As we all know, hip-hop has a revolving door of rappers. With contemporary artists being chewed up and spit out faster than you can say Lil Jon, the probability of a career spanning multiple decades is highly doubtful. Notable East Coast emcees such as KRS-One, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are among the few that can claim years of longevity. Lyrics Born (real name Tom Shimura), however, has been at it since the early ‘90s and is still going strong with his latest release, As U Were. Growing up in Berkley, Shimura had a hard time getting his hands on good hip-hop. Fortunately, he crossed paths with future label mates, Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) and Lateef the Truthspeaker (Latyrx) while attending school at UC-Davis where the idea for Quannum Projects was born. In addition to putting out their own records, the three entrepreneurs started putting out material by artists like DJ Shadow, Lifesavas and Pigeon John under the Quannum moniker. As Lyrics Born, Shimura has reveled in plenty of success with his funk and soul-infused hip-hop, something he learned as a college radio DJ in California.
Continue readingHigh Art Hip Hop: Lyrics Born Rock With Chali 2na
