Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

(Epitaph/Anti-)

www.lyricsborn.com

We finally see Lyrics Born as an artist in full fruition on his upcoming Anti- debut, Everywhere At Once. Taking control of his sound and drawing on all the typical urban influences, his hip-hop roots have lead him into dancehall and soul-esque soundscapes, but he doesn't stop there. Tracks like "Do U Buy It?" offer a new sensibility for the average head to explore. Radio-friendly tracks like "Don't Change" and "Hott 2 Deff" give us a glimpse of a man trying to make it in the shark-infested music biz. Boring. We don't really hear LB's true vision until halfway through the album. His outlook: an overall optimistic hustler on the grind, falling into the traps of heartbreak, ego, materialism and stardom. Gone are the days of "Balcony Beach," but he can still deliver introspective rhymes with production and arrangements to match (see "Whispers"). Definitely a musical album, but the story is pretty much the same. Peep it for an alternative to San Francisco Bay Area-grown hyphy, because we have a lot more to offer. -Christopher Longoria