Rapper Mr. Lif re-energized by life experience

A near-death experience tends to put things into perspective.

Such was the case with rap- per Mr. Lif, when he and rap duo the Coup’s tour bus flipped over an embankment and burst into flames after a show in San Diego last December. Everyone on board escaped with varying degrees of injuries and with their lives (Lif suffered only minor bruises), but lost valuable personal property and income from the subsequently canceled tour dates.

But there’s plenty of truth to the old saying: That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

“You can’t survive a 38-foot drop on a tour bus and then come back with some half-assed [stuff],” said Lif, speaking from his Philadelphia home. “I don’t have time to [mess] around anymore. I’m trying to inject creativity into everything I do. If I don’t spend time writing a song or doing some other writing, I’m trying to make solid business strides. And if all else fails, I just try to live as blissfully as I can.”

So if you go see Lif perform this Saturday at the hip-hop showcase sponsored by WMEB 91.9 FM at Soma 36 in Orono, expect to see a man reborn and re-energized. Though that’s not to say that he wasn’t a force of nature before the accident.

Mr. Lif, born Jeffrey Haynes in Boston, has made thought-provoking, high-concept rap since the late ’90s, from the incendiary politics of his 2002 EP “Emergency Rations” to his partnership with fellow Boston rapper Akrobatik, called the Perceptionists.

Following the trail blazed by rappers like Chuck D and KRS-One, on his early recordings Lif focused on a variety of social issues, from racism to post-9/11 paranoia. His breakthrough 2002 LP, “I Phantom,” released on Definitive Jux Records, was a concept album about resurrection, money and the apocalypse, set to bass-heavy beats and turntable scratching, and laced with an acerbic, eloquent wit.

While Lif has never shied away from being both ambitious and provocative, he’s also not necessarily tied to being a “political rapper.”

“I love having the chance to redefine myself with every record,” he said. “I’ll always have things to say, of course, but every time I write and record I approach it differently.”

His most recent album, 2006’s “Mo Mega,” featured a more personal Lif, exploring relationships as well as political issues. It also featured a newfound funkiness, drawing influences from both dancehall and soul.

Now he’s working on his third full-length with Atlanta-based producers Willie Evans and Therapy.

“The new stuff I’m working on, it’s very different,” he said. “It’s very soulful, and the guys I’m working with are almost like a hip-hop version of Motown. They evoke kind of the black experience, like in Motown, where you can almost feel the pain and suffering and joy that everyone was going through. It’s like people were really channeling something bigger than themselves through their music.”

Considering the music that has been pumping from his iPod lately, Lif has been absorbing all kinds of things and letting them out into his recordings.

“I’ve been listening to everything from Outkast to Toots and the Maytals to the new Justin Timberlake album,” he said. “It’s kind of crazy, in the iPod era you have so much music at your disposal. I can’t even remember the stuff I was listening to yesterday. I like everything.”

Mr. Lif will perform Saturday, April 21, with Foundation Movement, Paul Bosse the Beat Mechanic, DJ Calibur and DJ Shade at Soma 36 in Orono. The show is 18+ and doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 at all Bull Moose Music locations. For information, visit www.mrlif.com or www.wmeb.umaine.edu. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.

Supporting acts:

. What a weekend for hip-hop in Maine. One of the finest MCs currently working today, Talib Kweli, will make a last-minute appearance at 11 p.m. Saturday at the Station in Portland. Tickets are $25 at the door. I wish I could have given you guys more notice about this, but oh well!

. What with the unprecedented success of Hasidic Jewish rapper Matisyahu, I suppose it makes sense that more Orthodox Jews would follow in his footsteps. NIZ, aka Nosson Zand of Boston, will make a special appearance at Adas Yoshuron Synagogue in Rockland at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 24. Like Matisyahu, with whom he has performed, Zand follows the Lubavitch sect and lives an Orthodox life. Call the synagogue at 594-4523 for more information about the performance.

. The 13th annual HOPE Festival is set for 10 a.m-4 p.m. Saturday at the Field House on the University of Maine campus in Orono. Music for the day includes the gospel duo Kim and Reggie Harris, Native American drumming by Sukulis, electronic jam band Silver Maple Songbird, South American panpipe performer Waldo Cabellero and local guitarist Doug Crate. Best of all? The whole thing is free. For information, call 942-9343.