It’s easy to forget that the Solesides/Quannum crew is one of the longest-running hip-hop collectives in existence. That’s largely because they like to take their sweet time between albums, and Lyrics Born is no exception to that tendency. With only four full-lengths since he dropped his debut, Later That Day, in 2003, it’s been difficult for LB’s fans to keep track of his evolution. It’s a shame, really, since the diminutive baritone’s recorded output displays a wide breadth of stylistic competence. Thankfully, he’s decided to collect some of his best work from over the last decade-plus for easy digestion. Over the course of 16 tracks, LB takes you from homegrown, Bay Area hip-hop to time-traveling explorations in disco, soul and funk. Arranged somewhat chronologically, you get a clearer perspective on LB’s evolution as an MC, particularly as he starts to embrace live instruments, generally handled by the various members of Galactic, who make a full appearance on their From the Corner to the Block collaboration “I Got It (What You Need),” in addition to a couple of songs from LB’s most recent album, Real People, produced in part by Ben Ellman and Robert Mercurio. In all, this serves as a solid refresher course on one of the Bay Area’s most adventurous MCs.