Lyrics Born: Everywhere At Once

Bay Area MC Lyrics Born (aka Tom Shimura) has a reputation for combining inventive old-school funk with playful, tongue-tripping lyricism. Hip hop fans in search of sober authenticity may be turned off by LB’s booty-shaking R&B style, frequent skits, and insights on life’s mundanities like relationships and telemarketers. But anyone who’s already a fan of artists like Little Brother, who combine hip hop with a sly wit and a ‘70s-variety-show sense of silliness, will know what to expect from Lyrics Born.

On Everywhere At Once, his follow-up to Later That Day (2003), LB opens with “Don’t Change,” a track defending his style and promising more of the same: “I stuck to my guns / I’m about the funk / I can’t help myself / It’s the sound I love.” His willingness to embrace good-time music is what makes Everywhere At Once both corny and compulsively listenable. LB’s dedication to a funky sound is enhanced by studio musicians; check out the smooth horn section on “Rules Were Meant to Be Broken.”

“Differences,” a battle of the sexes performed with wife and frequent collaborator Joyo Velarde, sounds like it came off a bus en route from 1986. By the time it gets to the hook, it’s impossible not to sing along. The “Mars and Venus” stereotypes behind the song will bristle some, but it’s a fine vehicle for shaking it on the dance floor.

- Keidra Chaney

Lyrics Born: www.lyricsborn.com
Epitaph Records: www.epitaph.com