Lyrics Born is Saying “Goodbye, Sticky Rice” on 9th & Final LP Prod. by Hallway Productionz (Album Review)

Lyrics Born is a 52 year old MC, songwriter & producer born in Tokyo, Japan & raised in Berkeley, California notable for being a member of the Quannum Projects collective under the original moniker Asia Born for nearly 3 decades. His 2003 solo debut Later That Day… became an underground classic within the west coast hip hop scene, following it up with the Epitaph Records-backed sophomore effort Everywhere at Once & 6 more albums through his own label Mobile Home Recordings since. However, he’s looking to move on to the next chapter by dropping his 9th & final album.

“What Dreams are Made Of” starts with a g-funk instrumental from Lench Mob Records in-house producers Hallway Productionz telling everyone to remember who they are instead of who they used to be whereas “Take It 2 Far” talks about being unable to quit smoking & drinking keeping the gangsta funk vibes rollin’. “Smokin’ with My Lady” is another g-funk banger that’s dedicated to puffin’ zaza with his wife Joyo Velarde, but then “Gyrlz” featuring The Egyptian Lover discusses their love for women over som funky bass-licks.

Latyrx gets together on the smooth “It Might Not Be Love” telling their romantic interests that there’s something in-between them just before the synth-driven “Shades of Jade” admits to struggling with loneliness. “Beautiful DJ” fuses reggae & hip hop telling a female DJ to play that 1 song for him while the spacey “If Ur Down, I’m Down” talks about Joyo checking off all the boxes in his eyes. “Can We Still Be Friends?” hops over another g-funk asking this woman if they can remain cordial & “Live Your Life (Without Permission)” ends with him staying true.

To cap off his solo career, Lyrics Born throws a funky & messy going-away party for himself pulling good-time ’80s R&B & funk music that brought him comfort as a youth & during the pandemic ahead of him shifting his focus to bettering his health. He’s having fun lyrically & Hallway Productionz during the 35 minute listening experience cohesively recaptures the essence of the west coast g-funk subgenre that dominated the ‘90s.

Score: 8/10