Lyrics Born is a silly, silly man. And that's just how I like him. LB's 2003 debut Later That Day"¦ was not something wholly original, but something hip-hop hadn't seen since the break-beat heyday of the 80's: A hip-hop artist that is totally serious about his craft, but also uses humor and the absurd to compliment his rhyming style. It was a fun album with bouncy beats and smile inducing rhymes that were perfect for a sunny day. LB was so happy with his work on that LP that he followed it up two years later with"¦that LP.

Same !&#$ Different Day was for the lack of a better term a remix album. Containing a lot of the original material from Later That Day"¦ this remix album twisted, turned, flipped, expanded, and polished the source material to the point that it was almost unrecognizable. The result: One of the most fun hip-hop albums of the 00's. Part of the reason for this is the amazing collection of supporting artists including The Lifesavas, Evidence (from Dilated Peoples), KRS-1, Young Einstein, E-40, and Morcheeba. The second part of the success of the album comes from the genius of the production. Taking LB's funky (but ultimately conventional) beats and really screwing with them creates something much better than the original.

So what does that say about Lyrics Born as a solo artist? Well, in 2008 LB returned to his solo efforts with an LP called, Everywhere At Once. DAMN was that accurate! The album was a huge disappointment for me as LB tried too hard to break the mold and forgot to make a solid hip-hop album. The production was schizophrenic, touching on every influence he's ever claimed without perfecting any of them. He pretty much ignored the machine gun delivery he was famous for and took on hum-drum subjects like shoes, overcoming adversity (three LPs in?), and being super $&@!ing awesome. This is the guy who once rhymed,

On and on, with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Shinobi and Kobe Bryant/

Pokemon and Pinnochio on the Okeefenokee Swamp"

LB is still an enigma to me. When he's on he's one of the finest ever to come out of the Bay. When he's off, well, same !&$% different rapper.

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But, please enjoy two of the best tracks ever to come out of the bay area hip-hop scene. First, the aforementioned craziness known as "Do That There " (The Young Einstein Hoo-Hoo Mix) and the sticky groove laden bay-area anthem, "The Bay".

Tracks by Lyrics Born