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This week I’ve been slappin’ some straight FUNK!

I know the album just came out on Tuesday, but I’ve been slappin’ Lyrics Born’s new album As U Were. I have been a huge Lyrics Born fan ever since I first saw him with live band at Oakland’s Art and Soul festival in 2005 and I have been a fan ever since. If you didn’t know, Lyrics Born puts on one of, if not the best live show around. I recently went to his Auto Reverse Tour in San Francisco and it was off the hook! Maybe it was all the K.C. Teas I was drinking, but I couldn’t stop dancing to the funky L.B. sound. As U Were features some great guest appearances including Lateef The Truth Speaker, Gift of Gab, Joyo Valarde (L.B.’s wife) and even Clyde Carson. Although As U Were has some great guest spots, Lyrics Born is careful not to overload the album with featured rappers and singers. Lyrics Born has always been on his the forefront of new sounds and he continues to push the boundaries of Funk, Hip-Hop, and R&B with As U Were. As U Were has some of the freshest new sounds in Hip Hop; each track tests the limits of music genres. Kontrol Phreak kicks off As U Were with a blazing synth laden beat, which sets the tone to this grovin’ epic of an album. Lyrics Born is very good at combining funky beats with real world issues whether those issues be possessive relationships or keeping you head up in tough times, Kontrol Phreak really exemplifies this point. I really could go over EVERY track on As U Were and tell you why it’s my new favorite song, but I’ll just mention a few that I think that best exemplify As U Were (and no I’m not doing this to be lazy, I really could go over every track and tell you why I love it). We Live By The Beat is a trunk rattler; in fact it will destroy your trunk. Lyrics Born transforms into the 2010 Parliament on this track, and that’s not even really fair to say, because it is so different than anything that Parliament has ever done, but that’s the only thing I can really compare it too. Joyo’s backup vocals and the horn section work in such a harmonious way to the accelerated trunk slappin’ beat, that Lyrics Born has created a whole new sound with We Live By The Beat. Pushed Aside/Pulled Apart which features Lateef The Truth Speaker is hands down my favorite tracks on As U Were. If you are familiar Latyrx than you know how well L.B. and Lateef work together and it seems that every time they get together that the push Hip Hop forward 10 steps. They are the truth and they keep things movin’ on Pushed Aside/Pulled Apart which is actually the one of the first singles off As U Were.  Block Bots featuring Trackademicks and Clyde Carson is a Bay banger for sure. It features three of the Yay’s top MC and has that bass heavy, out of this world beat that is going to make the club go nuts. I can’t wait to hear this track when I’m out and about; it’s going to make party people lose their minds for sure. Lyrics Born tackles some heavier issues on tracks like Pillz and Something Better, yet still has the knack to keep the beat fresh. I haven’t mentioned L.B. rhymes, there is no doubt that he continues to be one of the dopest lyricists in the Bay. He can flip words like pancakes, and has the polarizing mind to put ish together like “you can’t put a rag top on a Prius”. Yee! Don’t sleep on his lyrics, because you were gigin to hard to the beats. Like I said before there are too many good tracks on As U Were to name every one, but I can tell you one thing, As U Were is hands down one of the best Albums of 2010. Lyrics Born with As U Were is like an exotic Ferrari while everything else is a Honda Civic stuck in neutral.