Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born has never followed -- or tried to follow -- the typical musical route, first with his work with Lateef as Latyrx and continuing though his decision to back himself with a funk band during his shows, even releasing a live album (a rare thing in hip-hop) in 2006. Not content, apparently, to rest on the platform he made for himself, the Anti-issued Everywhere at Once moves even further away from the idea of the producer/MC team, using a band and plenty of background vocals to create something that ends up sounding a lot more like Gnarls Barkley's latest proclamation than anything ap related. Melody's of utmost importance here, so much so that Lyrics Born's already-singsongy rapping becomes nearly undistinguishable from the sung parts, to which he, his wife Joyo Velarde, and a cadre of others perform. It's not that he can't deliver on vocals, but as the first half of album plays as an almost-continuous track, with the instrumental parts hardly changing from song to song, Everywhere at Once takes on the regrettable feel of the new wave of jam bands, one on which the rapper gives his usual spiel on how he's persevered, which honestly, three albums in, is starting to get a little tired. To his credit, as things progress, Lyrics Born does incorporate new sounds and ideas, but unfortunately these decisions don't always end up being good ones. "Do U Buy It?," for example, is an awkward "Funplex"-era B-52's rip-off and "Top Shelf" is only lacking a vocoder to be the next T-Pain hit. He's all over the place (similarly to Snoop on the equally messy Ego Trippin'), from slow-drawled rhymes to faster funk pieces, which means that when something does come together -- the slow, jazzy "The Skin I'm In" or the perfect Odd Couple-complement "I Can't Decide (Everywhere at Once)" -- it seems accidental, even haphazard, that given enough chances something good's got to come out. Lyrics Born has always gotten by on being casually himself, no matter what he's doing, and that's in fact why Everywhere at Once doesn't work: it doesn't seem like Lyrics Born anymore. Sure, there are moments of personal insight and catchy hooks, but the album seems forced, the efforts of someone who's become so concerned with breaking out of boxes that he's forgotten sometimes, he still needs one to hold things in. In doing so, sadly, Everywhere at Once is reminiscent of what's already been done, either by the rapper himself or by another artist, almost derivative of itself, and as a whole, altogether disappointing.
I like hop hop, but I in no way claim to be an expert in the genre. But I do know what I like...and I LOVE this new Lyrics Born album, 'Everywhere At Once.' Just a great album, from start to finish...Here is one of my favorites, the almost tearjerker, 'Whispers'
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Caught LB with his sick band featuring his wife Joyo Velarde who has pipes from another world. She blew me away with a lot of soul. It hit me kind of hard, or maybe it was the subs that I was standing right next to. It was actually quite funny in fact, they didn't turn the subs on until the 4th song...and when they did...yeah, it felt like a soundwave of feeling up. I was actually worried my i
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Lyrics Born returned to the studio in between performances at the summer's big music festivals and touring with Southern funk band Galactic. The album he produced is called Everywhere At Once and it will be his first release on ANTI- instead of his own independent label, Quannum Projects. The album features appearances from Chali 2na and RJD2 and will be available on March 18th, 2008.Japanese...
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Here's a nice Funky track from fellow MOGger Lyrics Born
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Indie artist Lyrics Born's hit single, "I Like It, I Love It" is featured in the new Friday the 13th movie, out today!
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San Francisco Bay Area rapper Lyrics born is seemingly ??Everywhere At Once?? with his Anti- debut from the acclaimed MC which will be preceded by extensive Fall tour plans (below).He began his hip hop career while at college at UC Davis, where he was a DJ at the college station KDVS. He is a founding member of the seminal independent record label Quannum Projects. Born came up with fellow Bay ...
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"Whispers" -an unexpectedly somber track from the man who brought us such bumpin' slices of funky pie as "Callin' Out" and Everywhere's first single "I Like It, I Love It"- is a slow, stripped-to-the-bass Isaak Hayes-style track. "Whispers" was written by LB inspired by hearing the news of the passing of his longtime friend Benjamin "Mack B. Dog" Davis. I wasn't familiar with B. Dog other than ...
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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 ea...
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 "Everywhere at Once")
