Japanese hip-hop

Japanese hip hop
Stylistic origins	Hip hop J-pop
Cultural origins	Early 1980s, Tokyo, Japan
Other topics
Hip hop

Japanese hip hop refers to the presence of hip-hop culture in Japan. While primarily focused on elements of hip-hop music like rap and production, Japan has also fostered strong scenes in DJing, hip-hop dance, and graffiti.

History

Origins

It is often said that Japanese hip-hop got its start through fashion designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, who brought hip-hop records back to Japan after his time in New York. Pioneering DJs like Fujiwara found audiences in Tokyo as part of a larger wave of Japanese appreciation of black music which started in the 1970s around scenes such as Japanese reggae and Japanese R&B.

An alternative history follows radio personality Katsuya Kobayashi of Snakeman Show. After being introduced to scratching and rap by a staff member, Kobayashi would try out hip-hop production with the track "Sakisaka to Momouchi no Go-kigen Ikaga One Two Three" on the album Snakeman Show in 1981. Following this, he would once again try to make hip-hop with his group The Number One Band through the track "Uwasa no Come To Hawaii" on the album Momo in 1982. Kobayashi states that the inspiration for this track came from his listening to second and third generation Japanese-American immigrants in Hawaii, whose speech had become a mix of both English and Japanese.

While some other Japanese musicians such as Yellow Magic Orchestra or Toshiki Kadomatsu would experiment with hip-hop throughout the early 1980s, it was not until the mid 1980s that dedicated publication of hip-hop music would start. Rapper Seikō Ito (who was influenced by Katsuya Kobayashi's rap) would contribute a hip-hop track to the compilation Gyōkai-kun Monogatari in 1985, followed by two more for the album Kensetsu-teki by Seikō Ito and Tiny Panx (Hiroshi Fujiwara and Kan Takagi) in 1986. Subsequently, Tiny Panx, along with Melon members Masayuki Kudo, Toshio Nakanishi, and Gota Yashiki would then form record company File Records in January of 1988 and record label Major Force in August of 1988.

Aside from hip-hop music, the years 1983 and 1984 served as a starting point for hip-hop dance in Japan, as the movies Flashdance, Wild Style, and Breakin' (titled Breakdance in Japan) caused many to take interest in breakdancing. Wild Style in particular caused many to take interest with hip-hop culture as a whole due to its simultaneous depiction of hip-hop music, scratching, graffiti, and breakdance. This popularization of hip-hop culture continued with Afrika Bambaataa and Run-DMC's tours in Japan.

By the late 1980s, appreciation of hip-hop had made it beyond just the Tokyo underground where the Japanese hip-hop scene was developing. For example, Hiroshi Fujiwara's guest DJ work at discos in Nagoya served as the trigger for DJ Hazu to develop an interest in hip-hop music, who along with classmate Twigy formed the unit Beatkicks in 1987.

1990s

It was from 1990 onward that many Japanese hip-hop releases began getting released. Major Force published albums by ECD, Kan Takagi, and Scha Dara Parr, as well as the Check Your Mike and Major Force Compact compilation album series. These latter compilations highlighted the emergent bonds between the Japanese hip-hop and Japanese reggae scenes through the inclusion of tracks by prolific artists Boy Ken and Chappie. This time would also see the founding of record label Rhythm by DJ Doc Holiday, which published some of the first releases by prolific rapper You the Rock.

1994 saw the emergence of three significant events for the Japanese hip-hop scene. First was the formation of Japan Dance Delight, a national street dance competition where contestants could employ a variety of street dance styles including but not limited to hip-hop dance. Second, the national Music magazine FRONT began publication in Japan. This magazine, a spin-off of the prior Crossbeat magazine, was formed in order to focus on black music genres such as hip-hop and R&B. And third, far more relevant, was the release of East End X Yuri's hit single Da.Yo.Ne in August. The single achieved double platinum certification through the standards of the RIAJ at the time, indicating over 800,000 units sold, in April of 1995. This success brought them all the way to the 46th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen in December of 1995, becoming the first hip-hop track to get onto the program.

The success of Da.Yo.Ne as well as Scha Dara Parr's Konya wa Boogie Back highlighted a split felt by others in the Japanese hip-hop scene. Some had felt that the work of pop rappers had strayed far from the plight of the more authentic underground rappers, prompting derision from underground rappers toward those that had found success at the time. This came to a head through the release of the single Shogen (Testimony) in 1996 by Lamp Eye, featuring prolific rappers like Dev-Large. Shogen criticizes the rampant money-minded actions of pop rappers in Japan at the time, calling them out for compromising hip-hop culture in favor of financial success. This track co-incided with the legendary Japanese hip-hop live event Thumpin' Camp in July, which featured many of the underground rappers that had contributed to the production of Shogen.

As highlighted by this divide, the Japanese hip-hop scene had ballooned in activity since the early 1990s. Throughout the mid to late 1990s, many influential artists got their debut albums published, including but not limited to: Microphone Pager and King Giddra in 1995, Soul Scream in 1996, Naked Artz and Shakkazombie in 1997, Zeebra and Rappagariya in 1998, and Shing02 and Nigo in 1999. In addition, the late 90s saw various regional scenes finally bring releases to completion, as seen in Nagoya's Tha Masta Blusta by Illmariachi, Sapporo's Stilling, Still Dreaming by Tha Blue Herb, and Hamamatsu's Pain Killer by Beatmaster.

1997 saw the formation of the annual breakdance event B-Boy Park at Yoyogi Park. In January of 1991, the music magazine FRONT changed its name to Blast in order to avoid trademark concerns with the British magazine of the same name.

Internationally relevant J-hiphop artists

Japanese hip-hop pioneer DJ Krush has achieved international recognition as a result of signing with hip-hop label Mo' Wax, as well as his instrumentals and remixes for artists like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and Ronny Jordan.

Early Kimidori member Miho Hatori achieved fame after her move to America through her work with groups Cibo Matto and Gorillaz. She still keeps touch with her roots in the Japanese hip-hop scene, at times offering insight into the scene.

Most prominent among Japanese hip-hop artists with international recognition is producer Nujabes. Nujabes achieved fame in the west through his work on the soundtrack for the anime Samurai Champloo, one of many animes hand picked for the TV programming block Toonami on Adult Swim. His albums Metaphorical Music and Modal Soul subsequently became well regarded among western fans, as did his frequent collaborations with Japanese rapper Shing02. Nujabes later attained signficant fame online as a result of the emergence of the Lofi hip-hop trend in the late 2010s and early 2020s, which was largely defined by his and J Dilla's music production.

The 2000's Japanese pop rap boom also brought many Japanese pop rap groups to international audiences. Groups like Soul'd Out, Nobodyknows, and Home Made Kazoku often provided opening and ending themes for contemporary anime, at times resulting in the formation of overseas fan clubs for these groups. These groups then sometimes responded to this phenomenon with special attention, arranging international tours and special overseas releases that wouldn't have been made otherwise.

In 2024, Megan Thee Stallion released the song Mamushi with Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba.

See also

• List of Japanese hip hop musicians
• Anime in hip hop