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Lyrics Born: 401k Hip-Hop :: Looking at faith, inspiration and rap...everywhere at once

By James Shahan   Photography by n/a

04/21/08 :: URB web

What you’re about to hear (or read, rather) might seem like a bit much to swallow for your first bite of this article, but perhaps it will be an enjoyable endeavor nonetheless: without faith, little else is possible. Before you start complaining and spinning tales of an alleged alliance URB has made with the same folks who knock on your door at six in the morning to spread the word of “The Boss,” take what you’ve just read for what it is. Faith is neither a word that was created by nor necessarily always having to deal with religion; it is simply a belief or sense of trust in something. Without it, life as we know it would be impossible. Hope would be impossible. “So what?”—an answer that’s sure to be spiraling within your psyche at this moment because chances are, you’re either confused, annoyed or some volatile combination of the two. Bear with me; I’m on my way to connecting the dots. Within the first five minutes of the interview, it became very clear that Lyrics Born is not only aware of this, but a strong believer in it.

Tom Shimura, Lyrics Born’s Bruce Banner, is not a normal American. While most of us have fallen victim to the vice-grip of “Western” thinking and its pitfalls—working for retirement (somehow convincing ourselves that a virtually effortless existence is the apex of all rewards and experiences) and that self-indulgence is a shortcut to true happiness—Born has freed himself of its clutches. In an age when any sane person would much rather flee from struggle, he needs it.

“Me personally,” says Lyrics Born, “I’m the type of dude. . .I love challenges. You know, if I don’t feel challenged then I don’t feel inspired and if I’m not inspired, then I don’t feel like I can be inspiring to other people.”

Pardon? Come again? You’d think that a man who had to overcome as many obstacles as he has would soon grow weary of such things; that he would want to live the easy life. Nope. It just isn’t so. The fact of the matter is that LB appreciates the poisons of life because he is able to transform them into medicine. He shared that: “I’ve heard people say, ‘You know what? You’re never gonna pull this off because you’re Asian-American.’  And I said, “You know what? The reason why I’m gonna pull this off is because I’m Asian-American.” ”

So is faith still so necessary for someone who appears to be able to overcome just about anything with a smile on his face? Absolutely. “I made a commitment to myself early on” he displayed wholeheartedly. “There was not a damn thing in this world that was gonna stop me. There was nothing: not what the media said, not what my teachers say, not even family members. There was nothing that’s gonna stop me from doing this. That is what’s driven me...” But what about his next challenge?

With his new album, Everywhere At Once, being released this week, what was going to make it so special? What was going to make people take notice?

“I didn’t really give as much of myself personally on those old records as I did on this one” he revealed. “I know what people have to listen to beyond just me. I know that when I tell you [that] you are not gonna get a record like this anywhere else, I know what I’m talking about.”

Perhaps delving further down into the depths of who Lyrics Born is would help the rest of us out. Perhaps it could help us transform the coal of our difficulties and hardships into diamonds of growth and positivity. Though there remains something unanswered: Why does hope matter?

Without hope, we wouldn’t be here. Is evolution not rooted in the idea of wanting to improve? If there was no inkling of this to be found on the face of the earth, from the primordial soup to Darwin’s finches; if there never existed the hope to become greater than one already was, then perhaps we would still resemble the creatures who roamed the endless expanse of the once-existing Pangaea. Or maybe Lyrics Born is just a tad higher on the food chain than the rest of us.

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