Mr. Lif

For other uses, see LIF (disambiguation).

Mr. Lif
Mr. Lif live at Pitchfork Music Festival, July 30, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Jeffrey Haynes
Born	December 11, 1977 (1977-12-11) (age 33)
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Alternative hip hop, political hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, producer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Definitive Jux Ozone Records Thought Wizard Productions Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises
Associated acts	The Perceptionists, Anomie Belle, Thievery Corporation
Website	Official Website Definitive Jux - Bio

Mr. Lif (born Jeffrey Haynes, December 11, 1977) is an American hip hop artist from Boston, Massachusetts. Often noted for his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on El-P's Definitive Jux label and one on Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises. Mr. Lif is also a member of the hip hop group The Perceptionists with long-time friends and collaborators Akrobatik and DJ Fakts One.

Mr. Lif grew up in the neighborhood of Brighton in Boston, Massachusetts. After attending the Dedham, MA private school Noble and Greenough School, he went on to attend Colgate University for two years, and he eventually dropped out. He became a performer in 1994. Mr. Lif's family ancestry is Bajan.

History

Mr. Lif released his first single, Elektro, in 1998, attracting the attention of labels Grand Royal and Definitive Jux. Working closely with producer and Definitive Jux label head El-P, Lif released a series of critically acclaimed singles and EPs, starting with Enters the Colossus in 2000. In 2000 and 2001 he won the Kahlua Boston Music Awards for Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Act.^[1] Touring kept him busy for the next year, but he still found time to release the Cro-Magnon single and a live CD. His track "Pull Out Your Cut" was featured in the soundtrack to the ESPN Video Game ESPN NFL 2K5.

In 2002 Mr. Lif released a pair of concept releases. The Emergency Rations EP bookended collaborations with Edan and Akrobatik in an MC abduction scenario, while the I Phantom full-length formed a saga that led him from birth to apocalypse. He revisited his Akrobatik collaboration in 2005, when the pair joined producer DJ Fakts One to form The Perceptionists, who released Black Dialogue, also on Definitive Jux. One year later, he returned with Mo' Mega, his follow-up to I Phantom, featuring eight productions from El-P and features from Murs, Aesop Rock, and Blueprint.^[2] Mr. Lif has also collaborated with Otis Grove, Thievery Corporation and Anomie Belle.^[3]

I Heard It Today, was released in 2009 on Bloodbot Tactical.

Discography

Main article: Mr. Lif discography

Solo studio albums

• I Phantom (Definitive Jux - 2002)
• Mo' Mega (Definitive Jux - 2006)
• I Heard It Today (Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises - 2009)

EPs

• Enters the Colossus (Definitive Jux - 2000)
• Emergency Rations (Definitive Jux - 2002)

External links

• Official Website^{[dead link]}
• Mr. Lif on Myspace
• Definitive Jux Official Website
• Definitive Jux - Mr. Lif Bio

Notes and references

1. ^ "Mr. Lif Wins Big at the 2001 Boston Music Awards". Hip-Hop Elements. April 24, 2001. http://www.hiphop-elements.com/article/read/4/5310/1/. 
2. ^ "Mr Lif". NME. 2007. http://www.nme.com/artists/mr-lif. 
3. ^ Blodgett, Tom (September 5, 2009). "Anomie Belle w/ Mr. Lif @ Bumbershoot". Seattle Subsonic. http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/2009/09/05/anomie-belle-w-mr-lif-bumbershoot/. 

Persondata
Name	Lif, Mr.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 11, 1977
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death