Latyrx

Members of the prodigiously talented Solesides/Quannum collective, Latyrx went sorely underrecognized for their restlessly experimental brand of hip-hop. Their lone album was far too eccentric for the masses, but even in underground circles, it fell prey to poor distribution (it went out of print twice) and poor timing (Quannum mates Dj Shadow and Blackalicious hadn't yet secured their status with hip-hop fans). The name Latyrx was a combination of its members' performing monikers, Lateef The Truth Speaker (born Lateef Daumont) and Lyrics Born (born Tom Shimura). The roots of their partnership lay in the formation of the Solesides collective at the University of California-Davis. The crew's charter members -- which also included Dj Shadow 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.

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