Mr. Lif – I Heard It Today
Rating: 
Review Date: May 19, 2009
Website: Mr. Lif Website
Label: Definitive Jux
Mr. Lif “I Heard It Today” Album Review
I’ve got to admit, I’ve been a little disappointed with hip-hop’s lack of awareness recently. While everybody came together in support of Obama, we all just seemed to drop off in the months following the election – as if there was no economic instability, housing crisis or social injustice being done in this country. Luckily, Mr. Lif stepped up with “I Heard It Today,” an album intended to create dialogue about various problems that plague our nation today.
Why I Like This Album?
I’ve always been a big fan of Lif. I just like his unique rhyme style and conscious lyricism. And I could go on and on about that if I wanted to. Instead, kinda like my reviews for his last two projects “Mo’ Mega” and “Black Dialogue,” I’d like to point out some of the topics Lif talked about in “I Heard It Today” which few emcees seem to be tackling these days.
1. The Housing Crisis – It amazes me that no one in hip-hop has talked about the housing crisis, despite the fact that it affects many hip-hoppers. But then again, this is one of those problems that are beyond the understanding of many of us who aren’t economists. So in the title track I Heard It Today, Lif manages to explain the housing crisis in everyday terms, and basically attempts to tell why it happened. The following verse blames the crisis on greedy lenders and lack of government intervention:
They were willing to give people with bad credit loans/
‘Cause they knew within a few years, we’re out of our homes/
And they could buy up all the same properties they sold us/
For the wealthy and maniacal, the shit was a gold rush/
They told us rates could fluctuate, but they didn’t say they could spike/
Now our credit is like/
How we gonna get another place/
Look at our face/
Distress at best and yes anger manifests/
When our president knows we’re drowning in the elements/
And really doesn’t give a fuck, so we ask for hesitance/
Bush offers only one-tenth of us pompous relief/
They may or may not decrease grief/
He’d rather help the lenders/
Original offenders/
Then send us off to get job number three/
Humbly sacrificing education and healthcare/
He’d rather just perpetuate the war ‘cause there’s wealth in it/
Health benefit it heavily tinted/
Windows of CEOs rooms remained closed/
So they never have to listen to those who oppose/
The path that they chose to slow economic woes/
They prey upon our desperation/
Instead of seeking elevation/
Shit is catastrophic in my estimation/
It happened during the Republican reign/
And some of y’all still went and voted McCain/
I heard it today/
2. The Economy – Lif has always been an emcee that speaks for the people. Therefore, it came as no surprise to me that many of his lyrics discussing the faltering state of the U.S. economy revolved around the belief that the wealthy trick the lower and middle classes into complacency by dangling monetary gains in front of them like a carrot in front of a donkey. The following verse from What About Us? stresses this point.
Is this in our best interest/
To infest the world with stress/
Just so you can dress best/
I guess you answered yes/
As we linger at the precipice/
Just to hear from dying – hear the crying?/
That old couple with the hopes of retiring/
About to clap you with the iron/
Trying hard not to let go/
Old goals are set from the get go/
Lost they power and the price of petrol/
And now they Petro/
And so the story goes/
Death with no memorials/
Editorials on this don’t exist/
Income tax is just a myth/
To make the bankers richer/
So they can sell you half the picture/
And seize your assets quicker than you can go acquire them/
We have the right to fire them/
Instead we co-conspiring/
Through silence, through science that’s social/
And economic/
They manufacture our consent to make a profit/
The papers been powerless since they left the Gold standard/
They using currency to woo the whole planet/
3. Police Brutality – So yeah, this isn’t exactly a topic that nobody talks about in hip-hop. But nobody talks about it like Lif does – who often stresses the deeper causes and effects of police brutality. The following verse from Gun Fight talks about the social consequences to families and communities, the lack of judicial response, and the belief that police brutality is just a small part of America’s system of modern day slavery.
Lorenzo, Darby, now let’s bring it back to Rodney/
Cops ain’t sorry they never small like a safari/
They viewing us as three-fifths human so they guns booming/
Death is glooming ain’t no punishment pursuing/
Them cops got off scot free, it doesn’t shock me/
Until they use their Taser to shock me/
They use Freeze Plus to seize us/
Dogs and leave us is dark alleys/
Protest they beat you with balies/
Families don’t recover/
From the loss of a brother/
Mother, sister or father/
It’s outright slaughter/
Emancipation Proclamation just some documentation/
To rock you to sleep, knowing your cell is waiting/
This nation is a plantation/
The government it’s slave master/
Police are trained to gather slaves faster/
Ask them brothers down in Alabama/
They brought the chain gangs back in ‘95/
Slavery’s alive/
Housing crisis, oil prices/
Low pay and high prices/
As the desperation rises/
They’ll be ready to fight us with shields and snipers/
Kill your kid in diapers, they’ll murder anybody like us/
4. Spirituality – One of the things I love about Mr. Lif is that, despite his political agenda and anger toward the powers that be, he maintains a level of positivity and spirituality in his rhymes. In fact, I often sense that it is Lif’s deep belief in a common spiritual purpose or energy that has helped to form his social and political stances. The following verse from former HHL track of the week The Sun illustrates this spiritual vibe.
I came from the wind, came from the seas/
Came from kings, came from queens/
Provided means to express what’s seen/
I’m the hope that will gleam/
When things seem useless/
Futile, fruitless/
I’m hoping you can use this, the truth can be ruthless/
You’re launching your attack, then you need some theme music/
Expressing your emotions in sync with the oceanic/
Tide – believe but gonna grind, don’t panic/
I could be frantic or maybe mellow and soothing/
No matter what tempo, with form I’m still moving/
I move Bob Marley and I moved Etta James/
Then they claim when the fire breaks out, I’m to blame/
Same people who raised hell in their youth/
Now they got all types of advice to tell you/
Do what you feel if your actions are real/
Then you shall find glory when the truth is revealed/
Just follow your call and when your visions are done/
Then wander …/
Overall: Ridiculously dope. I just can’t stop listening to this album, and it just keeps getting better. Mr. Lif’s “I Heard It Today” is easily among the best hip-hop albums of 2009 thus far, and definitely a must have for any hip-hop fan. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, I highly recommend doing so now. Peace.
Album Track Listing:
- Welcome To the World
- What About Us?
- Breathe (feat. Bahamadia)
- Collapse the Walls
- Folkore (feat. Dumbtron)
- Police Brutality (Scene)
- Gun Fight (feat. Metro)
- PNN 1
- Hatred
- Homecoming (Scene)
- Head High
- I Heard It Today
- The Sun
- Dawn
Jay-Izzle wrote:
Dope album.
Posted on 19-May-09 at 8:58 am | Permalink
K wrote:
Can’t wait to hear it when I get my life back!
Posted on 19-May-09 at 1:51 pm | Permalink
Father Time wrote:
Super Dope Album.. Good review hip hop..
Posted on 19-May-09 at 1:59 pm | Permalink
303 b-boy wrote:
Lif rules!
Posted on 19-May-09 at 2:38 pm | Permalink
Jonesy wrote:
This is a pretty dope album!
Posted on 19-May-09 at 7:21 pm | Permalink
Fisch wrote:
Lif is my man – can’t wait to hear this.
Emergency Rations is still one of the most creative album concepts I can think of. This dude has talent and creativity – scary combo.
Posted on 20-May-09 at 12:21 am | Permalink
East wrote:
Ha! When the hell did supporting Obama equate to ‘awareness’? Scratch that, when did supporting *any* politician equate to ‘awareness’? Someone’s drinking the Kool-Aid.
Tell you what, if supporting Obama is ‘awareness’, then Stalinists are communists! You liberal types are way too damn easy; for real.
Mr. Lif is good though. His song “Live from the Plantation” was probably the first hip hop song I ever heard that came close to being an anti-work anthem.
Oh, and fuck ‘awareness’ too. Getting a good nights sleep and eating good food is enough to keep you aware and awake. Ain’t nothing to revolution but making sure you do what’s good for you and those you love. Economies clearly aren’t conducive with human health and happiness. Neither is commodified shelter and judicial ideology. So I’m wondering if ‘economic instability’, housing crises, and ‘social injustices’ are things that really need to be payed attention to.
Hmmm…?
Posted on 20-May-09 at 7:41 pm | Permalink
Nathaniel wrote:
Damn East is always giving me a hard time. I feel your point though.
I never said that supporting Obama equated to awareness. All I meant is that while dude was running for president, hip-hop got involved. We made songs and videos talking about what was going on. We watched the debates. We took interest in the problems we are facing as a nation. We got out and voted.
But since then, I feel that the conversation has ended. Hip-Hop stopped being politically involved. And I give Lif credit for bringing some of these topics back to the forefront. That’s all I was saying with this review.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 9:54 am | Permalink
East wrote:
Don’t take it personally, Nathan. I’m not trying to rub your face in shit. I’m just used to critical discourse and hard discussions; and as there’s a comment section on this site, I figured I might as well take a couple moments of my time and post some outlandish comments that everybody can ponder and think about.
It doesn’t matter to me if you can comprehend the subjects I’m talking about, as long as you can feel the bite of my words. I used to be in love with the hip hop subculture; now, looking back at it all from where I’m standing now, I can see that it really isn’t anything special. But it’s still my favorite form of music though!!
So here’s another treat for ya:
The less political hip hop is, the better. Don’t be mistaken though, I’m a pro-revolutionary through and through and I’ll remain one ’til my dying days. But you need to understand what politics is. Political issues have nothing to do with peoples daily lives, and that’s where true revolution arises from – daily life. Political issues are simply problems *Society* faces conflated into a representable form. But Society is clearly the greatest problem. And personally, I’m opposed to representation. The only one who can wipe my ass is me (well, maybe when I get really old someone will have to do it for me…but you get my point). A pro-revolutionary that doesn’t want to remain irrelevant opposes politics and political discourse – opposition to representation and mediation. Anti-politics.
People don’t need to be involved with politics in order to be radical. The greatest form of radicalism is that which comes from what you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste everyday. Revolution is existential, not political.
Maybe that makes sense, maybe it doesn’t. All I know is, is that when it comes time to get down with revolution, I’m not gonna do it for you, her, him, or them; I’ll do it for myself and those I love. Self-interest beats self-sacrifice. What good are you to revolution if you’re willing to be a martyr for some ’cause’? A dead revolutionary is a bad revolutionary. Ya feel me?
Anyway…the smart thing to do is to ignore the State’s discourse. If you have radical feelings then apply them to your own experiences. Make your own discourse; that in itself is radical. The State exercises absolute authority (*Sovereignty*), so it will always attempt to set the ‘public discourse’.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 11:00 am | Permalink
Nathaniel wrote:
Great point. I feel your stance. Wasn’t taking it personally E – I enjoy your point of view and your participation on HHL and hope you continue to comment.
I’m not sure about your view that political issues have nothing to do with people’s lives, though. Maybe if your revolution ever does take place, that would be true. But as long as our “society” exists, even if only in a representational form, the issues of that society are going to be pertinent to our lives. And that alone requires our participation and attention.
For example, our “society” has a foreign policy that’s purely political. Given your point, that political issue would not affect us since it is a problem of a society that really only exists in theory. But hasn’t that political issue still affected the lives of everyone who’s died or had a friend/family member die as a result of the political decisions made around this foreign policy stance? Because that death is something you can, as you said, see, hear, smell, feel and taste everyday.
If we simply ignore the state’s discourse as you recommend, that puts us in a position where we’d just be pretending that the state’s decisions don’t affect us when they clearly do. Like the pink elephant in the room. Society may or may not be the problem, but as long as the state has discourse we have to recognize the existence of this discourse and the manner in which its decisions affects us.
And let’s face it … most people, and many hip-hoppers, don’t read. If hip-hop can provide an alternate source of information or viewpoint into this state discourse, then from my standpoint the MORE political hip-hop is, the better.
Now I’m not saying hip-hop should or should not be political. I’m just saying that I’m down for it if it is, and I’m down for it if it isn’t.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 12:39 pm | Permalink
East wrote:
But does the (American) State’s foreign policy affect you? Of course not. That’s my point. Pro-revolutionary efforts shouldn’t be concerned with the innumerable causes presented by politics. I also apologize for saying “ignore the State’s discourse”. I meant to say: oppose the State’s discourse. I’m obviously operating on the presupposition that you’re opposed to the existence of State’s and sovereignty. You don’t seem like an anarchist and/or a communist. So that may be a point of confusion. I’m in opposition to the State’s discourse because I’m only concerned with my discourse.
That’s really what opposition to politics is – the desire to overcome the matrix of political issues that pro-revolutionaries get tangled up in. Why would I engage in anti-war activism? The effects of the American State’s military adventures is just a detached image of death and war. And besides, the Iraqis have almost entirely succumbed to nationalist and religious organizations. I don’t share their struggle. If anything I’m opposed to the Iraqis and Afghans ‘resistance’. Islamists aren’t cool. I’m sure those who are subjected to American militarism have it in them to engage in anti-authoritarian struggle, but they haven’t shown it yet.
If a decision made by the State affects you, then conflict with it. Literally. Not Rambo style like the armed strugglists would have you do, but in a way that’s determined by you; and in a manner that still attempts to negate the affects of that decision. No protests. No petitions. No voting. No demands. Just silent, anonymous negation of the State’s authority.
Like this: http://www.geocities.com/amurderofcrows1/issue1/fire_at_midnight.htm (you allow html?)
Sabotage is only one example though. See where I’m comin from with this? Sorry if this isn’t really the appropriate place to engage in a discussion like this.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 1:59 pm | Permalink
TheGWH wrote:
You said, “It amazes me that no one in hip-hop has talked about the housing crisis”
Check out Immortal Technique’s Harlem Renaissance.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 4:59 pm | Permalink
admin wrote:
GWH … thank you. We featured that track a couple months back:
http://www.hiphoplinguistics.com/quotes/2008/06/track-of-the-week-immortal-technique-harlem-renaissance
However, in Harlem Renaissance, Technique is not talking about the housing crisis … he is talking about gentrification. Click the link above and check out the lyrics for clarification.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 5:07 pm | Permalink
East wrote:
Gentrification is an example of something that affects a massive number of people. But, again, you’ll get nowhere if you approach it as a political issue and make an effort to engage in State discourse. ‘Participatory politics’ is only an illusory guise that draws people into the State’s discourse. Make your own discourse. Radicals all over the world attempt to enter State discourse as an oppositional force, but they always end up running around in circles. The instant something is introduced into the dialogue of the State it becomes a political issue.
I mean, who exactly does one go to if they wish to defeat air pollution or war? The former is a consequence of industrialization and technological-production; the latter is a ripple in the pond because of the existence of the State and it’s rule. So perhaps instead of engaging in the State’s discourse or remaining apathetic towards it, we should oppose it.
Never seek representation from *anyone*. The State is the predominant provider of representation but most pro-revolutionaries are just as eager to recruit people to their organizations and increase their head count. Organizations like NEFAC (North Eastern Federation of Anarchist-Communists) and BAAM (Boston Anti-Authoritarian Movement) are examples of formal organizations that only wish to be representative bodies for ‘working class interests’ (whatever the hell that means…). So, if you’re in the north east and you’re interested in pro-revolutionary theory and practice, watch out for them. Don’t get sucked into their programs and boring ideology (all ideology is boring, really).
Act on your own time, your own energy, and your own interest. If gentrification affects you, find ways of conflicting with it. Maybe try to rile people up and get them to go nuts on the developers; or sabotage equipment used by the developers. Harass the local politicians in your city (i.e. stab their car tires, destroy their property etc etc). And if all of that seems too risky you could always rack (or buy) some spray paint and make some artwork on selected targets.
Posted on 21-May-09 at 5:47 pm | Permalink
Fisch wrote:
Damn, East – I appreciate your viewpoint, but it sounds like you really need to get laid.
Posted on 26-May-09 at 12:07 am | Permalink
East wrote:
No doubt. Maybe I’ll get lucky by the time I’m 18.
Posted on 26-May-09 at 7:53 pm | Permalink