Album: Lyrics Born, As U Were (Decor)

This latest set from Californian DJ/rapper Tom Shimura shifts restlessly between styles, from the Tom Tom Club-ish electro-funk hip-hop groove of "Kontrol Phreak" to the more Earth, Wind & Fire-flavoured soul of "Coulda Woulda Shoulda", but doesn't lose its sense of unity thanks to Shimura's delivery, which blends urgency with a languid, throwaway manner.

Reuniting occasionally with his old partner-in-rhyme Lateef, his main theme here concerns the value of intuition and assertiveness as the keys to self-determination, as he deals intelligently with such matters as prescription-drug addiction ("Pillz"), domestic paranoia ("Kontrol Phreak") and minor notoriety ("I've Lost Myself"), the latter an impassioned torrent about the vicissitudes of life on the fringes of showbiz.

DOWNLOAD THIS Kontrol Phreak; We Live By The Beat; I've Lost Myself; Oh Baby!