Latyrx is an American

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

duo consisting of

Lateef the Truthspeaker Lateef Daumont, better known by his stage name Lateef the Truthspeaker, or mononymously as Lateef, is a hip hop artist from Oakland, California (United States). He is a member of several hip hop groups such as Latyrx, Lateef and the Chief, and t ...

and

Lyrics Born Tsutomu "Tom" Shimura (born September 2, 1972), better known by his stage name Lyrics Born (formerly Asia Born), is a Japanese-American rapper, singer, and producer. He is one half of the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker. Early life Shim ...

. The roots of their partnership lay in the formation of the Solesides collective at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

History

The crew's charter members—which also included

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

and the future

Blackalicious Blackalicious was 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 soulful pr ...

team—were all involved in student radio and shared a progressive-minded approach to hip hop. Lateef and

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

'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

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, '' The Album'', which was released in 1997. DJ Shadow produced a total of four tracks, and Chief Xcel (later of

) helmed two, while

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 (also known as Quannum MCs) is an American 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 i ...

, and the collective officially changed its name to Quannum as well. Latyrx did not record much following their brief reign as an underground sensation. They guested on "8 Point Agenda," a 1999 single by

The Herbaliser The Herbaliser is an English jazz hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba in London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently releasing on their own label and having previously been signed to !K7 Records, they were one o ...

, and also contributed new material to the Quannum Spectrum compilation that year. Quannum Projects finally reissued ''The Album'' in 2002, allowing it to take its place alongside the new crop of independent hip hop that included El-P's

Def Jux Definitive Jux was a record label based in New York City. It was co-founded in 1999 by El-P and Amaechi Uzoigwe. History Definitive Jux was initially known as Def Jux. However, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name ...

crew, Anti-Pop Consortium, and

Anticon Anticon (often styled as anticon.) is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It is now collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and man ...

. Both Lateef and

went on to successful solo projects, the former with

' Chief Xcel and

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

. Lyrics Born released two successful solo albums on Quannum Projects, before signing in 2006 to

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

. Lyrics Born announced on his website in February–March 2007 through a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

that a new Latyrx album would see light after his next solo project. The album was finally released in 2013 and was entitled '' The Second Album''. It was released on Latyramid Records to mixed reviews.

Discography

Albums * '' The Album'' (1997) * '' The Second Album'' (2013) EPs * ''The Muzapper Mixes EP'' (1997) * ''Disconnection'' (2012)https://archive.today/20121129184517/http://www.facebook.com/latyrx/posts/471280896249629 Remix albums * ''The Muzapper Mixes'' (1997) Compilations * ''Latyrical Madness Volume 1'' (2012) Live albums * ''Latyrx: Live at Google'' (2012) Singles * "Lady Don't Tek No" (1997)

References

External links

SoleSides site

Official Quannum (formerly Solesides) site

Official Lyrics Born site
{{Authority control Hip hop groups from California Quannum Projects artists Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Davis, California Hip hop duos American musical duos Alternative hip hop groups