April 19, 2005 @ 5:01 am
Lyrics Born - Same !@#$ Different Day
On his solo debut, 2003’s Later That Day, Lyrics Born sounded like a bummed-out T
It was frustrating, because the album should have been good, given his hip hop pedigree. But all Later That Day proved was that while Lyrics Born had always played well with others (as half of Latyrx, and one of the founders of Solesides, his collaborations had always carried clout), he just couldn't do it all himself.
Fast-forward to the present: something happened in the past two years that woke this man up to the fact that he's at his best when he's got a partner in crime. Same !@#$ Different Day reconnects with the rapper who has fixed the problems of his debut, with a little help from his friends, of course. I mean, think about it: if you went to college with Josh Davis, why not ask him for a head-snapping snare or two? I'm sure all it takes to say thanks for that kind of thing is a gift certificate to Aquarius Records. Or maybe a ride to BART.
Promoted as a "loose" remix album, Same !@#$ Different Day is five new songs, and eight totally reworked remix tracks. What that really means, is that it's just a great edit of an alright rough draft. The ideas were there on his debut, but they lacked flow. Now they're focused and revamped; in bringing in his hip hop friends (KRS-ONE, Dan The Automator, Chief Xcel, Lateef the Truth Speaker, to name a few), Lyrics Born has finally decided to make what he's good at: a hip-hop album. He's relinquished some control over the production, dropped most of the freakiness-free, Cee-Lo karaoke hooks, and injected his lyrics with some much-needed grit. It's not as eclectic as his debut, and it's all the better for it.
Self-editing is something that most artists are profoundly bad at. Sometimes all it takes to find the cool in something is some extra poking and prodding from vinyl-dusted fingers. Sometimes all it takes is cool friends. This record is proof of both. And I don't even hear the Loc anymore.
Article tags: Later That Day, Lyrics Born, KRS-ONE, Dan The Automator, Chief Xcel, Lateef The Truth Speaker, Same !@#$ Different Day
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