Lyrics Born Later That Day

A crucial founding member of the Northern Cali-birthed Solesides / Quannum
collective – which included DJ Shadow and Blackalicious, among others – and
one half of the groundbreaking Latyrx duo (with Lateef The Truthspeaker), Lyrics
Born opened a lot of ears and minds with his 2003 solo debut, Later That Day…
On this very open-minded and chiefly self-produced long player, Lyrics Born and
his crew (including Joyo Velarde, on vocals; guitarist Tommy Guerrero and
Germany’s funk masters Poets of Rhythm) bring it from the funk side, boasting a
warm soul stew instead of colder drum machine-based beats and
chopped samples.
As shown since his earliest days, the incredibly versatile Lyrics Born mixes his
flow up depending on the track, from tongue-twistingly fast to conversationally
mundane, and concepts are usually at the forefront – “Cold Call” is an amusing
take on telemarketers, featuring Gift of Gab; “Before And After” is about friends
growing apart; “Bad Dreams” is a groovy apocalyptic shaker. The infectious
“Callin’ Out” rides the party train and “Stop Complaining” timeshares between
funny and serious. “Do That There” features DJ Cut Chemist with liquid cuts that
work around LB’s verbal floor routine.
And even after all of the other musical fireworks, the album’s crescendo most
assuredly comes on track eleven, “The Last Trumpet”: operatically dramatic and
powerful, with Lyrics Born and Latyrx-mate Lateef trading verses like “the only
action / we can profit from / is movement towards / the positive / progressive
thought / that’s rooted up / in consciousness” at breakneck pace.