- Label
- Anti
- Release date
- 21st April 2008
- Genre
- Hip hop
- Buy this album
- Order CD
Hip-hop maverick unveils life-affirming musical smorgasboard
San Francisco rapper Lyrics Born has enjoyed pushing hip-hop's boundaries since his days in under-rated 1990s collective Latyrx and his second solo album finds him right on top of his game. Everywhere At Once is a triumph, a febrile melding of lithe funk, neatly insouciant vocals and studio alchemy that could propel Born to the kind of commercial breakthrough enjoyed by kindred spirits like DJ Shadow and Gnarls Barkley.
It's original, inventive and, most of all, great fun. Born raps and sings like a man in love with both music and language, ladling a deeply infectious joie de vivre over the Cameo-like I Like It, I Love It and B-52s-esque cartoon pop of Do U Buy It? The wry love song Top Shelf (Anything U Want) sounds like Shaggy, of all people. Ironically, the only tracks that don't induce joy are the woeful between-song skits: were Lyrics Born to lose those, this record would be even more remarkable.
More to try: Gnarls Barkley: St Elsewhere Outkast: Stankonia DJ Shadow: Endtroducing...
