I Phantom is the debut studio album by American rapper Mr. Lif. It was produced mostly by alternative hip hop artist El-P, among others, at Boston Butta Beats in Boston and the New York City-based Steel Acres, The Danger Room, and Def Jux Studios. Mr. Lif composed I Phantom as a concept album about the working life of an African American who is pressured into pursuing the dubious rewards of the American dream. The album was released on September 16, 2002, by Definitive Jux. A widespread critical success, it was acclaimed for El-P's sparse hip hop production and Lif's incisive, everyman lyrics. Music and lyrics I Phantom is a concept album described as "an exploration of the dynamics of everyday life, and the pursuit of our dreams, in a rapidly decaying society." The narrative begins with death ("A Glimpse at the Struggle") and resurrection ("Return of the B-Boy") and ends with nuclear holocaust ("Earthcrusher", "Post-Mortem"). The liner notes provide instructions on how the story should be followed. Mr. Lif recorded the album at Boston Butta Beats in Boston and the New York City studios Steel Acres, The Danger Room, and Def Jux Studios, in the same sessions that produced his debut extended play Emergency Rations (2002). The album features beats made by alternative hip hop producers such as Edan, DJ Fakts One, and El-P, as well as guest raps performed by Aesop Rock, Jean Grae, and Akrobatik. I Phantom expands on the everyman persona that he debuted on Emergency Rations, of which he said in an interview for the Chicago Tribune: "We're wasting time if we're not talking about issues that affect us and the planet in our music. I grew up in an era when Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy and Eric B. and Rakim were dropping serious science on their records. They didn't ignore what was going on around them at the time, and neither should we. We're talking with each other through this music." While his debut EP was an intensely political diatribe on U.S. foreign policy and the Bush administration, I Phantom focuses more on working class black America. Release and reception I Phantom was released by Definitive Jux on September 16, 2002, in the United Kingdom and on September 17 in the United States, where Mr. Lif had begun a national tour on September 14 to promote the record. I Phantom received widespread acclaim from