"We representin' the whole wide world," Lyrics Born proclaims near the onset of his second solo CD. Even when giving a shout-out to his home turf in the Bay Area, the Japanese-born MC-songwriter-producer avoids the territorial, ghetto-centric conventions of much NorCal hip-hop by dedicating the tune to "every neighborhood on every side of each bridge"; he goes on to credit his multicultural vision to the independent record shops, newsstands, flea markets, restaurants, mixed marriages, and progressive politics he was exposed to while growing up in Berkeley. Same !@#$ Different Day contains eight radically remixed tracks from 2004's groundbreaking Later That Day ..., as well as five new songs, and it boasts a bunch of guest artists and producers, among them KRS-One, Evidence, E-40, Dan the Automator, DJ Shadow, and German neofunk band Poets of Rhythm. L.B. spits out highly literate, often humor-laced rhymes – such as one contrasting the topless anatomies of Nell Carter and Karen Carpenter – with Gatling gun rapidity over party-starting beats. He even sings from time to time, in a gruff, rather tuneless baritone, but lets girlfriend Joyo Velarde handle most of the melodic hooks with her soaring gospel mezzo pipes. Lyrics Born plays Thurs/12, Great American Music Hall, S.F. (415) 885-0750, www.musichallsf.com. (Lee Hildebrand) Veronica Klaus
Live at the Lodge (Black Diamond Music)

"You just can't force this jewel of a girl into a square setting," Veronica Klaus belts on "Black Diamond Days," an original tune charting her journey "from that old coal town to a Golden Coast." The song is an emotional high point on Live at the Lodge, recorded in 2004 at an S.F. benefit concert. Though live, preferably in an intimate cabaret setting, is the ideal way to catch Klaus's act, Live at the Lodge still captures her strengths. Backed by a talented ensemble that includes pianist Tammy L. Hall, she answers the crowd's appreciative hoots with her sassy spin on "Fever." Her versatile vocals spice up familiar torch songs: "Cry Me a River" transforms from a lament to an I'm-better-off-without-ya exultation. A moving balladeer (especially on the gorgeous "Dark End of the Street"), Klaus is unafraid of straying from the standards; her takes on Bill Withers ("Use Me Up"), Carole King ("Way over Yonder"), and especially Tom Waits ("I Can't Wait to Get Off Work") are inspired, as is her stripped-down duet with Mark Weigle on John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery." Veronica Klaus plays Saturdays, Michael's Octavia Lounge, S.F. (415) 863-3690, www.octavialounge.com. (Cheryl Eddy)

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