Lyrics Born, Komedia, Brighton, July 21

3:50pm Friday 18th July 2008

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“I Feel I’m a performer by nature. It’s just such a part of what I do and who I am. I can’t let it go. I really want to be the best at it.”

With a gig schedule of more than 150 shows each year, Tokyo-born Asian American rapper Lyrics Born, real name Tom Shimura, is rarely off the road, especially since introducing a live band to the mix three years ago.

“I needed to take something new,” he says. “The more you grow in your career and the more albums you make, the more you want to challenge and expand the way you work.”

The live band is featured on record for the first time on his third studio album Everywhere At Once, which was released on independent label Epitaph/Anti-Records in April.

“I wanted to make this album in a different way,” he says. “It was easier and more enjoyable for me, just because I consider myself a people person.

“I like working with others in the studio, rather than working alone with a sampler.”

Previous albums have seen the California-based hip-hop artist collaborate with the likes of DJ Shadow, KRS-One and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.

Born has described this album as his most personal yet, drawing lyrical influences from the death of a close friend and his experiences as an Asian-American.

“I think that is important for any artist,” he says. “No matter what your craft or art is, it will be affected by life experiences.

“On this album one of the things I wanted to do was get a little bit more personal.

“Some of my favourite artists are those who really put themselves out there. You see the challenges and the victories that they had and you walk away feeling like you lived that with them. People such as Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder – and Kanye West to a certain extent – who are intensely personal.

“This time around that was the type of album I wanted to make.

“I wanted to keep it entertaining and fun, but I also wanted to let people know not just how I feel about certain things, but some of the things I have experienced.

“I don’t think people know a lot about my personal experience. As a people, Asian Americans are like background music. That is part of my experience, so I just wanted to talk about it.”

Lyrics Born is not bringing along the full band for this trip to the UK, so it will be a chance for fans to hear the new songs stripped down and performed alongside long-time collaborator DJ D-Sharp and his wife, soul singer Joyo Velarde.

Support comes from Stephanie McKay.

• 8pm, £12, 01273 647100