Life Is Rough

Life Is Rough is the first album from Norff, recorded when he was carrying the alias Ab Ceffi Gilburn in 2018.

Due to Barkhoff's creative hiatus in 2019, Life Is Rough was delayed from it's early 2019 release to an October 2020 release. The album spans fourteen tracks and sees Norff discussing his longing to be a successful rapper, his street crime past, his falling out with close friends - notably Gee Mak, and more.

Fact Diss EP
Throughout the album, interspersed, are Norff's Fact Diss tracks, a separate EP containing four installments.

Cover
Mike Barkhoff designed the cover and surprised Norff with its unique qualities. Barkhoff, hearing the tracks, concluded Norff wanted the album cover to be a blending of "love, art, life, and death" and included many things important to Norff, whether by choice or not.

Premise
Norff's idea behind the album was capturing how difficult it was for him to be an up and coming rapper, especially in South America. He made it a requirement to contain as many features as he could from labelmates, the only noticeable absence coming from Gee Mak, whom he was in a feud with at the time.

Initially, the album was set for a release in early 2019, but became delayed to Barkhoff's first creative hiatus.

Tracklist

 * 1) You Only Die Once
 * 2) Fact Diss, Volume One
 * 3) Crazy (ft. Panda Tee)
 * 4) Hustla Mothafucka (ft. Mcee Detox)
 * 5) Fact Diss, Volume Two
 * 6) Mixed Up (ft. Panda Tee and Mcee Detox)
 * 7) Baby Please (ft. BOMO)
 * 8) Bad Bitch (ft. BOMO)
 * 9) Fact Diss, Volume Three (Dead Body)
 * 10) Drugs (ft. Mcee Detox)
 * 11) Dreams
 * 12) Fact Diss, Volume Four (Rest In Peace)
 * 13) People Die Everyday

Due to sampling issues, the tracklist is both rearranged for a better listening experience and shortened on streaming platforms. Mcee Detox is mentioned as Detoxify and Norff as Ab Ceffi Gilburn due to the time of which they recorded the album, also. "People Die Everyday" and "You Only Die Once" were originally in reversed order, but Barkhoff, the tracklist curator, who knew upon receiving those tracks that they'd be opening and ending, decided to settle them to how they are now, concluding that by ending the album with "People Die Everyday" it plays as an insignificant 'apology of sorts' by Norff that's nearly mocking-like.

"You Only Live Once" and "People Die Everyday" were the last songs recorded for the album, and were the only songs of the album recorded in 2020.

Marketing
Singles for the album included Fact Diss, Volume One, Drugs (ft. Mcee Detox), Dead Body (an alternate title for Fact Diss, Volume Three), and Baby Please (ft. BOMO). Additionally, previews were made for the tracks Mixed Up, Dreams, and Hustla Mothafucka.

Reception
The album was met with positive reception, but was noted with it's different sounding Norff due to his style change he had made between the recording of this and the newfound singles he released in 2020. Regardless, it performed well on streaming services, amounting 500 streams in the first night, which was at the time a record for Live Free. Barkhoff, like always with big projects, watched along with the audience who heard it for the first time.