The Sabukaru Guide to 1990's Japanese Hip Hop
In the early 1980s, Harajuku fashion icon and prolific Japanese producer Hiroshi Fujiwara returned from a trip to New York with local records he’d discovered. Still very much in its early days, hip hop was a niche genre, even in the US. Fujiwara began DJing Golden Age hip hop around Tokyo and suddenly the local music community became exposed to East Coast pioneers such as Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash, later Rakim and LL Cool J.
Hiroshi Fujiwara
Just as had happened in the United States only a few years prior, the genre immediately had an impact on the music scene and became popular among rebellious youth, especially when more aggressive groups such as Public Enemy and N.W.A. began making waves in the late 1980s.
Thematically this music was extremely controversial in a traditionally reserved culture like Japan. Local interpretations of the genre [mostly rapped in English at that time] were initially ignored or rejected by Japanese music executives, fueling an unstoppable cultural movement. In the underground, eyes were on the flourishing American hip hop subculture and a local scene began to grow.
Soul Scream
By the 90s it was impossible for Japanese record labels to ignore hip hop. The domestic scene was burgeoning with creative talent and unique interpretations on the genre that set itself apart from its heavy American inspirations.
Japanese MCs developed a very distinctive rapping style that remains today. Unlike in English, Japanese auxiliary verbs come at the end of sentences and have a limited range of grammatically correct ending syllables. This structure made the flows and rhyme schemes found in American hip hop impossible to replicate. Japan’s hip hop pioneers innovated.
Their rhymes utilized stressed syllables, abbreviated verbs, homonyms, and American English slang to force flows. This style broke the mold of traditional Japanese poetry such as Haiku, which relies on syllable count rather than rhyme structure. Writing raps like this required a different level of skill.
Buddah Brand
This era of Japanese hip hop represents a key point of modern Japanese subculture. Trying to imagine Japan’s music, fashion, or skate scenes without its impact is difficult.
We’d like to share some of our favorite 1990s Japanese Hip Hop tapes. Some of these may be easily recognizable for their influence on the genre while others are more obscure and may be less known to even the most dedicated of fans. Nevertheless, we encourage you to listen to each one as they all deserve their spot on our list as some of the greatest Japanese hip hop records of all time.
Buddha Brand - Kurofune [1996]
Founded in Brooklyn and bred directly from the local rap scene in the late 1980s, hip hop outfit Buddha Brand grew along with hip hop in Japan during the 1990s. Buddha Brand brought some of the most innovative ideas in American hip hop at the time, and delivered them to Japan with total mastery. Everything from the smooth flows, to the sharp beats exudes the authenticity of a group that got its start in 1980s Brooklyn underground.
From the witty wordplay on the remix of the group’s breakout hit “人間発電所” [human power station], to the smooth drums and samples on the title track “黒船” [“black ship”, meaning Western vessel]. This tape features some of Buddha Brand’s best highlights in their entire discography.
Rhymester - Egotopia [1995]
Like Buddha Brand, Kawasaki group Rhymester is a legendary crew founded all the way back in the late 1980s. Rhymester brought a lot of exposure to the Japanese scene with their cutting edge releases throughout the 1990s.
Taking notes from the East Coast contemporaries such as J Dilla and A Tribe Called Quest, the group raps super tight flows over tastefully jazz inspired beats. This jazz inspired sound was gaining lots of popularity in the East Coast scene around this time and influenced hip hop artists to experiment with sampling other genres, a trend that would continue in both the US and Japan.
Rhymester’s critically acclaimed 1993 studio debut, 俺に言わせりゃ [let me tell you] is also absolutely worth a listen as well, but Egotopia features slightly more refined production and lyricism.
Microphone Pager - Don’t turn off your Light [1995]
On this alternative rap tape Microphone Pager, proudly claiming Shibuya as their territory, balances aggressively intricate flows with very alternative jazz inspired sounds. Don’t Turn Off Your Light lands sonically somewhere between Oakland’s Souls of Mischief and Brooklyn’s Digable Planets.
Despite influencing many later Japanese hip hop releases with its forward thinking alternative charm, it is unfortunately overlooked far too often in the mainstream Japanese scene.
DJ Krush - Strictly Turntablized [1994]
Pivoting slightly from highly lyrical tapes, DJ Krush’s legendary Strictly Turntablized is an instrumental album that features some of the grittiest boom bap beats ever heard.
Taking notes from the beat choices of Queens rappers such as Nas and Mobb Deep, DJ Krush lays down exceptionally heavy percussion on this tape with entertaining samples and DJ cuts.
These beats became extremely influential to Japanese artists and made heavy drums and the hardcore boom bap sound even cooler in the Japanese scene, a sound that was blowing up in the New York scene thanks to legends such as Biggie Smalls and the Wu Tang Clan.
Kimidori - Kimidori [1993]
In 1993, the scene was much younger than the previous tapes we’ve covered, but nonetheless this eponymous project, キミドリ [yellow-green] sounds timeless.
The loose rap style is so uniquely characteristic of the group and we get a taste of the early popularity of heavy drums in the Japanese scene right off the heels of Wu Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers), Masta Ace Incorporated’s SlaughtaHouse, and Lords of The Underground’s We Have the Lords. The album also seems to take certain West Coast inspirations such as from Dr. Dre, who had just released The Chronic the following year to unprecedented critical acclaim.
Lamp Eye - Shogen EP [1996]
Shogen EP is an aggressively smooth tape displaying rapping ability on par with innovators in the later half of the era. Way ahead of its time, especially outside the American scene, this tape features distorted beats and unique production such as on “Manhole”.
Despite [or perhaps thanks to] each member’s own vocal style being featured, the group’s synergy is palpable, such as on the title track, “証言” [“testimony”] in which each member’s personality is pablable in every verse, giving the project a refreshing breadth of character.
The full tape is difficult to come across digitally, but if you are lucky enough to get the chance, the whole EP is worth the listen.
King Giddra - Sora Kara No Chikara [1995]
King Giddra’s [not to be confused with alternate ego of MF DOOM] 空からの地下 [“power from the sky”] is a menacing tape that evokes the aforementioned personalities of the hardcore boom bap scene of the mid 90s.
Riding the wave of this inspiration, the trio’s flows have the playful personality of Redman but the aggressive, controlled delivery of Big L. The beats are cutting edge for the time with very clean percussion and samples that undoubtedly take inspiration from the aforementioned DJ Krush.
Scha Dara Parr - 5th Wheel 2 the Coach
Scha Dara Parr’s 5th Wheel 2 The Coach is a gritty tape displaying precise flows, extended DJ cuts, and suite of samples and sounds inspired by underground American rap contemporaries.
Many cuts, such as the album's opener, “1:26 AM” utilize the distinctive boom bap drums that were prominent at the time. Others feel sonically closer to the slow and ambient beats of DJ Premier such as “Summer Jam ‘95”, which features a smooth Bobby Hutcherson sample and prominent high hat. This tape provides a wide range of moods and influences from all across the contemporary American rap scene.
Soul Scream - The “deep” [1996]
Soul Scream excels over this project’s low, smooth beats with tight, precise flows. This album has some clear inspirations from the West Coast G funk scene such as on “無限の次元” [“infinite dimension”]. Still, the tape follows the trend of many other Japanese rap albums of the time by featuring New York inspired heavy drums and jazz samples, landing it a sort of Cypress Hill, DJ Quik quality.
Maki & Taiki - On the 1+2 [1996]
This tape features very hard beats and dark rap performances by the duo Maki and Taiki. This tape is heavily reminiscent of Mobb Deep’s 1995 and 1996 efforts The Infamous… and Hell on Earth with the excellent hardcore beat choices and aggressive, visceral delivery.
Dassen 3 - BacHillka [1994]
The comically absurd flows and catchy upbeat groovy beats on this tape make album incredibly entertaining while also displaying great skill from this trio with their personalities showing great chemistry on tracks such as “笑ってる場合ですよ” [“if you’re laughing”.]
Rip Slyme - Talkin’ Cheap [1998]
A lesser known late 90s gem, Talkin Cheap stands out for its slick beats featuring bright samples and smooth synths. The tape’s milieu is definitely noticeable, feeling very reminiscent of the era it’s from, with many of the sounds that would dominate the scene in the early 2000s subtly becoming prominent.
Japanese hip hop developed an overseas appreciation from fans in the West and as the years went on, gaining a recognition in the global mainstream. The early days of the genre were particularly special, though. Still underground, creativity and innovation were abundant.
Overcoming great cultural obstacles both linguistically and societally, early Japanese hip hop artists more than proved their worth in the global hip hop community during this era, simultaneously making the genre their own.
Text by: Kade Nations
