Phi-Life Cypher

Phi-Life Cypher

Phi-Life Cypher is a UK hip-hop group from Luton, England, active from 1996 to 2012. The group is made up of Craig Thomas Knapper, Life, Nappa and Si Phili. It works in hip-hop and is known as a Luton-based rap act rooted in the UK underground scene.

Career and reputation

The group builds its reputation through underground hip-hop clubs before reaching a wider audience. It appears live at the Brit Awards, tours, and records B-side tracks with Gorillaz and DJ Vadim. Phi-Life Cypher also receives a Best Live Act vote at King’s College, Cambridge. Its performance style is noted for stage presence, freestyle delivery and rapid rhyming.

Members and roles

Life and Si-Phili perform as the MCs, while DJ Nappa provides beats as the group’s DJ and producer.

Recordings

The group’s albums include Millennium Metaphors, released on Jazz Fudge in 2000, Higher Forces, released on Zebra Traffic in 2003, and Payback, released in 2006.