OK. This may be the best line in this paper, and I didn't write it. Some critic at Boston's Weekly Dig did:
"Lyrics Born isn't just an anomaly in the rap game; he's more like a neo-soul boom-bap Jacko without the stinky glove."
That sentence just trips off the song a bit like the 31-year-old Lyrics Born's own rhymes. Born in Tokyo, he was raised in Berkeley, Calif., as Tom Shimura. After using the early moniker of Asia Born he casually changed his rapper-handle to Lyrics Born and became a force in the hip-hop MC. He creates soul-tinged hip-hop that fans of such other outré rappers Outkast and Jurassic 5 can relate to.
The San Francisco-based Lyrics Born released his first solo album, "Later That Day," in 2003. He is currently on the "Same !@#$, Different Tour 2005," which is also the title of the remix album of "Later that Day." Tonight, he appears at Whiskey Jacques' Saloon in Ketchum, at 10 p.m. The cover charge is $10.
His musical odyssey began in the early 1990s when he and some college friends at University of California, Davis started a label. Besides LB, the founders would become known as Blackalicious, Lateef the Truth Speaker and DJ Shadow, a renowned revolutionary sample-based hip-hop composer. In 1996 the label changed its name to Quannum.
LB, who actually sings rather than rap speaks, is known as a great collaborator. He's worked with all his label mates as well as R&B artists Morecheeba, Joyo Velarde and Jamiroquai. Some consider "Later That Day" one of the best hip-hop albums in recent memory. His influences are as much about early rappers as they are about the deep, dirty, soulful funk of George Clinton or the Beastie Boys. Just listen to his tunes "Hello," "Calling Out," "Love You So Bad" or "I Changed My Mind." They are remarkably (and very catchy) danceable, singable and understandable tunes.
Lyrics Born
