Live Reviews

Mega star

Mr. Lif's CD-release spectacular

By MAC CARROLL | June 29, 2006

WHO LOVES HIP-HOP?: Mr. Lif needs no hype man.

There are rhetorical questions, and then there are rhetorical questions. “Who here loves hip-hop?!” queried the bespectacled, dredlocked underground-rap star Mr. Lif upon gracing the Middle East’s downstairs stage on Tuesday, as his DJ, Big Wiz, spun EPMD’s “You Gots To Chill” in the background. On a bill with tourmate/labelmate Cage, Lif was back in prodigal-icon form to celebrate the release of his newest album Mo’ Mega (Def Jux) in the town that gave him his start. The vibe was hype, truly a sweaty summer party, and a bevy of special guests built up some serious momentum for Lif to bounce off of.

The first thing you notice about Mr. Lif, though, is that he’s on stage by himself: no hype man necessary. (Cage, take notes.) Lif doesn’t need the help: he’s the conductor and the orchestra. When he told the crowd to “get your hands up,” they were by the time the words left his mouth. As one observer astutely pointed out, Lif’s diction is impeccable: not a syllable gets lost on its way from mind to mouth to mic, a rarity on hip-hop’s stages. And that’s especially crucial for someone whose phrases and rhymes intersects as keenly as Lif’s.

After a brief, mid-set tag-team with tourmate Metro -- who matched Lif’s energy and delivered a few solid verses of his own -- he left the stage and let Big Wiz take over the spotlight, manufacturing a “beat from scratch,” as Lif introduced it. This turned out to be a smokescreen for a costume change: when they reappeared, Lif and Metro were adorned in shirt and tie -- as if they’d suddenly been hired by Accountemps -- performing a comedy skit about killing their boss, played by yet another tourmate, DJ KrazyGlue. Then, still rocking the corporate look, Lif took a stab at a few more songs including the new cut “Murz iz My Manager”.

Tie now off, an appreciative Lif stopped the music between songs to dish props to his hometown and to 88.9 WERS, which he credited with having given him the jump-off to his career. Sentimentalities aside, he dropped his classic “Because They Made It That Way,” and then broke into his new single, the soon-to-be classic “Brothaz.” In the crowd, hands emulating glocks pointed at the ceiling and buck-bucked in unison to the beat -- proof that not only is Lif’s new shit catching on quick, but that it’s as ill as it’s ever been.

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