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Template:Infobox song

"Lift Off" is the twelfth song off of Mike Shinoda's debut studio album, Post Traumatic. The track features guest vocals from Chino Moreno of the band Deftones and Machine Gun Kelly, who was slated to open the North American leg of the One More Light tour.

Background

"Lift Off" originates from Linkin Park's European Tour for One More Light in June 2012. Mike invited Machine Gun Kelly to a studio in Berlin, Germany on an off day from the tour to record vocals. When LPAssociation tweeted about the song in June 2018, Machine Gun Kelly replied, "crazy, this was in Berlin, Germany on an off day. mike started playin that beat I wrote my verse in like 10 minutes."[1]

Mike originally planned for a Fort Minor release of songs in fall 2017, going as far as to run the idea by Linkin Park and get their approval for the release, before Chester passed away in July 2017. "Lift Off" and "I.O.U." were at least two songs planned for this Fort Minor release. On the European Tour, Mike began teasing Fort Minor by wearing exclusive new Fort Minor merch that he designed himself.[2][3]

On September 10, 2017, BlaqAbe, a producer/studio engineer for hip-hop artist Machine Gun Kelly, posted on his Instagram stories a picture of MGK, Mike Shinoda and himself in the studio.[4]

"Lift Off" came about during a period of escapism for Mike.[5] Chino's involvement on the song stemmed from Mike relating to the loss of Deftones bassist Chi Cheng.

Chino said to Rolling Stone about "Lift Off", "The main thing we talked about was when do you start back up being creative again and feeling OK about doing so. For me, as a listener to the music he's put out so far, I can tell he was dealing with that question."[6]

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Title Album Length Recorded Released Notes
Lift Off Post Traumatic 4:00 2017-2018 June 15, 2018
  • Features vocals from Chino Moreno and Machine Gun Kelly
Lift Off Post Traumatic (Clean) 4:00 2017-2018 June 15, 2018
  • Censored.
  • Worldwide release on October 31, 2018.[7]
Lift Off Post Traumatic - Instrumentals 4:00 2017-2018
  • Official instrumental version.

Live

The studio version of "Lift Off" has never been played live, but it has been used as a pseudo-jam session for Mike and the band to do different verses and for Dan to do a drum solo. Prior to being included in the set as a full song, Mike would sparingly rap the demo verse of "Lift Off" over the extended bridge of "Sorry For Now". At the last show of the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour, the first "live version" of "Lift Off" was debuted, which had Mike rap the demo verse of "Lift Off", the demo verse from "Sorry For Now", and opening act AmirSaysNothing rapped two verses from his song "Employee Of The Month". Beginning with the Munchen show, the live version of "Lift Off" was added to the set rotation, where Mike would rap different verses from older songs over the track. He would regularly rap the chorus of "Step Up" as a refrain in addition to including verses from the likes of "High Voltage", "Hands Held High", "Nobody's Listening", "Dedicated", and the "Skin To Bone Recharged Remix".

Variations

Last Updated: May 2, 2020

Type Description First Played Last Played
Alternative Live Version November 17, 2018 September 6, 2019
Alternative w/ 'Sorry For Now' Demo Verse November 17, 2018 November 17, 2018
Alternative w/ 'Employee Of The Month' November 17, 2018 November 17, 2018
Alternative w/ 'Step Up' Chorus March 18, 2019 March 26, 2019
Alternative w/ 'High Voltage' v1 March 18, 2019 March 26, 2019
Alternative w/ 'High Voltage' v1 + Chorus March 19, 2019 September 6, 2019
Alternative w/ 'Hands Held High' v1 March 19, 2019 March 21, 2019
Alternative w/ Drum Solo March 21, 2019 September 4, 2019
Alternative w/ 'Nobody's Listening' v1 March 22, 2019 March 22, 2019
Alternative w/ 'Hands Held High' v2 March 23, 2019 March 23, 2019
Alternative w/ 'Dedicated' v1 March 26, 2019 March 26, 2019
Alternative w/ 'Step Up' v1 September 4, 2019 September 4, 2019
Alternative w/ 'Skin To Bone' Remix September 6, 2019 September 6, 2019

Live Guests

Last Updated: May 2, 2020

  • AmirSaysNothing

Personnel

  • Written by Mike Shinoda, Chino Moreno, Andrew Dawson, Colson Baker, Rory Andrew
  • Produced by Mike Shinoda, Andrew Dawson
  • Vocals by Mike Shinoda, Chino Moreno, Colson Baker
  • Mixed by Manny Marroquin
  • Mastered by Michelle Mancini

Lyrics

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I'm off of the earth, on a ride alone

Yeah!
Liftoff like Virgin Galactic
My Richard’s too Branson to fuck with you bastards
Very legendary that’s some matter of fact shit
You're the opposite of stars like rats spelled backwards
I flow poems out to Saturn and past it
Easy as a standard anti-gravity backflip
Satellite tracking can’t map up my tactics
I spit the same shit they split an atom in half with
No, it’s not what I want but it had to be
I spent six months just rechargin' my battery
Imagine me quittin' what a travesty that’d be
You space shuttle challengers are nothin' but tragedies
So take care on the path that you’re headed
I'm the father to your star, don’t you ever forget it
I don’t drop mikes, only let it smoke where I said it
And I don’t play, even when they press it, get it?

I'm off of the earth, on a ride alone
I'm driftin' away, out of time, I flow
Away from the truth, away from the night
Away from the day
I'm off of the earth, on a ride alone

Please brace for impact
Must have went to space, and got sent back
But I’m still intact, in fact
Take a picture of me, you could see that I’m a star with your lens cracked, supernova
It’s Caesar’s Palace startin' on my opponents' ‘cause history will show
We done been to war like Romans
Did that dance with the devil
Hell, hot as a kettle, so it’s no wonder why I put this ice on all of my metal
And wear that shit like a medal
Used to think I was a joker, no Jared Leto, when I said I’d get us out the ghetto
Slam my foot on the pedal, booked a studio and I couldn’t afford instrumentals, fuck it, record acapella
Flying coach, streaming Coachella until they banned me
Now they like Bambi's mother - dead - I’m onto these Grammy's
I’m rolling these grams gladly
Purple and green like Daphne
Shades on like Velma, hair long like Shaggy
Crushin' addies in my water got my voice raspy
Haven’t slept since California and that shit was last week
Paranoid when I sleep, but when I’m high I’m happy
That’s why I need to kiss the sky when I get stuck in the valley
Lift off!

I'm off of the earth, on a ride alone
I'm drifting away, out of time, I flow
Away from the truth, away from the night
Away from the day
I'm off of the earth, on a ride alone

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Gallery

External Links

References