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
ReleasedApril 21, 2009 (2009-04-21)
GenreHip hop
Length39:25
LabelBloodbot Tactical Enterprises
ProducerBatsauce, Edan, Cut Chemist, Ray Fernandes, Decaye, J-Zone, Therapy, Nik Jhatakia, Mr. Lif, Willie Evans Jr., Headnodic
Mr. Lif chronology
Mo' Mega
(2006)
I Heard It Today
(2009)
Don't Look Down
(2016)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicfavorable[4]
The A.V. ClubB−[5]
BBCfavorable[6]
The Boston Globefavorable[7]
Exclaim!favorable[8]
The Guardian     [9]
Pitchfork5.3/10[10]
PopMatters          [11]
Spinfavorable[12]
XLR8R8.5/10[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

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No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Welcome to the World"Batsauce2:45
2."What About Us?"Batsauce2:59
3."Breathe" (featuring Bahamadia)Batsauce2:44
4."Collapse the Walls"Edan, Cut Chemist3:06
5."Folklore" (featuring Dumbtron and Vinnie Paz)Batsauce3:23
6."Police Brutality (Scene)"Ray Fernandes, Decaye0:46
7."Gun Fight" (featuring Metro)J-Zone3:15
8."PNN 1"Therapy, Nik Jhatakia1:11
9."Hatred"Mr. Lif3:22
10."Homecoming (Scene)"Mr. Lif0:23
11."Head High"Therapy4:27
12."I Heard It Today"Willie Evans Jr.3:38
13."The Sun"Headnodic3:40
14."Dawn"Willie Evans Jr.3:46
Bandcamp edition bonus track[14]
No.TitleLength
15."Obama"4:00
iTunes edition bonus track[15]
No.TitleLength
15."The Gauntlet"3:42

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b c "I Heard It Today by Mr. Lif". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  3. ^ "I Heard It Today". Mr. Lif. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Rinaldi, Matt. "I Heard It Today - Mr. Lif". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  5. ^ Martins, Chris (April 21, 2009). "Mr. Lif: I Heard It Today". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Aaron, David (2009). "Mr. Lif - I Heard It Today - Review". BBC. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Capobianco, Ken (April 20, 2009). "Mr. Lif, 'I Heard It Today'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  8. ^ Jones, Kevin (July 23, 2009). "Mr. Lif - I Heard It Today". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  9. ^ Yates, Steve (April 19, 2009). "Urban review: Mr Lif, I Heard It Today". The Guardian. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  10. ^ Greene, Jayson (April 16, 2009). "Mr. Lif: I Heard It Today". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Martin, Andrew (May 3, 2009). "Mr. Lif: I Heard It Today". PopMatters. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  12. ^ Peisner, David (March 19, 2009). "Mr. Lif, 'I Heard It Today' (Bloodbot Tactical)". Spin. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Herman, Max (April 15, 2009). "Mr. Lif - I Heard It Today". XLR8R. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  14. ^ "I Heard It Today | Mr. Lif". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  15. ^ "I Heard it Today by Mr. Lif". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
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