Lyrics Born - Later That Day (Quannum Projects, 2003)

Lyrics Born
Later That Day…
Quannum Projects
2003

Rating: 7 Mission burritos out of 10

You may not think you know Lyrics Born, but you most likely do. As one of the founding members of Quannum (the collective most famous for producing DJ Shadow and Blackalicious), the artist formerly known as Asia Born has been in and around Bay Area-hip hop for a decade if not longer. As one half of Latyrx (part of the Solesides Collective) and numerous guest spots, his raspy, nearly dancehall-like cadence is easy to identify. “Later That Day…” is his first proper solo release, and it is about as un-hip hop as you can get without being in another genre altogether. There is a lot of R&B/soul influence throughout the record and a number of the tracks sound more like the man is dictating his personal diary on tape rather than actually rapping on a song, but these facts all add to what ends up being a very enjoyable record. Instead of making the same ol’ rap record everyone else makes, Lyrics Born changes things up just enough to make the record sound different, but without detracting from the overall quality of the release by making it “too” different and distracting. A crowd of friends and fellow Solesides Collective cohorts show up for guest spots – Gift of Gab, Cut Chemist, Joyo Velarde, and Lateef the Truth Speaker – all further adding flavor to an already good album. This release is a no-brainer if you’re already a fan of the Quannum camp, and certainly worth a look to anyone who is a fan off non-mainstream hip hop.