Tsutomu "Tom" Shimura (born September 2, 1972), better known by his stage name Lyrics Born (formerly Asia Born), is a Japanese-American rapper and producer. He is one half of the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker.
Shimura was born in Tokyo, and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Berkeley, California. He attended Henry B. Plant High School.
Career He changed his stage name from Asia Born to Lyrics Born in 1995 citing the desire to have his career based on his merits as opposed to his ethnicity. His first studio album, Later That Day, was released on Quannum Projects in 2003.