“When we met I left a negative impression / yet another state of metaphosis.” says Mr. Lif on “The Unorthodox”, perhaps referring to the slightly more aimless fantasy battle rhyme style he showed us on Enter The Colossus, as his new EP presents a more focused version of our hero, in the post-September 11th U.S.A. Mr. Lif’s Emergency Rations certainly lives up to the title, as it takes on a multi-faceted meaning of not only being a quick fix for the fans to let them know that he hasn’t gone anywhere, but to deliver something that speaks directly to late 80′s/early 90′s hip-hop fans before that sound goes extinct, and to bring poignant social commentary while it’s still relevant.

Lif’s latest metamorphosis doesn’t focus on “transform(ing) into a pager, to vibrate a chip the bone in your hip”, as he put so eloquently on “Front On This”, but instead to resurrect hip-hop’s conscious and political agendas that seem to have been left in the 1900′s. And taking it back to hip-hop’s outspoken era, Lif also does so with the production, and creates an EP for heads that were raised on hip-hop in the 1980′s (sorry, Jukies). Sandwiched in-between more modern tracks (“Jugular Vein”, “The Unorthadox”), the true meat of this album lies within the it’s core, taking it back to the classic sounds of rap’s golden age.

Perhaps inspired by Edan’s recent throwback masterpiece Primitive Plus, Lif takes a similar route with this EP, with much of it not only paying homage to the artists of the era, but in fact specific sounds of it. Lif taps his fellow Bostonian partner Edan once again for two excellent tracks, both “Heavy Artillery” and the duet “Get Wise ’91″, with his trademark un-retro style, which helps re-establish him as one of the best producers of the moment (youngsters, do your homework), flawlessly channeling the classic sounds of acts like Eric B. & Rakim and Ultramagnetic MC’s. Meanwhile, the DJ Hype produced “Pull Out Your Cut” sounds like classic ’91 style Preemo, as Lif reminds us by quoting Gang Starr’s “Flip The Script”, while the self produced “Home Of The Brave” does the same for that era’s Boogie Down Productions, both lyrically and in terms of production style.

Lif won’t disappoint his younger fanbase either, especially with the modern day choppy production steez of “The Unorthodox”, not to mention El-P’s wonderful teaser, “I Phantom”, taken from the forthcoming album of the same name. But again, what makes this EP such a gem is that it does take things back to the classic era of hip-hop, with the production style and strong political ideals of the time, only relevant to today’s issues. For older fans that feel hip-hop has abandon them, Mr. Lif’s Emergency Rations are just what they (we) need.