I Phantom

I Phantom

Concerned as it is with the weighty topic of creativity versus society, Mr. Lif's eagerly anticipated full-length studio debut tackles more American sociological issues than a senior thesis. Label mates Vast Aire, El-P, and Aesop Rock, along with extended-family members Insight, Jean Grae, and Akrobatic, each add their own flavor to the narrative mix. Grounding their collective sound in a revamped, circa-1993 style, El-P, Insight, Fakts One, and Edan offer beats and scratches that perfectly match each song's varied level of intensity. <I>I Phantom</I> is an ambitious project that combines elements previously mined aurally in Prince Paul's proletarian hip-hopera <I>A Prince Among Thieves</I> and to an extent via cinema in Paul Thomas Anderson's epic, <I>Magnolia</I>. Considering the intricate nature of <I>Phantom</I>'s sequencing, it'd be hard to pinpoint any one song as the "best," but the Fakts One-produced "New Man Theme" should be required listening for all hip-hop nerds and intellectual thugs, worldwide. <I>--Rebecca Levine</I>