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LP
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MH 020LP
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"... Vision Board is a focused affair that found him stretching his creativity farther and challenging himself to write in a way he's never written before. Recorded primarily in New Orleans and produced by Rob Mercurio of Galactic (who also produced 2015's Real People and 2018's Quite a Life), it posited him in a new environment that helped his creative juices flow even more fluidly . . . 'I'm so proud of this album. I'm in a different space. The world is in a different space, and I wanted to celebrate that, loosen up and really create some imagery and share some emotion that I never have. I was listening to a lot of Shuggie Otis; a lot of obscure psychedelic soul and later Temptations,' he explained. 'This is like if Alice in Wonderland was Japanese.' Vision Board was also inspired by another Bay Area rap luminary, although one who's no longer with us -- Gift of Gab. The dexterous Blackalicious MC and fellow Quannum Projects alum had a profound effect on Lyrics Born's life, both creatively and philosophically . . . Lyrics Born's vulnerability shines through on the nine-track effort, something he's not ashamed to admit (nor should he be). At one point during the pandemic, he was losing one friend, peer or family member every other week -- from Zumbi of Zion I to Gift of Gab to Digital Underground's Shock G. While many of the songs are deeply introspective, he had to 'write some fun shit,' too. Celebratory horns, up-tempo rhythms and fiery bars pepper the project from start to finish, and truly encapsulate Lyrics Born's evolution of not just a groundbreaking Asian-American MC but also a human being. As the only Asian-American MC to release ten studio albums, the first Asian-American to play major music festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza and the first Asian-American to release a greatest hits compilation, Lyrics Born has been breaking barriers his entire life - and he's not going to stop anytime soon. From the bombastic and tribal 'I'm the Best Rapper in the World' with its self-winking boastfulness to the playful scat of 'Bang Bang Bang' that slinks like an outtake from West Side Story, to the smooth and seductive 'Who's The Best? (Dear Young LB),' to the psychedelic and swoony 'Alligator Boots' with it dreamy 'Walk on the Wildside'-esque reverby sway, Vision Board sees Lyrics Born tackling different tones, textures and genres without fear and making them completely his own. It's an eclectic body of work that boasts more synths, more psychedelia and is generally more abstract."
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2LP
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MH 019LP
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Double LP version. "Tom Shimura was one of a star-crossed group of freshmen who arrived at the University of California, Davis in the fall of 1990, soon after joining forces with the artists who would come to be known as DJ Shadow, Chief Xcel and the Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) and Lateef the Truth Speaker. Hip-hop was the new Bay Area counterculture. It was the sound of the future, and Lyrics Born was already living in that future. After his first record, Send Them, he took to the stage like he had been born to be there. With his first solo album, Later That Day..., LB captured the perfect balance between his avantgardist concern for exploration and his populist desire to rock the crowd. It became one of the biggest indie records of the era, and he found himself rocking sold-out houses around the globe, including a hat trick of Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Coachella all in a single year. What followed was a career spanning 8 full-length albums, 7 mixtapes and guest appearances with hundreds of artists as well as production duties for bands like Poets of Rhythm and Galactic. It only makes sense that nearly 30 years later LB comes full circle with a compendium of his best material showcasing a body of work that reflects a career of hit songs and classic jams."
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CD
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MH 019CD
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"Tom Shimura was one of a star-crossed group of freshmen who arrived at the University of California, Davis in the fall of 1990, soon after joining forces with the artists who would come to be known as DJ Shadow, Chief Xcel and the Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) and Lateef the Truth Speaker. Hip-hop was the new Bay Area counterculture. It was the sound of the future, and Lyrics Born was already living in that future. After his first record, Send Them, he took to the stage like he had been born to be there. With his first solo album, Later That Day..., LB captured the perfect balance between his avantgardist concern for exploration and his populist desire to rock the crowd. It became one of the biggest indie records of the era, and he found himself rocking sold-out houses around the globe, including a hat trick of Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Coachella all in a single year. What followed was a career spanning 8 full-length albums, 7 mixtapes and guest appearances with hundreds of artists as well as production duties for bands like Poets of Rhythm and Galactic. It only makes sense that nearly 30 years later LB comes full circle with a compendium of his best material showcasing a body of work that reflects a career of hit songs and classic jams."
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2LP
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MH 017LP
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LP version. "Twenty-two years after he was introduced to the world with Send Them -- the landmark left-field 12-inch that launched the Solesides label b/w DJ Shadow's Entropy -- Lyrics Born has made some of the most organic, original, and adventurous music of his entire career. While touring with Latyrx last, he made time for an extended stay in a place that he's long admired: America's first and last real-deal music town, New Orleans. LB stocked up on pads and pens, rented a cozy house three blocks from the famous Maple Leaf Bar, and booked two weeks' worth of sessions with Galactic guys Robert Mercurio and Ben Ellman at their Uptown studio. Then they let it rip. Funk has always been a part of what Lyrics Born does -- his unique vocal swagger dishes out melody and rhyme with equal aplomb. But never has he evoked the idiom so directly or made an album that feels so alive. He turned the production over entirely (also a first) to his NOLA colleagues, giving them space to do what they do best, and him the freedom to write. Mercurio and Ellman wrangled a host of talent to execute the vision: Trombone Shorty, Ivan Neville, the Preservation Jazz Hall Band, Corey Glover (Living Colour), Corey Henry (Rebirth Brass Band), David Shaw (The Revivalists), and Billy Martin. Amidst all that quirk, soul, and raw talent, LB was reborn."
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CD
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MH 017CD
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"Twenty-two years after he was introduced to the world with Send Them -- the landmark left-field 12-inch that launched the Solesides label b/w DJ Shadow's Entropy -- Lyrics Born has made some of the most organic, original, and adventurous music of his entire career. While touring with Latyrx last, he made time for an extended stay in a place that he's long admired: America's first and last real-deal music town, New Orleans. LB stocked up on pads and pens, rented a cozy house three blocks from the famous Maple Leaf Bar, and booked two weeks' worth of sessions with Galactic guys Robert Mercurio and Ben Ellman at their Uptown studio. Then they let it rip. Funk has always been a part of what Lyrics Born does -- his unique vocal swagger dishes out melody and rhyme with equal aplomb. But never has he evoked the idiom so directly or made an album that feels so alive. He turned the production over entirely (also a first) to his NOLA colleagues, giving them space to do what they do best, and him the freedom to write. Mercurio and Ellman wrangled a host of talent to execute the vision: Trombone Shorty, Ivan Neville, the Preservation Jazz Hall Band, Corey Glover (Living Colour), Corey Henry (Rebirth Brass Band), David Shaw (The Revivalists), and Billy Martin. Amidst all that quirk, soul, and raw talent, LB was reborn."
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2LP
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RP 006LP
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2LP version. "As the first Asian-American solo rapper to perform at Lollapalooza and Coachella, and to release a greatest hits record, Lyrics Born has broken through countless barriers to cement his illustrious career. Now on the cusp of acting appearances in acclaimed films as Sorry To Bother You, and the upcoming Always Be My Maybe, he will be the first Asian-American solo rapper to release a 10th album -- a record of funk and soul woven into classic, boom-bap hip hop called Quite A Life. Quite A Life features a legendary line-up of guest musicians, including the heavily buzzing artist Aloe Blacc ('Brooklyn In the Summer', 'I Need a Dollar', Avicii's 'Wake Me Up'), Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Gift of Gab (of Blackalicious), Galactic, and Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5)."
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CD
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RP 006CD
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"As the first Asian-American solo rapper to perform at Lollapalooza and Coachella, and to release a greatest hits record, Lyrics Born has broken through countless barriers to cement his illustrious career. Now, on September 14th, on the cusp of acting appearances in acclaimed films as Sorry To Bother You, and the upcoming Always Be My Maybe, he will be the first Asian-American solo rapper to release a 10th album -- a record of funk and soul woven into classic, boom-bap hip hop called Quite A Life. Quite A Life features a legendary line-up of guest musicians, including the heavily buzzing artist Aloe Blacc ('Brooklyn In the Summer', 'I Need a Dollar', Avicii's 'Wake Me Up'), Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Gift of Gab (of Blackalicious), Galactic, and Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5)."
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2LP
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RP 003LP
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Re-released post-RSD 2018. "A crucial founding member of the Northern Cali-birthed Solesides / Quannum collective -- which included DJ Shadow and Blackalicious, among others -- and one half of the groundbreaking Latyrx duo (with Lateef The Truthspeaker), Lyrics Born opened a lot of ears and minds with his 2003 solo debut, Later That Day... On this very open-minded and chiefly self-produced long player, Lyrics Born and his crew (including Joyo Velarde, on vocals; guitarist Tommy Guerrero and Germany's funk masters Poets of Rhythm) bring it from the funk side, boasting a warm soul stew instead of colder drum machine-based beats and chopped samples. As shown since his earliest days, the incredibly versatile Lyrics Born mixes his flow up depending on the track, from tongue-twistingly fast to conversationally mundane, and concepts are usually at the forefront -- 'Cold Call' is an amusing take on telemarketers, featuring Gift of Gab; 'Before And After' is about friends growing apart; 'Bad Dreams' is a groovy apocalyptic shaker. The infectious 'Callin' Out' rides the party train and 'Stop Complaining' timeshares between funny and serious. 'Do That There' features DJ Cut Chemist with liquid cuts that work around LB's verbal floor routine. And even after all of the other musical fireworks, the album's crescendo most assuredly comes on track eleven, 'The Last Trumpet': operatically dramatic and powerful, with Lyrics Born and Latyrx-mate Lateef trading verses like 'the only action / we can profit from / is movement towards / the positive / progressive thought / that's rooted up / in consciousness' at breakneck pace. Presented for its 15th Anniversary as a 2-LP set, on colored vinyl, housed in a gatefold jacket with in-depth liner notes by renowned author and journalist Jeff Chang (who also helped found the Solesides movement in the early '90s), plus a 11"x17" poster of the amazing cover art, this is a perfect way to re-introduce this classic to a new era of fans -- present and future." Clear green vinyl.
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CD
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RP 003CD
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"A crucial founding member of the Northern Cali-birthed Solesides / Quannum collective -- which included DJ Shadow and Blackalicious, among others -- and one half of the groundbreaking Latyrx duo (with Lateef The Truthspeaker), Lyrics Born opened a lot of ears and minds with his 2003 solo debut, Later That Day... On this very open-minded and chiefly self-produced long player, Lyrics Born and his crew (including Joyo Velarde, on vocals; guitarist Tommy Guerrero and Germany's funk masters Poets of Rhythm) bring it from the funk side, boasting a warm soul stew instead of colder drum machine-based beats and chopped samples. As shown since his earliest days, the incredibly versatile Lyrics Born mixes his flow up depending on the track, from tongue-twistingly fast to conversationally mundane, and concepts are usually at the forefront -- 'Cold Call' is an amusing take on telemarketers, featuring Gift of Gab; 'Before And After' is about friends growing apart; 'Bad Dreams' is a groovy apocalyptic shaker. The infectious 'Callin' Out' rides the party train and 'Stop Complaining' timeshares between funny and serious. 'Do That There' features DJ Cut Chemist with liquid cuts that work around LB's verbal floor routine. And even after all of the other musical fireworks, the album's crescendo most assuredly comes on track eleven, 'The Last Trumpet': operatically dramatic and powerful, with Lyrics Born and Latyrx-mate Lateef trading verses like 'the only action / we can profit from / is movement towards / the positive / progressive thought / that's rooted up / in consciousness' at breakneck pace."
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