Music
The songs that show you a different side of Lisi
There's more to the Goodna rapper's discography than his high-energy hits.
There are a lot of reasons Lisi was excited about his Red Bull Symphonic show. One of them was the setlist.
“A lot of my sets are really high energy so I don’t do some of my slow, sentimental stuff. But because this is a more intimate show, people actually get to sit down, watch and listen. I get to bring the sentimental stuff out. I get to do more meaningful songs,” he told Red Bull at the time.
While the Goodna-bred rapper may have made his name with fierce, high-energy tracks like breakthrough single Say Less, that isn’t all that’s in his discography. In fact, dig a little deeper and you’ll find bars that reveal a lot about the man behind the mic: songs about his heritage, his family and his beliefs.
At Red Bull Symphonic, where Lisi performed in front of the 25-piece Queensland Symphony Orchestra, he got to bring out songs you’d never hear in one of his usual festival sets. That was a big deal for the Castille Records head.
“I want people to understand how I think, who I am as a person, and the values that I hold,” he says. “That's pretty much my music when you listen to it. But if you come to watch me at a live set or at a festival, you wouldn't get that. But because this show is very intimate, I get to show that side and I get to show people that I’m not just this crazy energy dude. Like yeah, I can rock a stage, but I can also turn it down a bit for you to understand me and hear what I have to say.”
So what are the songs that show a different side of Lisi? Here’s a quick guide.
Brown Brother
Lisi is proud of his Samoan heritage and is devoted to championing his culture wherever he can – that’s why he recruited the SELAH Samoan Gospel choir and Samoan drummers for his Red Bull Symphonic show.
It’s also why he wrote the song Brown Brother, nestled towards the end of his 2021 debut album Perspective, which he describes as “a message of solidarity to Polynesian people”. He uses the bars to tackle stereotypes and oppression, and call on Polynesian people to break down barriers. It’s a powerful and incisive track – and one that ultimately one that aims to uplift.
“Man, what a time to be alive and to be brown/ I'm a Samoan descendent and they know that 'cause I'm proud,” Lisi raps on the track. “I remember the days when they were always looking down/ But now we're climbing up the ranks, slowly reaching for the crown.”
Til The Death
Given Til the Death was one of the singles from Lisi’s debut album, you’re probably already across it. But for Lisi, it’s a particularly important release – one that tells a story that he feels is all too common in the Polynesian community.
Til The Death is a fictional story about two young men who have grown up together but follow different paths in life – one ending tragically. It’s a heartfelt ode to friendship that ultimately underscores the importance of looking out for each other, and a cautionary tale Lisi wants young men to heed.
Red Bull 64 Bars
Back in 2020, Lisi dropped the track that turned 1.5 million heads on YouTube alone. His incredible Red Bull 64 Bars proved just how hard the 43-area talent goes in the booth, but it also made clear how much Goodna means to Lisi.
Across his three minutes behind the mic, Lisi rapped how he wants to represent and change the narrative for his hometown, something that has gone on to define his mission with music. In it, he recognises both the talent and adversity in Goodna, and encourages the people of that outer Brisbane to ask for more than the status quo.
But everything Lisi says on his Red Bull 64 Bars is spoken with love. Because as he tells it in those bars: “It’s more than a place that I’m from, it’s embedded in my blood and I’m going to hold it down until the day that my lifetime’s done.”
Give It Back
The final track on Lisi’s Average Man EP was Give It Back, a song that sees him express gratitude to his parents – whom he credits with making him the man and artist he is today.
The first verse of the track is an ode to his mother, a mum of four who encouraged Lisi to explore his rap talent and helped him “turn his Ls into life lessons”. The second verse switches focus and shouts out his dad, who encouraged the now 23-year old to work hard and stay humble.
“I was raised by the best and that’s a fact/ You gave me everything and I just wanna give it back,” he extols in the chorus. Consider this the softest side of Goodna’s fiercest rapper.