In an election year that has seen a surprising slew of mainstream rap tracks about Barack Obama, the oddly ’90s-redolent spectacle of Rage Against the Machine playing shows in protest against both major party political conventions, and bizarre YouTube-fueled phenomenon of musical tributes like "It's Raining McCain," Boston undie rapper Mr. Lif has announced his own decidedly post-In Rainbows twist to the carnival of politicized music.
Lif, with the assistance of prominent indie hip-hop producers like J-Zone and Edan, will release a series of singles in installments every three weeks until Election Day (November 4). The pace of songs will then slow, culminating in an album, entitled I Heard It Today, to be released on Inauguration Day (January 20). The album will include not only the singles released in the preceding months, but also unreleased tracks and album artwork. The tracks will be streamed via AllHipHop.com exclusively upon their release and will then be available for download via all major downloading services the following day.
Mr. Lif has also begun issuing "Presidential Reports" on his MySpace, including "Presidential Report Vol. 1" issued last week. These tracks will be designed to respond to and confront current political situations, such as the emerging military squabble between Russia and Georgia. Presumably future "Presidential Reports" will tackle issues like the war in Iraq, the number of houses John McCain owns, and an analysis of the all-important Obama VP text message from this past weekend. Who knows, maybe Lif will even shout out a third-party candidate?
