L.I.F.E. Long Profile

It's only the second time I've met L.I.F.E. Long, but while sitting in midtown he shortens my name to Al. We talk about Queens and the fact that he went to the same High School as me; that he probably graduated with my brother, and that one of his musical influences, Pharoahe Monch, is my cousin's neighbor (she calls him Troy).

Throughout the conversation L.I.F.E. is all smiles and gives off, seemingly infinite, good vibes. This is especially true when describing what he's done in his career, and plans to do in the future.

L.I.F.E. Long has been on the underground scene for years and has had the opportunity to work with some of the most well known names in indie hip-hop, as well as raise his own profile - but when asked how he started as a rapper he doesn't dwell too much on the stats. Information about the debut album, specific performance dates, and etcetera are quickly glossed over. Instead, L.I.F.E focuses on describing Hip-Hop culture at the time he started rapping.

The energy and potential of Hip-Hop at that time is what concerns him, so he talks about finding rap through DJ Red Alert's radio show:   "I was just embraced by the whole [Hip-Hop] culture... breaking, graffiti, the art of the emcee, DJing, beat boxing... [So] when I heard those shows I just wanted to find out more information about it." The connection with the culture was immediate, and he started B-Boying (popping and breaking) at talent shows and other venues. At age ten he wrote his first rhyme.

It's in this scene, which so few mainstream rap fans remember, or even know about, that L.I.F.E. recalls his career.

Being inspired by the rise of conscious music he began to develop his own unique style and rhyming pattern in rap ciphers and hip-hop battles, becoming a regular at live rap spots. Spots like the Lyricist Lounge, where he preformed alongside Talib Kweli and Mos Def before they were signed. As L.I.F.E. was developing his art, the Native Tongues Movement, as well as another queens rap group, Organized Confusion, became the main influences on what he now calls his "unorthodox style." It's a style that displays detailed descriptions and punch lines, as well as a unique rhyme flow that singles him out on a track.

In the late 90's L.I.F.E. began to hit the studio, and the indie scene, with his unorthodox style and garnered a number of features and guest appearances. He wrote Outta Site on the No More Prisons LP along with his friend Apani B. Fly; Pharoahe Monch and L.I.F.E. both featured in What Am I on the album Tragic Epilogue by the Anti-Pop Consortium; he also guess appeared on Cannibal Ox's album The Cold Vein ...

The list goes on. However, despite his regular guest appearances on underground mix tapes and albums L.I.F.E.'s musical career was slow to evolve beyond guest appearances on indie songs. He recalls being "tired of shopping demos and being turned down for independent showcases." It's a wall that many independent artists face. The question is, how does a single artist get recognition in an industry dominated by fewer and fewer record executives looking for the next hot thing? The problem with record labels, according to L.I.F.E., is that they need to be able to categorize and box music in order to market it. He tells me point blank, "They can't figure out how to market me."

The answer to this problem came from L.I.F.E.'s friend and fellow indie rapper Breez Evahflowin'. L.I.F.E. explains, "So we was like, you know what, if we form a crew of some of the doppest emcees in the city and just go hard - take it to cats in the ciphers, into the battles - but always rep the crew... we could probably pop something off."

Starting with the idea of strength in numbers, the Stronghold Crew was formed. As a five-man crew of independent emcees (L.I.F.E. Long, Breez Evahflowin', C. Rayz Walz, Poison Pen, and Stelf Index) they featured on each other's songs, preformed with one another, promoted with each other, and hustled CDs together.

Eventually things did begin to "pop off."

L.I.F.E. put together a collection of his guest appearances and singles, and calling the mixtape Cuts and Collabos , he began hustling them outside of the legendary Fat Beats music store. The tracks featured fellow Stronghold members along with tracks from his countless guest spots.

In 2003 L.I.F.E. was featured on Mike Ladd's release Majesticons and was soon invited overseas to Europe to help promote the album. It was an experience that gave L.I.F.E. a larger perspective on the music he created, and its reach. He recalls going to a music store and seeing a photo of himself put up. L.I.F.E.'s eyes widen as talks about some random kid who quoted his own lines to him from songs he thought were too obscure for anyone to know, let alone memorize.

Building off that momentum, L.I.F.E. worked with other Stonghold members to put out their very well received mixtape Stronghold Vol.1. By this time Stonghold came to include other indie artists Immortal Technique, Wiz, Mike The Terror , DJ Static, and Swave Sevah.

Later in 2003, LIFE was finally able to release a debut solo album, Struggler's Paradise , on Cajo records. The LP was collection of street life narratives as well as a call for social change. Those who reviewed the album praised it as "worthy food for thought."

Since then he's been keeping up a frantic pace of guest appearances and performances. He's also released another volume of Cuts and Collabos , which he's releasing in collaboration with Creative Juices, another camp he's recently become a part of.

He's staying busy, but right now L.I.F.E.'s most important project is his second solo album, Longevity , due out by late September on ascetic records. As he talks about the new album L.I.F.E. makes note of the featured artists who he says inspire him to write whenever he's in the studio with them. The guests include Stronghold member Poison Pen, Apani B. Fly as well and a comeback from underground legend U.G. from the disbanded group Cella Dwellas. That inspiration, as well as his proven skills as an emcee, look to make Longevity another solid release.

Throughout the conversation L.I.F.E. Long maintains a smile and a thoughtful gaze. For him rap isn't just words rhymed over a beat. When he started, its main appeal to him was that, "it was a way to express yourself." That love of the culture, and need to express himself through it, ensures that L.I.F.E. will keep making Hip-Hop music for as long as Hip-Hop music is still around to make.