Latyrx
Encyclopedia
Latyrx is a hip hop music
group consisting of Lateef the Truth Speaker and Lyrics Born
. The roots of their partnership lay in the formation of the Solesides
collective at the University of California, Davis
.
and the future Blackalicious
team—were all involved in student radio and shared a progressive-minded approach to hip hop. Lateef
and Lyrics Born
initially recorded as solo artists; under the name Asia Born, the latter released the first single on the Solesides label, "Send Them," in early 1993.
The first proper Latyrx release came in 1996, and was actually the B-side of Lateef's solo single "The Wreckoning." For the track in question, also called "Latyrx," both MCs recorded completely different raps that were played back simultaneously. Coupled with DJ Shadow
's production and its unique effect, it started to build an underground buzz for the duo. More solo sides followed that year—Lateef
cut "The Quickening (The Wreckoning, Pt. II)" with DJ Shadow
on the boards, and Lyrics Born produced his own 12" release, "Balcony Beach" b/w "Burnt Pride." Most of these solo sides, along with a raft of new material, appeared on the duo's debut LP, Latyrx (The Album)
, which was released in 1997.
DJ Shadow
produced a total of four tracks, and Chief Xcel (later of Blackalicious
) helmed two, while Lyrics Born
handled the rest himself. The Album earned rave reviews for its adventurous, electronic-flavored production and the distinctive flows of both rappers. It was followed closely by the Muzapper's Mixes EP, which contained the boundary-pushing single "Lady Don't Tek No." Muzapper's Remixes appeared in 1998, but unfortunately, The Album didn't stay in print much longer; it was reissued briefly in 1999 before disappearing again. Meanwhile, Solesides was reconfigured into a new label, Quannum Projects
, and the collective officially changed its name to Quannum as well. Latyrx didn't record much following their brief reign as an underground sensation. They guested on "8 Point Agenda," a 1999 single by the Herbaliser, and also contributed new material to the Quannum Spectrum compilation that year.
Quannum Projects finally reissued it in 2002, allowing it to take its place alongside the new crop of independent hip hop
that included El-P's Def Jux
crew, Anti-Pop Consortium, and anticon. Both Lateef
and Lyrics Born
went on to successful solo projects, the former with Blackalicious
' Chief Xcel and Fatboy Slim
. Lyrics Born
released two successful solo albums on Quannum Projects
, before signing in 2006 to Epitaph Records
.
announced on his website in February–March 2007 through a podcast
that a new Latyrx album would see light after his next solo project.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group consisting of Lateef the Truth Speaker and Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born , is a Japanese American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and voice over announcer. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.-History:...
. The roots of their partnership lay in the formation of the Solesides
Solesides
Solesides was an underground hip hop label based in Northern California, founded in 1991. It comprised various DJs and MCs, the most notable being DJ Shadow, MC–producer Lyrics Born, and the duo, Blackalicious. The members of Solesides all met via the radio station, KDVS, the 5000-watt community...
collective at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
.
History
The crew's charter members—which also included DJ ShadowDJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
and the future Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
team—were all involved in student radio and shared a progressive-minded approach to hip hop. Lateef
Lateef
Lateef the Truthspeaker also known as The Truthspeaker or simply Lateef, is an American hip-hop artist who is part of the groups Latyrx and The Maroons AKA Lateef and the Chief...
and Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born , is a Japanese American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and voice over announcer. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.-History:...
initially recorded as solo artists; under the name Asia Born, the latter released the first single on the Solesides label, "Send Them," in early 1993.
The first proper Latyrx release came in 1996, and was actually the B-side of Lateef's solo single "The Wreckoning." For the track in question, also called "Latyrx," both MCs recorded completely different raps that were played back simultaneously. Coupled with DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
's production and its unique effect, it started to build an underground buzz for the duo. More solo sides followed that year—Lateef
Lateef
Lateef the Truthspeaker also known as The Truthspeaker or simply Lateef, is an American hip-hop artist who is part of the groups Latyrx and The Maroons AKA Lateef and the Chief...
cut "The Quickening (The Wreckoning, Pt. II)" with DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
on the boards, and Lyrics Born produced his own 12" release, "Balcony Beach" b/w "Burnt Pride." Most of these solo sides, along with a raft of new material, appeared on the duo's debut LP, Latyrx (The Album)
Latyrx (The Album)
Latyrx is the debut full-length studio album by the American underground hip-hop duo Latyrx, consisting of San Francisco Bay area rappers Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born. The album was released on August 25, 1997 on the Solesides record label...
, which was released in 1997.
DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
produced a total of four tracks, and Chief Xcel (later of Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
) helmed two, while Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born , is a Japanese American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and voice over announcer. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.-History:...
handled the rest himself. The Album earned rave reviews for its adventurous, electronic-flavored production and the distinctive flows of both rappers. It was followed closely by the Muzapper's Mixes EP, which contained the boundary-pushing single "Lady Don't Tek No." Muzapper's Remixes appeared in 1998, but unfortunately, The Album didn't stay in print much longer; it was reissued briefly in 1999 before disappearing again. Meanwhile, Solesides was reconfigured into a new label, Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects is a hip hop collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been active since 1992, when it was formed at UC Davis under the moniker Solesides Records. It is also the name of the independent record label that releases their records, as well as those of a number of other...
, and the collective officially changed its name to Quannum as well. Latyrx didn't record much following their brief reign as an underground sensation. They guested on "8 Point Agenda," a 1999 single by the Herbaliser, and also contributed new material to the Quannum Spectrum compilation that year.
Quannum Projects finally reissued it in 2002, allowing it to take its place alongside the new crop of independent hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
that included El-P's Def Jux
Definitive Jux
Definitive Jux is an independent record label based in New York City, United States. It was co-founded in 1999 by Jaime Meline and Amaechi Uzoigwe. The label was initially known simply as Def Jux, but in 2001, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name similarity...
crew, Anti-Pop Consortium, and anticon. Both Lateef
Lateef
Lateef the Truthspeaker also known as The Truthspeaker or simply Lateef, is an American hip-hop artist who is part of the groups Latyrx and The Maroons AKA Lateef and the Chief...
and Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born , is a Japanese American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and voice over announcer. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.-History:...
went on to successful solo projects, the former with Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
' Chief Xcel and Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
. Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born
Lyrics Born , is a Japanese American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and voice over announcer. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.-History:...
released two successful solo albums on Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects is a hip hop collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been active since 1992, when it was formed at UC Davis under the moniker Solesides Records. It is also the name of the independent record label that releases their records, as well as those of a number of other...
, before signing in 2006 to Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
.
New Album
Lyrics BornLyrics Born
Lyrics Born , is a Japanese American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and voice over announcer. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.-History:...
announced on his website in February–March 2007 through a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
that a new Latyrx album would see light after his next solo project.
Discography
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1997 1997 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy... |
Lady Don't Tek No (single) |
| 1997 1997 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy... |
The Album Latyrx (The Album) Latyrx is the debut full-length studio album by the American underground hip-hop duo Latyrx, consisting of San Francisco Bay area rappers Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born. The album was released on August 25, 1997 on the Solesides record label... |
| 1998 1998 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia... |
Muzapper's Mixes |
| 1999 1999 in music -Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia.... |
Muzapper's remixes |
| 2002 2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI... |
The Album (reissue) Latyrx (The Album) Latyrx is the debut full-length studio album by the American underground hip-hop duo Latyrx, consisting of San Francisco Bay area rappers Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born. The album was released on August 25, 1997 on the Solesides record label... |