EVERY YEAR, I BECOME MORE AND MORE CONVINCED THAT THE GREATEST WRITERS AND POETS OF OUR GENERATION ARE THE ONES KEEPING DANCE FLOORS AND TURNTABLES HAPPY. CASE IN POINT: LYRICS BORN. ONE-FIFTH OF THE INCOMPARABLE QUANNUM COLLECTIVE’S CORE. HIS 2004 DEBUT SOLO ALBUM, LATER THAT DAY, IS, WITHOUT QUESTION, A PERFECT ALBUM. THE MUSIC, THE LYRICS, THE CONCEPT-- EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. AND NOW, HE’S BACK, WITH SAME !@#$, DIFFERENT DAY-- A REMIX VERSION OF HIS FLAWLESS DEBUT. IN A BRIEF MOMENT OFF THE ROAD, HE PHONED IN TO ANSWER A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS.
Lyrics Born: Hold on one second. (to sandwich artist) Baked Lays. And a Diet Coke. (to Vinnie) Hold on, man. I’m at a Subway. You ever been to Subway?
Vinnie Baggadonuts: Yeah.
LB: You know that story about that dude who lost, like, 800 pounds eating Subway every day?
VB: Yeah.
LB: I don’t believe that shit at all.
Both: (laugh)
VB: He’s a plant.
LB: Okay. We can do this now.
VB: You sure you don’t want me to let you go so you can eat?
LB: Nah, it’s cool.
VB: Well, I’m kinda glad they set this up now, because I just heard Z-Trip’s album.
LB: Oh, yeah! With the track [\"The Get Down\"] that I did on it?
VB: Yeah. Did he ask you to do an old school party track, or did you come to him for that?
LB: Nah, he gave me the track, and I just put it together.
VB: It seems like there’s a lot of that up-tempo party vibe on Later That Day, and even on Same !@#$, Different Day. Is that something you’re trying to do more of?
LB: I think I’m done with that for now, to be honest with you, for the very reason that you said. I did it on Z-Trip’s album, and I did it on my album. I think that’s enough. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. I’ve just done it already, and I had a good time doing it, but I think I’m done.
VB: With Later That Day, I was curious when you started working on that project.
LB: Well, you know, you’re always working on music. It just depends on what you’re working on at the time, and what project you have deadlines for. There’s stuff on Same !@#$, Different Day that’s five years old!
VB: Was it a huge sigh of relief when the record finally came out?
LB: Which one?
VB: Later That Day.
LB: Oh, definitely.
VB: And was doing Same !@#$, Different Day something you would have done regardless of how well Later That Day did?
LB: Definitely. I like working with other people, and I didn’t really do that on Later That Day. I was doing everything myself. So, I wanted to get back to working with other people, because it helps me grow.
VB: Did you choose all the people you worked with, or did they approach you about it?
LB: A little bit of both; but mostly, I chose. I started off with a big list, but not everybody could do it.
VB: Have you noticed your life changing significantly since Later That Day, as far as the ease of putting music out and stuff like that?
LB: Definitely. Everything’s changed since I put that album out. I’m ten times busier now. I’ve got more work. It’s great.
VB: Has there been anything completely out of the blue that’s happened since it came out?
LB: You name it! From being on tours, to having the number one record internationally!
VB: You’ve been doing this for a while, though. Is it still cool to do a show and see people saying your lyrics back to you?
LB: Oh, hell yeah! I wouldn’t be able to do it without that. It makes it a lot easier. It’s encouraging.
VB: Have you bumped into anyone who loved the album and praised you for it, and you were totally caught off-guard by it?
LB: Yeah. There’s a lot of cats who tell me, \"It’s helped me through relationships,\" or, \"That describes my situation perfectly.\" A couple nights ago, one cat was like, \"Man, your shit helped me get through jail!\" Makes you kinda just go, \"Whoa....\"
VB: Damn. When you did this, it sounded like you did whatever you wanted on both records. You didn’t try and fit into any category, which is a very Quannum thing. Was there anybody that sort of inspired you to taking that approach to making music?
LB: I think we always did because we never had expectations of having huge commercial hits. That kind of allowed us the freedom to do whatever we want. But then, it’s kind of funny because last year I had a huge commercial hit.
Both: (laugh)
LB: It’s funny how that works.
VB: Does that personally create pressure for you to make another hit? Or does that not concern you at all?
LB: If you let it. I’m still kind of dealing with that right now, because once you get on the radio, you don’t want to get off. We’ll see how I handle it.
VB: Are you going right into recording another solo album after this?
LB: I’m actually producing Joyo Velarde’s album after this. We’re working on her debut solo album after this, and then I’ll be executive producing Pigeon John’s album.
VB: Yeah, I saw that you guys signed him. That’s awesome.
LB: Yep.
VB: I talked to Lateef, and he said you guys were trying to work on another Latyrx album.
LB: Yeah. He’s real busy now because of the Maroons album, touring behind that and shit. We did a Quannum MCs show the other night. It was me, Gab, and Lateef, and we talked about it. It’s just a question of finding the time.
VB: Is that the hardest thing, dividing time between work and family?
LB: Yeah, because it just gets harder. The better things start going, the less time you have.
VB: Is it hard to take a break from work at all?
LB: Oh, God....
Both: (laugh)
LB: My wife and I, we haven’t taken a vacation in five years. These aren’t bad problems to have, though.
VB: When did you realize you could write lyrics well? That you could use language, and do things with it that not a lot of people can do?
LB: Well, I just knew that I liked it and wanted to get better at it. We’re talking about when I was eight or nine years old. I wasn’t very good at it, but I knew I liked it. And I knew that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.
VB: You knew that you wanted to be an MC, or that you wanted to make music in general?
LB: I knew that I wanted to be an MC.
VB: As you went on and were progressing, were there people you kept around as points of inspiration, for guidance?
LB: Well, you know, when you’re young, you grow in leaps and bounds, because you haven’t really been exposed to that much music. As you get a little older, it gets harder and harder to find inspiration. At least that’s what I’ve found. I try to put myself in creative situations, like things I haven’t done before.
VB: My last question is, what should people keep an eye out for?
LB: Same !@#$, Different Day comes out April 26th. Like I said, I’m working on Joyo Velarde’s solo album. So far, it’s pretty sick. But there you go.
VB: Thanks a lot, man.
LB: Thanks.