When Obama took office, many were curious how politically driven artists, such as Mr. Lif, would respond. Three years removed from Mo Mega, Lif returns to provide that intellectualism that has been sadly absent. Featuring production from Edan, J-Zone, Willie Evans Jr., Headnodic, and various others, as well as Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks) and the smoothed out vocals of Bahamadia, Lif is more calculated than ever. From speaking on the mortgage crisis (’I Heard I Today’) (seriously can you name another MC speaking on this issue?) to tax breaks, the stock market, the war and to being hesitant to trusting the government just ‘because there is a familiar face in office‘ (’Welcome to the World’), I Heard It Today is a bold proclamation from a fearless MC.

While his concept driven projects (see I-Phantom) will always be celebrated because of their innovative structure and his unique way of delivering a message, Lif continues to grow as an artist and on I Heard It Today he is able to maintain the narrative vibrancy of his earlier work but in a far more segmented, isolated style. Continuing to ‘open the mind through the rhyme,” Lif is the hip-hop spokesperson for injustice (political, social, economic, religious, etc) who stresses on ‘PNN,” through the use of alarming statistics, that many black high school graduates are in prison or without a job and that many have expensive jewelry but really are not free. Allergic to the norm, Lif finds himself receiving criticisms from all angles, but he still calls out for change by asking people to take a look at themselves: ‘Without unity we can never make it, look at the mirror and the sever the hatred’ (’Hatred’). Poignant, focused, and thought provoking, Lif is one of the most important artists around who is always able to provide an often unconsidered (and very intriguing) point of view on highly debated issues and thankfully I Heard It Today is just another installment in his very note worthy catalogue.

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