''Emergency Rations'' is the second
EP by American rapper
Mr. Lif, released on June 25, 2002, by
Definitive Jux. It was recorded at Bandulero Sound in
Berlin, Boston Butta Beats in
Boston, and The Pool Room in
New York City.
The song "Phantom" was featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 video game ''
Tony Hawk's Underground''.
Music and lyrics
''Emergency Rations'' is a
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
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.
He also raps about societal ills such as
gender socialization, the vapid state of
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
, and the dehumanizing effects of
capitalism.
Lif's thoughtful, confrontational lyrics are backed by
Akrobatik
Jared Bridgeman, better known by his stage name Akrobatik, is an American rapper from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He is also a part of the hip hop collective named The Perceptionists with Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, which ...
and
El-P's
dissonant production, which evokes feelings of paranoia and alienation.
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".
's Martin Woodside called Lif "a thoughtful, often incendiary lyricist", while calling ''Emergency Rations'' "a provocative, well-crafted album that proves hard to ignore."
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
from ''
The Village Voice'' found Mr. Lif "funny" and an "angry guy". According to him, Lif used the EP as both a set up for his subsequent concept album, ''
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 Stud ...
'' (2002), and as "an excuse to drop random science about the place of hip hop in the
military-industrial complex."
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
*
Akrobatik
Jared Bridgeman, better known by his stage name Akrobatik, is an American rapper from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He is also a part of the hip hop collective named The Perceptionists with Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, which ...
– vocals
* Keith Atkins – engineering
*
DJ Hype – cut, production
*
Edan – production
*
El-P – production, vocals
*
Fakts One – cut, production, vocals
* Ray Boy Fernandes – engineering, mixing
* Marc Johnson – engineering
* Dan Ezra Lang – art direction, design, illustrations
* Mr. Lif – primary artist, production
* Nasa – engineering, mixing
*
Ghazi Shami – development
Charts
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2002 EPs
Mr. Lif albums
Definitive Jux EPs
Albums produced by El-P