By Timothy Natividad
Once known as Asia Born, Tom Shimura now brandishes Lyrics Born as his preferred moniker. And with that transition, Lyrics Born has freed himself from the once misrepresenting headline "The Asian Rapper - Asia Born." These days, Lyrics Born prefers "Lyrics Born - The Rapper," a proper headline to describe his latest album Everywhere at Once, which dropped this April. Always striving for originality, Lyrics Born tries his luck with a full live band in the recording studio, and achieves unprecedented musical success.
But perhaps more can be added to that new headline. As his success continues to rise, Lyrics Born's career becomes increasingly active, integrating a myriad of projects: an upcoming tour in Europe, remixes in the studio, interviews here and there, and perhaps even breaking ankles on the basketball court. Asia Pacific Arts talks to Lyrics Born about where he's at now.
Asia Pacific Arts: Congratulations on Everywhere at Once. I've listened to it several times. There are a lot of funky beats -- it's a little bit different from Later That Day.
Lyrics Born: Yes, definitely.
APA: I know your first album, Later That Day, symbolized the different moods that someone experiences within a single day. Could you shed some light on the meaning behind Everywhere at Once?
LB: Well Everywhere at Once is conceptual on a few different levels. For me, definitely, it's the perfect description of how I'm living these days. You know, I'm doing an interview with you, I'm going shopping, I just finished an interview a few minutes ago. Next week I'm going to Europe on tour. Just shot a video, my album just got released a month ago. Tomorrow I'll be in the studio. You know, that sorta thing.
APA: So you're in the studio again. Are you doing another mixtape, or are you going to record again?
LB: Yeah, I'm always working on new stuff. Right now I'm working on a couple of remixes. I'm always working on new stuff.
APA: That's exciting. Speaking of the title Everywhere at Once, and going along with what you said, another thing I thought about when I heard the title Everywhere at Once was your tour schedule. I checked it out, and it's ridiculous. Australia, Europe, Japan, North America, and it looked like around 150 shows per year. It sounded like your new album title was very fitting. What was it like being "everywhere at once" on all these tours?
LB: Well, you know, I love touring. I love performing. I think I'm naturally a performer and its something that I love doing. It's tiring and hard work, and it can be grueling. But like I said, I love my job.
APA: I was going to ask you again about the album. This is your first record with the new crew. You have a whole band with you now. What was it like working with a whole new band?
LB: Um, it was great. You know, I think for myself the more albums that you do, the more difficult it becomes to do things that you haven't done yet. So I think for me, as an artist, I just wanted to have a new challenge -- [in this case,] a new production challenge. And that was one of the things that I still hadn't done yet, which was create a whole album where the music was done with live instruments. In the past, all my albums were sample based.
APA: So originality is something that you deliberately pursue in your work?
LB: Absolutely. I mean, for me, and I still feel this way, I never wanted to sound like anybody else. I never really wanted to do what everybody else was doing. I think for me as an artist, it was always really important to be original. And I think that's just the way I'm built. I'm not even really good at doing what I've done more than once. You know what I mean?
APA: Right. If you're going to work hard and do something, then you want it to stand out right?
LB: Totally.
APA: So do you have a favorite song on the new album?
LB: You know, it's hard because they all have their feelings with me. I think right now, probably one of my favorite songs is "Differences" or "Do U Buy It." I think overall my favorite song is "Whispers," but I never listen to it. But it's my favorite song on the album.
APA: Why don't you ever listen to it?
LB: Well its just so emotional for me that it's just really hard to listen to.
APA: Yeah, it's very apparent that the lyrics are emotional. "I Like It, I Love It" is also very popular, with the funky beats. Another popular one is "Hott 2 Deff." But I wanted to ask you a little bit about the lyrics. They're a little bit different, with some French even.
LB: Well, it's a party song. You know, just tryin' to have a good time.
APA: Yeah, it sounds a lot like a song just about feeling good.
LB: Yeah definitely. There's not really anything all that deep going on.
APA: Right. But I do notice you try to send some lyrical messages throughout your songs. You can especially tell in "Differences" and "Don't Change."
LB: Well definitely, I mean, whenever I make albums, to me the best art works on multiple levels. If you're writing material, if you've got some humor also, then you just added another dimension and made it that much more powerful. You know what I mean? And if you wanna write about something that's really important to you but you take maybe a different approach than what people are used to, well then it just makes it that much more in many different ways.
APA: Another thing about the album is that it seems you're very big on skits. You had some on the new album, like "Shoe Hoes" and "Homeland Security." What goes through your mind as you construct a skit?
LB: Really, the thing about the skit is that it just has to be entertaining.
APA: There's a lot of comic relief.
LB: Yeah, it's just a departure from the album. You know, when I was growing up, when I was a kid, I listened to De La Soul albums, or N.W.A. albums, and they always had really, really good skits. And it's funny because that's something that is for the most part specific only to hip-hop albums. And I just, you know, that's what I do. I like putting those in there because like I said, it functions on a variety of levels. It just adds something to the album besides pure music. It makes it more of a listening experience.
APA: Another thing about your music is that your rhyming style is very particular. You use a lot of elevated vocabulary and wit, backed by funky beats. How did you gravitate towards this style?
LB: I think it's just an extension of my personality. I've always loved funk. You know I think its one of the few genres where you can really be serious, ridiculous, political, danceable, all at once.
APA: So, it's a wide playing field.
LB: Yeah, its just such an all-purpose music. And I honestly don't know, or haven't met, a single person that didn't like funk.
APA: You sound like you're very big on remembering your roots. You mention both Japan and Berkeley in your songs. Why do you think it's important to recognize your Japanese-Italian roots?
LB: It's a part of who I am. It's definitely not something that I put on in the morning and take off at night. It's who I am. It's shaped my experience. It's definitely a real source of pride for myself, and I think that one of the reasons that this album is different than a) any of my other albums, or b) any other album that's out there period, is the fact that I do deal with these issues. Musically, I can't think of too many artists who have written from an Asian American perspective on a national level.
APA: Exactly. That was one of the things I've been most curious about. You know, you're hitting it big as an Asian American musician in the US. And it seems like that's extremely difficult in today's world. Why do you think that is? And why aren't there more musicians with an Asian background in the big music scene these days?
LB: You know, I think that any person, whether Asian American, African American, Latino, White, whatever -- I think we gravitate towards occupations or callings where we find validation. So, if all my friends went on to be engineers, or doctors, then chances are I'm going to feel comfortable with that choice if I choose to do that. If I look on TV and see a lot of people that look like me, with the same last name as me, and they're actor, then if I choose to do that I'm gonna feel okay with that choice, and I'm going to feel encouraged. I'm going to know that it's possible.
APA: Right, it's a feeling of familiarity.
LB: Exactly. I just don't think that we have a lot of images that are validating in the entertainment business.
APA: So, there's not enough familiarity for Asian Americans in the entertainment business?
LB: No, I don't think so. I mean, there definitely wasn't for me. When I was growing up, that was a real source of frustration for me because the only people that I saw on TV or in show business were people that I just didn't identify with. And I was conscious of that growing up, but I knew I loved rap and I knew I loved rapping and I had guys out there who I idolized. And I just loved what I was doing so much, I didn't really worry about everything. Frankly, I was just naïve about everything else that was happening out there in the world. I didn't really think about that as a kid. It just bothered me that we didn't exist on a public level. But at the same time, I loved what I was doing so much that I didn't let that stop me.
It definitely hasn't been easy. But at the same time it's like I'm so proud of everything. In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm just rounding the bases. I'm definitely not the first. I'm definitely not the only one doing it at this moment. I'm not the person who's done it in the past. But I do realize that I am rounding the bases. A lot of people are going to come after me. You see what I mean? And I'm really proud of that -- the fact that maybe there are some guys out there that can see what some kids out there are doing, maybe see what I've been doing, or what Danny the Automator is doing, or what Hubert is doing, and they're like "Oh, okay. We can do this. We can be successful at this. We can get worldwide acceptance doing this. We can pursue our dreams." You know, 'cause I never really had that. So, I think it's a great thing.
APA: Right, right. Well if you're rounding the bases, have you hit home yet?
LB: [laughs] No, not yet. No, I don't think so.
APA: You were known as Asia Born before you changed your name. Why did you originally pick the name Asia Born and what led to the name change?
LB: Well, I think because it got to a certain point where I started to develop as an artist. You know, and I'd pick up reviews and they'd be like "The Asian Rapper – Asia Born." Or the "Japanese Rapper – Asia Born." And that kinda bothered me. Just like everybody else, I wanted to be evaluated based on my merit, based on my ability. And I wasn't really seeing that. Then I was also getting a lot of questions like, "Okay, so as an Asian American, how do you feel about X, Y, and Z?" And those kind of questions are difficult to answer when we [Asian Americans] are still so diverse. As a group even. My experience is not the same as that recent immigrant from Southeast Asia, or that recent immigrant who was just deported. And his experience isn't the same as mine. So it really put [Asian Americans] in an unfair light because the assumption was that by me having that name, I represent all of us in the sense that we all have the same experiences. So that kinda bothered me. I didn't want Asians to think, or people outside of us to think, "Well, this guy's experience is representing and are identical to everybody else's." You know what I mean?
APA: Did it ever seem like a handicap to have the name "Asia"? Like maybe you wouldn't valued on your merit?
LB: No, I wouldn't say it was a handicap at all. I would just say that it was inaccurate. The way it was being perceived by the press was inaccurate. And also, I didn't want to be called the "Japanese Rapper." I wanted to be "The Rapper." I wanted to be the musician [laughs].
APA: Yeah. You wanted the whole package.
LB: Right, exactly. But now that I've achieved a certain amount of success, I can open the dialogue and talk about it on my terms. You gotta understand, I've been called a million different things. Not only since I was born, but in this game. Since I started making music, I've been called a million different things that I never came up with. But, you know, that's just the way it is. I mean, this is the type of things that [Asian Americans] go through that a lot of my peers don't. But that's okay.
APA: It's all perception. I definitely know what you mean. You're talking about different peers, and I'm basically the only Filipino American in my high school class. You know?
LB: The only one?
APA: Well, in my grade, I am one of two Filipinos.
LB: Oh my god. Where are you?
APA: I'm in Amarillo, Texas.
LB: Oh, you're in Texas. Yeah.
APA: [laughs] Yeah, I have some cousins up there in Sherman Oaks, and I visit Los Angeles a lot. So I know how different it is between California and Texas. And believe me, I've heard a lot of things out here too. It's weird. I definitely get some stereotypes and stuff.
LB: Ahh, I totally relate. I mean, even in California, that scenario is definitely not uncommon. And I think I've done tours where I'm probably the only Asian guy in the whole town. Where we come to play in a different town, and we're probably the only Asians in the whole town. You know what I mean? And America is just like that.
APA: So, I have two more questions. One of them is... well, I'm a very big Entourage fan. You had a song on there and I was so surprised. But your songs have been featured on a lot of TV shows lately: Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girls, Entourage, Six Feet Under. Do you have a favorite show yourself that you secretly wish would feature your own song?
LB: I always wanted to get a song on either The Wire or The Sopranos.
APA: Maybe somebody from The Wire will read this interview online.
LB: Yeah [laughs]. Oh well, the series is over. Both of them are over, sadly.
APA: Okay, one last question for the record.
LB: Hit me.
APA: Beyond your success and beyond all the fans, you have achieved a goal that nearly everyone in the universe reaches for. You have your own video game character [both laugh]. NBA 2K6, just two years old, features you as a playable character. So here's my question. 10 seconds left and the game is tied. The ball is in your hands, the coach calls for an isolation play, and the team is counting on you to score -- just you and the paint. What happens? Oh, and Kobe's guarding you.
LB: Oh Kobe? Oh, well basically I push him out the way. And man, I'm goin' 360 behind the back dunk. And I'm gonna break the backboard, like Darryl Dawkins. [laughs]
APA: So that's the video game. What happens in real life?
LB: Aww, that's exactly what I do.
Check out Lyrics Born's official website here.