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.