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viewing 1 To 5 of 5 items
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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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