Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Style

Media Credit: photo courtesy mr. lif LIVE LIF - Mr. Lif will perform April 21 at the Bear Brew Pub in Orono, sponsored by WMEB.

Next weekend, Orono gets its first national underground hip-hop act in years with a performance by Mr. Lif at Soma 36. The announcement has caused enthusiasm on campus for fans of underground rap.

"We're having a real hip-hop show," said WMEB promotions director Patrick Anderson, who counts himself among the excited. WMEB is presenting the show along with the Bear Brew Pub. The show starts at 9 p.m. on April 21, starting with opening acts The Foundation Movement, DJ Calibur, Paul Bosse the Beat Mechanic and DJ Shade.

Lif, who hails from Boston, first found nationwide attention when he was signed to Brooklyn-based Definitive Jux records. He was promoted as one of the foremost artists on the avant-garde rap label, which was praised by critics but met disdain from rap fans who didn't like the dense production and derided Def Jux artists as "nerd rap."

In the past year, Lif has enjoyed wider attention for his newest album, "Mo' Mega," and the video for the track "Brothaz" has seen heavy rotation on mtvU.

"He's sort of burst onto the college scene pretty hard this year with his new album," Anderson said. He said WMEB had been approached by Mr. Lif's promoters and decided hip-hop music had been underrepresented in the area in recent years.

According to Anderson, the show is being held in the Bear Brew Pub's Soma 36 because it was planned while Ushuaia was closed and because WMEB has established a relationship with the pub this year. The Bear Brew has WMEB night every Thursday with a DJ brought by the station, usually Anderson. In turn, WMEB has promoted shows at the Bear Brew. "It's been a mutual relationship," Anderson explained.

The fact that a small venue and a college radio station could attract a fresh, relevant act is no surprise, Anderson said. "Since we are a music station, we are aware of what music is really good, what music is really intelligent and what music is created with a passion and has soul to it," he said. Unlike the large Student Entertainment shows that try to appeal to the most students and often end up offering bland acts, WMEB can take chances. "We wouldn't have it any other way," Anderson said of the station.

Although Mr. Lif's sense of humor is showcased on "Mo' Mega," he's still a politically outspoken rapper. On the cover art of his 2002 EP "Emergency Rations," released during the invasion of Afghanistan, there are planes pictured dropping bombs on houses with families inside, followed by a picture of those same planes dropping boxes of food.

According to Anderson, students should know that Lif "is very politically and socially conscious and not afraid to speak his mind whatsoever. And that the music is incredible."

The show is 18-plus and tickets are going fast. They can be purchased at any Bull Moose location for $15.

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