CD Review: Lyrics Born, "Same !@#$ Different Day" (Quannum Projects)

Everybody knows the rap about the remix album: it's often just a way for an artist to milk more money out of fans without putting out any real new material.

In most cases, remix albums are only required purchases for the most obsessive of fans. In that sense, it's easy to think of the remix disc as the 21st century version of the old double live album.

However, none of that applies to "Same !@#$ Different Day." Lyrics Born uses his debut disc, 2003's "Later That Day," as merely a roadmap to create a work that truly stretches the boundaries of what qualifies as a remix album. The Oakland rapper dishes out five entirely new songs and completely reshapes eight "Later That Day" tracks to the point where they are only recognizable by name. The result is a CD that comes across more like a follow-up than a remix.

The impressive disc, which might even be better than "Later That Day," bumps with thick funk and infectious soul from start to finish. Joyo Velarde's operatic vocals are the perfect counterpoint to Lyrics Born's baritone rap on the DJ Shadow-produced "Over You." Evidence and KRS-One help rock the house on the R&B-rich "Pack Up." Plus, "Callin' Out," remixed to feature Casual and E-40, bounces in such intriguingly new ways that Diet Coke might want to use it in an ad campaign--again.