'This is me at my most imaginative, freakiest, and yet still most grounded and introspective,' says Japanese American rapper/actor Lyrics Born not only about his new album Vision Board, but also his 'self' and his existence. 'I feel like a new man! I’m healthier physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.'
The lead single and video 'Diamond Door' is a pop/rap banger that lands you with an infectious barb and keeps you hooked for days, and is a thinly-veiled tribute to a particular style of female appreciation, but it can also be taken as a welcome mat to the new era of Lyrics Born.
The accompanying video which shows Lyrics Born in his current physical form - svelte, stylish and with a confident swagger - reinforces this next chapter in his life. 60 pounds lighter, he lost the weight during the pandemic when he knew he needed to make a change. 'Touring was becoming harder, and I was having all
these weird health problems, but nothing that anybody could put their finger on,' he explains 'My anxiety was high. I was not sleeping well. I was on the verge of really bad health.'
And this improvement brought more confidence which shows in his new album. 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. 'There’s nothing like recording in the Crescent City. It just gets in your blood, and the results are always funky and wild.'
