Born in Tokyo to a Japanese father and a Jewish-Italian mother, Tsutomu Shimura moved to Berkeley, California as a child and eventually became the alternative rapper who goes by Lyrics Born. Beginning his rap career in 1992 as half of the hip hop duo Latyrx, Shimura began to hone his lyrical style, then branched off on his own, originally calling his solo project Asia Born, but changing the name after deciding he'd rather be judged by his talent than his race. His multiple albums have featured prominent bay area and LA acts like E-40, DJ Shadow, Mistah F.A.B., Jurassic 5 and Pigeon John amongst others. Shimura owns his own record label Quannum Projects and tours extensively across the globe.
