(Credit: Peter Jones)
An Asian-American of Japanese/Italian heritage, Lyrics started making music in the ‘90s under the name Asia Born with acclaimed producer DJ Shadow, with whom he co-founded the influential Solesides hip-hop label (later reincarnated as Quannum Projects). After a long career releasing albums for Solesides/Quannum, he’s struck out on his own, signing to maverick indie Anti- Records for the release of “Everywhere at Once.”
Metromix sat down to rap with LB—in a non-rhyming manner—about the new record and how Homeland Security sometimes throws a wrench into his touring schedule.
I wanted to ask you why you named the album “Everywhere At Once,” but then I listened to it…
And it all made sense.
Exactly. It’s pretty eclectic.
When I make albums, I kind of sit back and say to myself, “What are people not doing? What are people not saying?” And that’s where I try to insert myself. I try to make records that go head first into that void.
It is kind of a large void, isn’t it? It’s not like you have to look far to find what’s not being said, when there’s so much superficial stuff out there.
Yeah, totally, and also for me I have to say to myself, “What have I not done yet?” I’m not really interested in making an album where I’m writing 15 of the same songs. What I try to do is be inspiring, and the best way that I can be inspiring is if I myself am inspired. And the only way I can be inspired is if I continually challenge myself and try new shit. Otherwise, what the hell am I doing?
What would you say you didn’t do before that you’ve done on this record?
This is the first album where I used 99 percent live instruments, entirely with a live band. Producing an album like that is definitely something that I had never done before. All my albums before were almost completely sample-based. This album also is probably my most personal. I think on my past albums, people knew that I could rap, but on this record it was more about how I could make songs that appeal to a broad range of people and still be really personal. And so that’s why you have songs on there like “Is It the Skin I’m In?” or “Whispers” or even “Cakewalk.” Even my fans, I don’t even think they really know a lot about me personally.
Did you make a mental list of musical styles you wanted to try? Like, “I think I’ll try house or New Wave today?”
That’s exactly what I did at times—and other times, it was just really organic. Like, with the [Devo-esque] song “Do U Buy It?”—I just kept hearing the riff, “No! No! No! No!” in my head, and so I had to develop that. One thing I know is that if a song is good, whether it’s mine or a song from another artist that I love, if I can’t get it out of my head, then I know it’s a dope song. If I have an idea for a concept or chorus and it just won’t leave me alone, then I know it’s good and I gotta pursue it.
You get kind of a Spidey sense about it?
Exactly, I start tingling!
The “Homeland Security” skit on the album is hilarious; you’re detained at the airport for carrying a Capri Sun juice pack. Has something like that actually happened to you?
Oh, absolutely. Without a doubt, I mean, as much as I travel? I’m on at least a couple of flights a week. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but I get profiled like crazy. It’s funny, sometimes I’ll be at customs and I’ll take a little informal [mental] poll of who’s getting pulled over and whose bags are getting searched. A bunch of sparkling white people walk through…and then it’s me and the Middle Eastern cat and the lady that’s got the cloak on, having our belongings rifled through. That happens a lot, but I don’t let it stop me. At the end of the day, I know it doesn’t have anything to do with me and I don’t put a lot of stock in it.
