Underdogs Lyrics – Liz Featuring Riff Raff

Song Overview

“Underdogs” pairs LIZ’s bubble-pop bite with RiFF RAFF’s cartoon-slick boasts over a trap-pop chassis from Djemba Djemba and Paul Devro. Released January 25, 2013 and sequenced as the finale on the LIZ - EP, it plays like a manifesto for anyone who has been side-eyed on the come-up and chose sparkle over shrinking.

Review and Highlights

The record rides a clipped, rubbery beat and glassy synths; the kick punches in tight eighths while a sub-bass shadows the hook. LIZ toggles between sugar-high chant and cool shrug, then hands the mic to RiFF RAFF for a neon-dream detour. The production keeps it minimal - plenty of negative space so the ad-libs and one-liners pop. Think early-2010s internet club energy filtered through radio-pop instincts.

Highlights

• Hook as mission statement: “You don’t ride for underdogs” turns accusation into anthem.
• Unicorn motif: a cheeky self-crowning that flips novelty into authority.
• Beat design: trap hi-hats, 808 weight, bright top-line synth - a lean frame that leaves room for personality.
• Guest verse texture: RiFF RAFF’s surrealist flexing offsets LIZ’s laser-focused provocation.
• End-positioned closer: as track 8 on the EP, it lands like credits rolling with teeth.

Creation History

Production is credited to Djemba Djemba and Paul Devro; writing to LIZ, RiFF RAFF, Santell, and Scott Bruzenak (Djemba’s given name). Traces of their fingerprints are obvious - hyper-clean drum programming, springy bass, and micro-melodic vocal stacks that glance off the percussion rather than drape over it. The song first appeared on LIZ - EP in 2013.

Song Meaning and Annotations

At its core, “Underdogs” is a clapback with glitter on it. LIZ builds a persona that refuses gatekeeping and genre policing, then dares the doubters to keep up. The attitude isn’t just defensive - it’s aspirational, a reminder that style and self-invention are survival skills.

Plot

The narrator enters a hostile scene - whispers, side-eyes, a “big dog” posturing at the door. She responds with escalating mythmaking: ponies and unicorns, rainbows and truth-telling. A chorus draws the battle lines: if you don’t support the overlooked, you don’t get a vote in her direction. Verse two widens the world - street chatter about cars, chains, hustle. Then RiFF RAFF drifts in like a late-night TV channel-surf, tossing images from bat caves to tire swings. We end back at the hook, the charge repeated until it feels like a banner.

Song Meaning

The song frames success as self-definition in public. The “unicorn” becomes a working symbol: rarity, autonomy, a refusal to be domesticated. The message lands simple - back the outsiders or step aside - but the mood flickers between playful and confrontational. Contextually, it sits in a moment when pop absorbed trap’s rhythmic grammar and Tumblr-era aesthetics; LIZ turns that blend into armor.

Annotations

“There’s that tall poppy - gotta mow her down.”

- Tall poppy syndrome gets called out directly. The line sets a world where visibility invites punishment; the rest of the song answers that pettiness with audacity.

“You’ll ride my shiny pony - but guess what, bitch? I’m a unicorn.”

- She rejects being a trend vehicle. The jump from “pony” to “unicorn” redraws power: ordinary ride vs. mythic, un-ownable self.

“All you’re gonna get is double rainbows in your mouth.”

- Absurdist image with a bite. She flips the threat of violence into technicolor excess; the joke lands, but the warning holds - you can’t snack on her and stay untouched.

RiFF RAFF: “Rap game alligator, rap game elevator… Elizabeth Taylor wallpaper.”

- Dada-brag as world-building. He smears high-gloss decadence over backyard Americana, reinforcing the track’s “make your own movie” ethos.

Production notes

Groove sits around a midtempo trap grid, with syncopated hi-hats and crisp claps. Vocal layers are stereo-spread and lightly detuned in places, creating shimmer without drowning the lead. Bass doesn’t just thump; it punctuates the rhetoric, dropping out on setup lines and re-entering on punchlines.

Symbols and idioms

• Unicorn: sovereignty, rarity, the right to be unreadable.
• Big dog: the incumbent gatekeeper - loud, territorial, fragile.
• Double rainbows: internet-born wonder repurposed into a taunt; meme culture as weapon.

Key Facts

• Artist: LIZ feat. RiFF RAFF
• Composer: LIZ, RiFF RAFF, Santell, Scott Bruzenak
• Producer: Djemba Djemba, Paul Devro
• Release Date: January 25, 2013
• Genre: Rap, Pop, Trap
• Album: LIZ - EP (2013), track 8
• Language: English
• Mood: defiant, playful, high-gloss
• Instruments: drum machine, 808/sub-bass, bright polysynths, vocal stacks, ad-libs
• Length: ~3 minutes (single edit)

Questions and Answers

Who produced “Underdogs” by LIZ?

Djemba Djemba and Paul Devro.

When did LIZ release “Underdogs”?

January 25, 2013.

Who wrote “Underdogs”?

LIZ, RiFF RAFF, Santell, and Scott Bruzenak.

Which EP features the track?

LIZ - EP (2013), where it appears as track 8.

What sound palette defines the song?

A trap-informed pop framework: 808 low end, skittering hats, bright synth top-lines, and tight vocal layering.

How to Sing Underdogs

Vocal range: sits in a comfortable pop mezzo range; verses hover mid-register with quick syllables, hook nudges slightly higher but stays punchy rather than belted.

Delivery: keep consonants crisp - the lyrics hit like jabs. Lean on speech-rhythm for verses; reserve a cleaner legato for the hook so the contrast lands.

Breath strategy: plan micro-inhales before “Fuck this, I’m gonna tell the truth now” and before “Why should I leave it up to you now” so the phrases finish clean.

Timing: ride a hair behind the snare on the verses for swagger; lock center on the chorus for lift.

Ad-libs & doubles: stack the “bitch, I’m a unicorn” responses an octave under in rehearsal to hear blend; on stage, one solid single-line read beats messy stacks.

Additional Info

• Producers here - Djemba Djemba and Paul Devro - were key nodes in early-2010s LA internet-club scenes; that lineage explains the song’s clean low-end and meme-savvy phrasing.
• RiFF RAFF’s cameo reads like a collage - punchlines over plot - which heightens the track’s world of invented myth rather than literal storytelling.