I Heard It Today
I Heard It Today is the third solo studio album by American hip hop artist Mr. Lif.[1] It was released by Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises on April 21, 2009.[2] Written at "the dawn of the Obama administration", the album is "dedicated to capturing the pulse of a tumultuous era in the United States."[3]
I Heard It Today | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 21, 2009 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 39:25 | |||
Label | Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises | |||
Producer | Batsauce, Edan, Cut Chemist, Ray Fernandes, Decaye, J-Zone, Therapy, Nik Jhatakia, Mr. Lif, Willie Evans Jr., Headnodic | |||
Mr. Lif chronology | ||||
|
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 70/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | favorable[4] |
The A.V. Club | B−[5] |
BBC | favorable[6] |
The Boston Globe | favorable[7] |
Exclaim! | favorable[8] |
The Guardian | |
Pitchfork | 5.3/10[10] |
PopMatters | |
Spin | favorable[12] |
XLR8R | 8.5/10[13] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2]
Max Herman of XLR8R gave the album an 8.5 out of 10, commenting that "taking a break from working with El-P actually benefits him, as the melodic beats crafted by producers like J-Zone, Edan, and Headnodic are the perfect pairing for Lif's selfless lyricism."[13] Andrew Martin of PopMatters gave the album 6 stars out of 10, calling it "one of Lif's most concise and well-rounded efforts."[11] David Aaron of BBC wrote, "it's comforting to know there are still hip hop acts out there trying to give a voice to the voiceless."[6]
Track listing
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Welcome to the World" | Batsauce | 2:45 |
2. | "What About Us?" | Batsauce | 2:59 |
3. | "Breathe" (featuring Bahamadia) | Batsauce | 2:44 |
4. | "Collapse the Walls" | Edan, Cut Chemist | 3:06 |
5. | "Folklore" (featuring Dumbtron and Vinnie Paz) | Batsauce | 3:23 |
6. | "Police Brutality (Scene)" | Ray Fernandes, Decaye | 0:46 |
7. | "Gun Fight" (featuring Metro) | J-Zone | 3:15 |
8. | "PNN 1" | Therapy, Nik Jhatakia | 1:11 |
9. | "Hatred" | Mr. Lif | 3:22 |
10. | "Homecoming (Scene)" | Mr. Lif | 0:23 |
11. | "Head High" | Therapy | 4:27 |
12. | "I Heard It Today" | Willie Evans Jr. | 3:38 |
13. | "The Sun" | Headnodic | 3:40 |
14. | "Dawn" | Willie Evans Jr. | 3:46 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
15. | "Obama" | 4:00 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
15. | "The Gauntlet" | 3:42 |
References
- LeRoy, Dan (June 3, 2009). "Today Is the Day: Mr. Lif bounces back strong after life-threatening injuries". The Riverfront Times. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- "I Heard It Today by Mr. Lif". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- "I Heard It Today". Mr. Lif. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Rinaldi, Matt. "I Heard It Today - Mr. Lif". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Martins, Chris (April 21, 2009). "Mr. Lif: I Heard It Today". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Aaron, David (2009). "Mr. Lif - I Heard It Today - Review". BBC. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Capobianco, Ken (April 20, 2009). "Mr. Lif, 'I Heard It Today'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Jones, Kevin (July 23, 2009). "Mr. Lif - I Heard It Today". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Yates, Steve (April 19, 2009). "Urban review: Mr Lif, I Heard It Today". The Guardian. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Greene, Jayson (April 16, 2009). "Mr. Lif: I Heard It Today". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Martin, Andrew (May 3, 2009). "Mr. Lif: I Heard It Today". PopMatters. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Peisner, David (March 19, 2009). "Mr. Lif, 'I Heard It Today' (Bloodbot Tactical)". Spin. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- Herman, Max (April 15, 2009). "Mr. Lif - I Heard It Today". XLR8R. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- "I Heard It Today | Mr. Lif". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- "I Heard it Today by Mr. Lif". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
External links
- I Heard It Today at Discogs (list of releases)