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You may not think you've heard San Francisco native MC and producer Lyrics Born, but chances are you have -- and that's pretty epic to be able to say about an independent artist. His song "Callin' Out" was featured on commercials for Diet Coke and Motorola, and snippets of "Love Me So Bad" and "Do That There" were included on episodes of Kevin Hill and Gilmore Girls. HBO even showed him some love by including "I Changed My Mind" on Entourage and Six Feet Under. So far this year, he's earned spots on blockbuster festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza.
Through his mad touring schedule and the good future of licensing deals, Lyrics Born is finally getting the national respect he deserves. He's been touring every jive juke joint with a halfway decent sound system for over a decade, spreading his intense, analytical rhymes. And by pulling from a musical spectrum as unexpected as fusing peanut butter and Pop Rocks, Lyrics Born creates solid, fluid beats from the most unlikely of combinations.
For Lyrics Born the success has long been in the making. In 1990, as a freshman at the University of California - Davis, Lyrics Born met five people with whom his life would be inexorably linked -- Chief Xcel and the Gift of Gab, who would later form Blackalicious; a young Josh Davis a.k.a. DJ Shadow; and an aspiring MC named Lateef the Truth Speaker. Forming the now seminal label Solesides, their inaugural release was a double-A 12" with DJ Shadow's "Entropy" on one side and "Send Them" by Asia Born, as Lyrics Born was known then, on the other. Solesides' DIY attitude had, by this point, already trickled down to other California artists, and soon other labels like Hieroglyphics and Stones Throw were formed, marking the true beginning of the underground scene.
After leaving Davis in ‘95, the sextuplet agreed to continue releasing their own records, with Lyrics Born and Lateef's Latyrx: The Album at the forefront. This was an unprecedented hit, selling 30,000 copies, many of which were in California, but also with a strong following in Europe and the UK. In 1999 Quannum released Spectrum, a label compilation that had been overseen by Lyrics Born. Featuring jaw-dropping tracks like "Storm Warning," the album would go on to sell nearly 100,000 copies worldwide. Much of the album's success was attributed to the track "I Changed My Mind," which featured Lyrics Born teaming up with the German collective known as the Poets of Rhythm. The track was a smash hit, blowing up charts around the world and selling tens of thousands of copies.
LB's latest album, Same !@#$ Different Day, was originally released last year as a "loose remix" of his solo debut album, Later That Day..., but it has since taken on a life of its own, garnering the Bay Area MC even more attention for his lightning-quick rhymes and offbeat production work.
Kate Kowsh of The Red Alert (which permitted ARTISTdirect to reprint this interview) caught up with Lyrics Born just after his appearance at southern California's Coachella festival earlier this spring to find out what he thinks of all the recent attention.
It sounds like Coachella went real well for you. What did you think of the event?
It went fantastic. It was great. You know, it was good to be able to play in front of that many people and on a line-up that was that huge. It was fantastic.
Have you decided on a new single yet for Same !@#$, Different Day?
Uh, we got a couple singles coming up, yeah…I have decided, but I'm not gonna make it public just yet.
What kind of suggestions did you get back from fans on the online forum?
Good ones. Ya know, but sometimes people have their personal preference. You gotta kinda balance out with what the public likes and what I like.
Were you nervous about licensing your tracks?
No, I was ecstatic. For guys like me, independent artists, you just don't have the marketing budget…it really evens out the playing field and a lot of people get to hear your stuff.
That was really kind of you to post those benefit shows for Keith Tamashiro [an artist and graphic designer famed for his album covers, who suffered a brain aneurysm earlier this year].
Yeah…I'm flying down to L.A. tomorrow (May 25) just to be at one of 'em and then I'm hosting another one on Friday. He's a good friend of mine. He's done a lot for me that he didn't have to.
Which of your albums did he design?
He did Same !@#$ Different Day. Uh, he did my mixtape, Lyrics Born Variety Show. He did all of my singles and 12''s for Later That Day and he did my wedding invitations. He's a real good friend of mine.
When can we be on the lookout for the new Latyrx album?
The new new Latyrx album is probably about two years away. We haven't even started it yet.
How was working with KRS-One on "Pack Up" for Same !@#$t, Different Day?
You know, he's probably one of the most inspirational artists. As a kid, I had always wanted to work with him - so now I have.
Lyrics Born's latest album, Same !@#$ Different Day, is available now in the ARTISTdirect Store.
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