Three decades of silence. Five decades of truth-telling. Lifers Group has never needed embellishment — only the willingness to speak plainly about a life most of Hip Hop only pretends to know. Now, with the release of “Count My Blessings,” the pioneers of prison rap continue a comeback that began with “State N#mber” and deepened with “Prison Life,” proving their voice hasn’t dulled with time — if anything, it’s sharper, more reflective, and more urgent than ever.
“Count My Blessings” marks a historic convergence: the collective who essentially invented prison rap linking arms with Sacramento’s X-Raided, another artist who served a life sentence and built his catalog from behind those same walls. Produced by the late Phase 5, whose loss in May 2026 makes this collaboration all the more poignant — the track bridges East Coast and West Coast prison rap lineages, uniting two camps who didn’t imagine incarceration but lived it, and turned that reality into testimony.
What follows is a conversation with the Lifers Group about survival, redemption, and why — after Grammy nominations, an Academy Award-winning documentary tie-in, and a Peabody-honored special — they’re still the ones nobody thinks to call when the conversation turns to prison. It’s a conversation about legacy, about mentorship, and about a mission that hasn’t changed since the 1970s: telling the truth, at the expense of their own sorrow, so somebody else’s story might turn out differently.
It’s been three decades since your last major release before “State N#mber” — what finally made this the right moment to return?
To be honest, we felt really slighted….Considering the Lifers Group has been around the same amount of time…We unofficially formed in 1972….And the Lifers Group can be seen on the Dick Cavett show (Which is on YouTube). We officially formed in 1975….But to be honest, we are never ever mentioned….Which, to be perfectly honest, is a travesty of justice….Considering our many accolades throughout the years…Are we not HipHop history? So Alvarez (the exec producer) felt a type of way and began rallying the troops back in 2021.
“Prison Life” arrived so soon after your comeback single. Was this material written together, or did the response push you to keep going?
“Prison Life” Was actually recorded 3 months after “State N#mber.” We recorded on the Friday, and the next day we shot the music video to “State N#mber.” Considering a lot of the guys live in different states….It’s logistically difficult to get everyone together on a set date. We already knew prior to releasing “State N#mber” that we were gonna release some singles. At that point there were no plans to record an LP.
How did you land on that uptempo, hard-hitting sound with producer Pushbuttinz for a song tackling such heavy subject matter?
Originally we recorded “Prison Life” to a different beat. But there was a lot of creative tension in the studio in deciding which way the song should go. So pretty much Alvarez stepped up and took the reins….The song was pretty much put on the shelf for quite a few months, until Alvarez took another listen; he decided that Pushbuttinz should remix it. And he was pretty concise in how he wanted it to sound. The finished product is pretty much Alvarez & Pushbuttinz coming together with a vision.
What conversations happened within the group about how to visually represent incarceration in the video without falling into cliché?
We never really intended to release it as a single originally…But after Alvarez & Pushbuttinz remixed it….We knew it was a solid track….Alvarez hollered at DJ Jed to do the visuals, as we knew getting the guys together would be difficult. What a lot of people don’t seem to appreciate is that we are not a “Group” But a collective, so there is a different type of cohesion.
You’ve spoken about “unfiltered” delivery — what do you feel today’s artists get wrong when they touch on prison life in their music?
Most have never lived the life that we have….Some of our members have served 30-40-50 year sentences….Everybody wants to act tough and be gangsta in their music; that’s because they’ve pretty much never had to deal with the consequences of living a life that they have never really lived. For example: Public Enemy was doing album covers with prison backdrops, etc….But they’ve never actually been to prison. NWA..Supposedly “the world’s most dangerous group.” Guess what? None of them ever been to prison! We could go on & on, but you get the point, right?
How does writing from lived experience change with age and distance? Does revisiting these themes now feel different than it did in the early 90s?
Great question! To be honest, our lyrics are more introspective now. Our story is more about redemption…Back then we were much younger and caught up in the streets….But back then during the Reagan & Clinton administrations, they were giving out much harsher sentences.
Looking back at your Grammy-nominated work and your role in Scared Straight!, how do you feel hip-hop’s relationship to prison narratives has evolved — for better or worse?
Hip-hop likes to glorify street life, but it doesn’t want to embrace the consequences….And the Lifers Group is the UGLY truth behind Hip-hop’s romanticized myth of what being gangsta is. Our work with Scared Straight wasn’t made for entertainment’s sake but more as a document. Then the same producers made “Beyond Scared Straight” and made a complete mockery of everything the Lifers Group had originally stood for. Today, every rapper is on the latest podcast talking about his lil bid in the county jail….The question is this. Why is the Lifers Group never asked to come on these so-called prison podcasts?
“I Am My Brother’s Keeper” was framed around mentorship and steering young people away from incarceration. Do you see “Prison Life” continuing that same mission?
We only document our lived experience; never do we glorify “Prison Life.” Our motto has always been the same since the early 70’s: “Learn The Truth At The Expense Of Our Sorrow.” Our music is honest and documents our struggle in the hopes that people will listen and hopefully not make the same mistakes we made.
Tell us about linking up with X-Raided for “Count My Blessings.”
We were impressed by X-Raided as he was actually being interviewed by NO JUMPER, and he actually shouted us out as the 1st prison rap pioneers. So basically, Alvarez reached out to X-Raided about doing a song. It took a while, but long story short, Alvarez contacted Wendy Day (Shout out to her), and she actually convinced Alvarez to reach out to X-Raided….And a few months later the track was done.
Why call the song “Count My Blessings”?
This was the fourth song that we recorded. So at this point Alvarez had already decided on the album concept…Our story is about redemption, and this song was the perfect vehicle.
What was the studio session for “Count My Blessings” like with Phase 5?
The Lifers Group recorded their vocals in Newark, NJ @ Pushbuttinz studio. Whilst X-Raided recorded his vocals at Strange Music in Kansas….So Phase 5 (R.I.P.) Made the beat and worked with Alvarez, arranging the vocals. Once that was done, Alvarez took it to Pushbuttinz to have it mixed & mastered.
Does “Count My Blessings” connect to “Prison Life” and “State Number,” or does it stand on its own?
It definitely connects as the underlying theme is the same…The only difference is the track is about being thankful for making it out of a dark place when many of our comrades didn’t. Again, the song is about redemption and gratitude. Our forthcoming LP “Takin No Prisoners” has a plethora of emotions, but the underlying theme is about lengthy incarceration, strength, fortitude, and the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity. We have a song called “Life Bid” on the LP where Tone & Lotti Da detail their life sentences. What other group in Hip-hop is qualified to speak on that?
What do you want people to feel after hearing “Count My Blessings”?
We want the listener to have a positive experience and rejoice in the fact they’ll probably never go through what we did. But more importantly, it is a testament to the unbreakable human spirit….Now who won’t relate to that?
What do you want a young listener who’s never had contact with the system to take away from this song and video?
Be mindful of all the lies you see in music videos and social media; after all, it is only entertainment! Our music is an honest reflection of ourselves, not a manufactured image done to gain likes & validation. Stay in school & get good grades! Be the best you can be.
