Lyrics Born

Lyrics Born [aka Tom Shimura] is a hip-hop legend who’s been shattering glass ceilings since his start in the ‘90s San Francisco Bay Area home base. The first Asian-American solo rapper to perform at Lollapalooza, Coachella, Outside Lands, and on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Lyrics Born is now Snoop-Dogg-approved with the OG rapper hyping on Instagram LB’s recent single “Take It 2 Far” from his recent studio album, Goodbye, Sticky Rice (October 2024).

Rolling Stone listed his debut album, Later That Day, in their “200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time” article. Rolling Stone also listed his song “Callin’ Out” in their “100 Best West Coast Hip Hop Songs of All Time”.

Lyrics Born came up as part of the Quannum Projects collective of Hip Hop artists from the San Francisco Bay Area that features Blackalicious, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Lifesavas, DJ Shadow, among others.

Blending funk, Hip Hop, and soul… and whether playing with a core quartet, an expanded band with full horn section or a stripped down DJ set, Lyrics Born is often called “the FUNKIEST RAPPER IN THE WORLD!”

2026 will big year for Lyrics Born with new singles, a new album, new collaborators and features, and of course, new live and touring plans.