Lyrics Born spat baritone tongue twisters like an auctioneer of rap, selling Bay Area love and undeniably funky hip-hop to the hip-hopsters sporting beanie-ball cap hybrids and black-rimmed art student specs at the Great American Music Hall.

Take a walk through Any College Quad, California and you’ll get a sense of the melting pot LB attracts. An eclectic mix of young and old, leather jackets, member’s only coats and parkas, cornrows, ponytails, flattops and mops. The crowd found a common ground in LB’s funktastic jams and devotion to the music scene that has nourished him for over 12 years.

The Bay Area orgy began with Quannum Projects’ [LB's record label] newest member Pigeon John, who entertained like a young Will Smith, blending funny on-stage antics and storytelling rhymes like a pubescent Q-Tip.

Lighters really flared up (not for a ballad) when LB hit the stage. All at once the floor was saturated with smoke and writhed with energy. Entering stage left, in a fit mildly resembling a cigar salesman and lounge lizard, LB unleashed an arsenal of jams to celebrate the recent release Same !@#$ Different Day (an array of funk standards, hits and remixes and trademark husky vocals).

LB’s all-star band fused live hip-hop beats with traditional funk classics to perfection while his female counterpart [Joyo Velarde] hit the sultry notes on cue. Honestly, is there anything better than a full band hip-hop show?

From the very beginning LB enticed the crowd into knee bending, hand waving and chanting. With songs like the up-tempo “Do That There” and the neck breaking “Bad Dreams.” LB ran the groove gamut, stopping between each song to give the Bay Area props. Naturally he brought the house down with “Calling Out,” (an uber catchy, fun-loving jam that makes you want to party immediately).

And as a special treat, LB sang “Calling out to Bay Area group”…welcome to LB’s neighborhood!

- Review submitted by Jason Jurgens.

Be Sociable, Share!

•