A diverse mix of young and old attended The Step Inn on Thursday February 5 to see Tokyo born, American rapper Tom Shimura – better known as Lyrics Born – bringing his unique blend of funk, rap, hip hop and soul to Brisbane once again.

The school-night event kicked off early with doors opening at 8pm, and an impressive line up of supports were on hand to entertain the crowd including DJ DNO, Kolab (New Zealand), DJ Sheep (3 times state DMC Champion) and DJ Katch of Resin Dogs fame. DJ Sheep had warming duties immediately before Lyrics Born took the stage and did an excellent job with some Latin hip hop, RnB and rap classics from James Brown, House of Pain, N.E.R.D and Cyprus Hill. DJ Sheep had the crowd animated for Lyrics Born who eventually took the stage shortly after 11pm.

Unlink many of today’s rappers who travel with a touring DJ, Lyrics Born prefers to tour with his live 5-piece band, including back-up singer and wife Joyo Velarde. The effect of having a live band on the audience is evident from the moment they step on stage. With excitement in their cheers, the crowd filled the small Step Inn room with roars as the band took the stage and began their intro teasing for a few minutes before the main man took the stage to the audiences delight.

Lyrics Born – or L.B. as the adoring crowd referred to him – was soon hard at work raising the roof playing his 2008 hit I Like it, I Love it – a tune that had managed to squeeze into this year’s Triple J Hottest 100 at number #98. The band then followed with Differences, which included a decent length interlude where each band member took time for a solo. Keys, bass, guitar and drum solos were followed by Lyrics Born and Joyo Velarde back on the mics to restart the show.

Like any hip hop performance, crowd participation was a big part of the night, and there was loads of interaction between the entire band and the crowd. This was especially evident during Stop Complaining, where L.B. was having a back and forth with the crowd during the song. Lyrics Born then changed the pace by briefly covering RUN DMC’s It’s Like That – much to the crowd’s delight. The set continued through his collection of crowd pleasers. Callin’ Out proved to be a crowd favourite, and it began with a bass solo and incorporated several stabs from the track to tease the audience before the rest of the band joined in for the drop. The set finally came to an end culminating with Top Shelf.

As the band left the stage, it wasn’t long before the crowd’s cheers had erupted and the group were out for an encore. The first sounds heard were the deep repetitive bass and broken drums from Kanye West’s Love Lockdown. While L.B. retook the stage the tempo changed into Love Me So Bad before returning to the chorus of Love Lockdown. The covers continued into the encore with a freestyle version of M.IA.’s Paper Planes. The show finished with Bad Dreams and an instrumental outro, beautifully presenting the excellent musicianship. After the show, a look at the set-list revealed the in-depth complex nature of the show and the several covers that I missed in the performance. Not only were the previously mentioned covers played, but there were also stabs, riffs and basslines from 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Mobb Deep, Fonzworth and Rick James – proof of this artist’s diversity and musicality.

According to his touring schedule, Lyrics Born currently has no future plans to return to Australia in ’09, although during the show he was alluding a return later in the year. Splendour perhaps? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. But this show was definitely a hit – and proof that Lyrics Born is a master at what he does best.