Category:
Hip-Hop

Try if you like:
Blackalicious, Dj Shadow, J5 (jurassic 5), The Pimps

Everywhere At Once was supposed to put Lyrics Born on the map. I'm not too sure exactly what happened with this album but it seemed to be released with little fanfare. Regardless, it is a decent hip hop album. Lyrics Born changed pace slightly with this album moving to a more straight-forward hop hop style rather than the sample and beat heavy stuff of his former self. I thought it was a nice change. Tom Shimura (aka Lyrics Born) actually has a great singing voice! The music does suffer a bit because it sounds slightly dated with the retro vibe that hangs over it. For instance, with "Whispers" I can't help but think of Tone Loc. Is it Lyrics Born vocal delivery, or just the darker background that they throw overtop? A lot of Lyrics' delivery ends up sounding similar to Cee Lo Green and Gnarls Barkley. Not a bad thing in this day and age. "Hott 2 Deff" is a song ready for a party. A little kitschy but still gets the job done. Lyrics Born gets his awesome vocal flow going on this one. He slows down slightly with "Difference" and has some fun with Joyo Velarde and B'Nai. Best track, hands down, has to be "Cakewalk" with help from Trackademicks and Baby Jaymes. Still it has that retro feel. I wish that there was a little more variety but it is what it is. "I'm A Phreak" is a hard hitting track and helps to give a bit of variety on the album. Another Gnarls like track is "Do U Buy It" with a great danceable beat driving it along with some cheerleader background lyrics.

While Everywhere At Once does try to be everything to everyone it does have merits. It may miss on a few occasions and Lyrics Born should take note to be a little more selective in his decision to keep tracks on next time. Still, there are a lot of great tracks on the album as well. For this, check it out.