Cut Chemist, Lyrics Born join forces for tour

Underground rap artists Cut Chemist and Lyrics Born will hook up on a co-headlining tour this fall, with Cut Chemist backing his recently released third solo album, "The Audience's Listening."

The month-long tour will kick off Oct. 19 in Los Angeles, inaugurating a stretch of West Coast shows, then abruptly taking a hard right and hitting the eastern parts of the continent.

Indie rapper Pigeon John, whose last album, "Pigeon John Sings the Blues," was released in March of last year, will add support to the outing. Lyrics Born is currently finishing off a tour that finds him in Boston on Friday (8/11) and opening for Black Eyed Peas on their Aug. 14 Honolulu appearance.

Until recently, the busy Cut Chemist split time between two popular groups in addition to his own solo work. Despite leaving rappers Jurassic 5 (which he helped found in the early '90s), the producer/turntablist has continued his work with Los Angeles Latin funk act Ozomatli. "The Audience's Listening," released in July, is the performer's third solo album and first since 1999's "Brainfreeze."

Tokyo-born, California-bred rapper/producer Lyrics Born (real name: Tom Shimura) released his second album, "Same !@#$ Different Day," in April last year, following his 2003 full-length debut "Later That Day..."