year's 100 best records.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

* Aesop Rock – vocals
* Akrobatik – vocals
* Keith Atkins – engineering, mixing
* Edan – production
* El-P – engineering, executive producer, mixing, production, vocals
* Fakts One – mixing, production, vocals
* Ray Boy Fernandes – engineer, mixing, vocals
* Jean Grae – vocals
* Insight – featured artist, production
* Dan Ezra Lang – art direction, design
* Emily Lazar – mastering
* Mr. Lif – primary artist
* Nasa – engineering, mixing, production, vocals
* Amaechi Uzoigwe – vocals
* Vast Aire – vocals

Charts

See also

* Political hip hop

References

Further reading

*

External links

*

Mr. Lif official website
*

{{Authority control

2002 debut albums
Mr. Lif albums
Definitive Jux albums
2000s concept albums
Albums produced by El-P