--=[ Lyrics Born ]=--

Lyrics Born - Everywhere at Once [2008]


Lyrics Born (a.k.a. Tom Shimura) has long been known for his innovative beats, creative collaborations, and soulful vocals. Here he takes a giant leap forward in song craft, incorporating elements such as pop, reggaeton, and R&B. It's the rare MC who can bridge the gap between hip-hop and alternative rock, owning the crowd at Bonnaroo and Bumbershoot as easily as he trades rhymes with Charlie 2na. Just remember those can't-get-it-out-of-your-head songs from Nokia and Diet Coke commercials.
















Lyrics Born - Overnite Encore: Lyrics Born Live! [2006]


Born one Tom Shimura in Tokyo, Lyrics Born spent his childhood years in Berkeley, California. It was there that his love for hip-hop was born. As a freshman at the University of California in nearby Davis in 1990, Lyrics Born met five people with whom his life would be inexorably linked. Chief Xcel and the Gift of Gab had recently formed the group that would come to be Blackalicious, and a young Josh Davis was already making his own mixes under the moniker DJ Shadow. An aspiring MC named Lateef the Truth Speaker, also from the Bay Area, showed up shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Davis was a vacuum for hip-hop. As a result the five were drawn to the college's radio station KDVS, where Jeff Chang (aka DJ Zen) held court on a weekly basis. Soon the six were inseparable and decided to strike out on their own.

Forming the now seminal label Solesides, their inaugural release was a double-A 12" with DJ Shadow's "Entropy" on one side and "Send Them" by Asia Born, as Lyrics Born was known then, on the other. Solesides' "do it yourself" attitude had by this point already trickled down to other California artists, and soon other labels like Hieroglyphics and Stones Throw were formed, marking the true beginning of the underground scene. After leaving Davis in '95, the sextuplet agreed to continue releasing their own records, with Lyrics Born and Lateef's LATYRX THE ALBUM at the forefront. This was an unprecedented hit, selling 30,000 copies, many of which were in California, but also with a strong following in Europe and the UK.

Lyrics Born's 'Overnite Encore' set was recorded live In Australia in 2005. It features an introduction from Australia's own Maya Jupiter as well as special intercut segments form both Sydney and Melbourne Shows. 'Overnite Encore' features guest artists Del The Funky Homosapien and Pigeon John.














Lyrics Born - Same !@#$ Different Day [2005]


Rapper and producer Lyrics Born was part of the fertile Bay Area underground rap scene for a decade before he finally dropped his debut Later That Day in 2003. That highly-anticipated album was really good, if not a little samey. See, LB. had made his rep largely by collaborating with others, spicing up tracks by the likes of Blackalicious, Tommy Guerero, and Poets of Rhythm. When it came to crafting his own album on his own time, he didn’t fall flat by any means, but something of that sense of crazy urgency was lacking. And here we have a remix album that trumps the original, showing that Lyrics Born was truly meant to work with others. He’s got quite a crew helping him too, DJ Spinna, , KRS-One, and Dan the Automator among them. It’s fun, weird, and flows really well despite the crazy eclectic style.


Lyrics Born ~ I Like It, I Love It





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