| 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 | ||||
| 
 | ||||
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]
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 |      [9] | 
| Pitchfork | 5.3/10[10] | 
| PopMatters |           [11] | 
| 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.
- 1 2 3 "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.
- 1 2 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.
- 1 2 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.
- 1 2 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)