Mr. Lif & L’Orange isn’t your normal rapper/producer collaboration. There’s a certain form of novelty that comes with their sound. Mr. Lif can tell interesting stories through his unique style of rapping, while J Dilla’s soul lives in spirit through the sounds of L’Orange’s boom-bap beats. When you bring them together, The Life and Death of Scenery is born. With its unique blend of rap and dark instrumentals, the new project illustrates a dystopia where culture is lacking, and one man tries to show survivors how their past actions impacted their bleak present.
The Life and Death of Scenery serves as the first full-length project between Mr. Lif and L’Orange. Mr. Lif’s career dates back to the late 90s, includes stints on labels such as The Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal and El-P of Run the Jewels’ Definitive Jux, and is marked by indie-rap classics such as 2000’s Enters the Colossus and 2002’s I Phantom. This marks his second album in 2016 after Don’t Look Down, which was released in April to critical acclaim. Meanwhile, this is L’Orange’s follow-up to Time? Astonishing!, his imaginative sci-fi themed project with Kool Keith that also featured Mr. Lif as a guest.
With backing from Mello Music Group and Adult Swim, The Life and Death of Scenery is getting a lot of hype from fans. During an email interview, Mr. Lif and L’Orange talked about the new album’s concept and their creative process.
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