intro – homeworklude
Ham-r – Workinonit Remix (ultra)
Curtis Williams – This Her Jam ft. MoneyMakinNique & Alkebulan (ultra)
S.L.A.C.K. – Hatsugen On Skit ft Rau Def (ultra)
Gucci Mane – Stupid (ahnnu remix) (ultra)
FatKidsBrotha – Queso ft Snubnose (ultra)
(introlude) Kubota Toshinobu – Ichizu na Yoru, Mukizu na Asa
FatKidsBrotha – NWA ft Snubnose Frankenstein. I had this on repeat for a really long time. This whole tape is good – check them out on bandcamp.
A$AP Rocky – Been Around The World (Chopped and Screwed). From an older mixtape. This is a really mean song.
S.L.A.C.K. – Hatsugen On Skit ft Rau Def. You’ve heard S.L.A.C.K. here before, but I don’t think I’ve played any Rau Def. I really like what both of these dudes are doing, but Rau Def right now especially is on some wildness. Over the summer he started attacking Zeebra (sort of a living legend in Japanese rap) for absolutely no reason. It was pretty funny.
no twitter for S.L.A.C.K. Rau is @xxxRAUDEFxxx
FatKidsBrotha – Queso ft Key! and Snubnose Frankenstein. Just stop what you’re doing now and get their tape.
Gucci Mane – Stupid (ahnnu remix). HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA. swag. @ahnnu
Ham-R – Workinonit Remix. I have a lot of respect for this dude. This is off a tape he put out in 2010, which was the hands-down most forward thinking mixtape in Japanese rap that year. He’s supposed to be putting together an album right now. @hammerdahustler
Curtis Williams – This Her Jam ft MoneyMakinNique and Alkebulan. This is a pretty cool mixtape all around, but this track just kills. Also, the tape is called Trill Shit Only, which is worth a lot of points. @thatboycurtis
and that’s it for this one. and yeah, i’m on twitter: @dexdigi
I can’t really write much now. I recorded this last night. I am not in Japan now so I’m obviously safe, and the friends I’ve been able to get ahold of are all safe, but I’m still pretty upset – so no track breakdown.
The intro probably doesn’t make any sense, sorry. Things are going to be hard for a while, but I figured the very least I could do was post some swagged out cuts to keep people thinking about my friends.
Seeda – Intro
Norikiyo – Ore hana no megane
Gasface – Problems
Yuki aka Juto – Show u my mixtape
Cherry Brown – Work Work Work!
S.L.A.C.K. – Deep Shit
Megahi – Kick the Megahi
Seeda ft MoNDoHã€NIPPSã€AKLOã€STICKYã€HORIã€SLACKã€SQUASH SQUADã€H.TEFLON – No One But Us
Ham-R – Can’t Stop
Rau Def – Doggg Race
A lot of people have been asking me what the deal is with Japanese hip-hop1 is, I’ve been sort of meaning to do this for a while, so let’s get into it – a proper (sort of) review/breakdown on a Japanese rap joint (ps – “Nihongo” = Japanese for “Japanese language”).
So let me make something clear upfront.
First off, after being here for over a year, I think I can say with confidence that a large portion of Japanese hip-hop is not very good2. I would actually go as far to say that a good portion of it is actually completely unlistenable, and that any non-native speaker of Japanese who claims to prefer Japanese rap over, say, its American counterpart is either very very familiar with the underground scene here, or lacks musical taste.2.5
This coming from someone who only has Japanese rap in his mp3 player.
Second, I should also say here if someone asked me who my favorite Japanese rapper was, at this point in time I’d have to say Seeda. It is also an undisputable fact my opinion that his last album is a landmark record in Japanese rap history, is the best Japanese rap record out right now, and is going to be a major force in what happens over the next couple years in the scene. So if you want to call me biased, sure, I’m biased. But then again, I’m not really known for talking much on this site about things I don’t like.
Second point five, people who have been following the show might recognize the Seeda from the mildly infamous Niggas and Bitches episode (Seeda isn’t the rapper whose lyrics I took up, though – that was Oki). Yes, this is the dude who shared a mic with that rapper in the video. Possibly something to keep in mind as you read this.
Third, I’m going to try to avoid making really broad generalizations about Japanese society/politics – partially because such generalizations aren’t possible, and partially because if you wanna know more about society/politics, there are better places to learn about that than from me. As good as I am at hiding it, I actually don’t know anything about anything, and encourage you to do your own research.
So, on to the track itself. This one is called Dear Japan, by Seeda, produced by Bach Logic. I actually heard this maybe four or so months ago when Seeda put it up for a couple days on his myspace, and actually liked it enough to want to drop it on the show. Didn’t happen, obviously.
Okay, let’s get to the video already:
Seeda – Dear Japan (prod. Bach Logic)
The first thing that you will notice is that dude stares at the camera for like fifteen full seconds before he even says a word. If I may be permitted to say something here about dude (Seedaã•ã‚“ã€æ°—を悪ãã—ãªã„ã§ä¸‹ã•ã„ã), dude kinda has a crazy look in his eye. And he continues to make really skurry faces at the camera for the whole video. So if that makes you uncomfortable, yeah.
Lyrical breakdown, background, and wild, baseless speculations after the jump. Continue reading →