A tour of Japanese rap - Kyou no Koe

Japanese rap is real talk. Lyrics that blow your mind with truth bombs. Soundbites that sink their teeth into the harshness of reality. Here's an exquisite sample, selected to expand your mind. Ready to jump in?

Awich and the Anatomy of Truth Bombs

Let's begin with Awich, (@Awich098), the true queen of the rap scene. The talented Okinawan singer has struck multiple hits with well-crafted collaborations with various Japanese and Asian artists. These collabs shine thru' the way individual contributions come together to make a real gem, as opposed to the watered down "marketing" collaborations in the West.

Masterpiece of masterpieces, the track Brainwashing, despite being pre-pandemic in its release, is in tune with the Zeitgeist of the times. Featuring Dogma and Dopeness alongside Awich, this song is in three parts. Each one revealing the brainwashing that Japan, and the world, is undergoing in this Big Brother era of relentless media propaganda, extreme financialization and intrusive technologies. If you aren't asleep at the wheels, you can appreciate how the lyrics hit home with sniper precision!!!

The lyrics are gold. Dark gold. My fave bits for each singer in that song are:

Awich

Ikenai ikenai ano ko no matsuro 
Ikanai ikanai fukan no maguro

which I'd translate as:
"Too far gone — that girl’s downfall
No thrill, no chill — cold like a dead doll"

Dogma

欲は底なしもう勘ぐるな
踊れ日本のメイドインアメリカ

Desire is bottomless—stop overthinking.
Dance, Japan—you're Made in America.

Dopeness

Kami ni suji ga kakarete
Sono kami o mina de shinjiteiru

Numbers written down on paper —
and we all believe in that paper.

The wordplay of the meanings of kami (gods or paper), the idiom of fukan no maguro, these are some of the best bits, but the whole song comes together to draw a picture of today's world from a cynical yet spot-on Japanese perspective.

Japan's Underground

Now let's go deeper. To the underground. This is where raw talent lurks and trends are born. 

Meet IFE, (@ife96cu), the new face of Japan, a country which is much more culturally diverse than most people think or would like to think. I told you, Japanese rap is real talk. From the shadows, IFE shoots and scores with her song Kage to drive this point home with drive-by efficiency.

I double-dare you to find anyone cooler then IFE across the rap sphere or the whole world for that matter. Her older sister, MIA, with whom she forms the band SPIRITUS comes close, but IFE has that ineffable je-ne-sais-quoi, charisma, star quality, dazzle, pizzazz, oomph—whatever you wanna call it that just bursts through the screen.

The Alt-Future

Another young and upcoming talent worth highlighting is Liza, @liza_space97. 

Parallel released at the end of 2024, by Liza and featuring female rapper 7 (another alternative and interesting voice), is a refreshing and creative take into contemporary Nihon rap. The video brings back some of the crafty weirdness from the 80s when you had to digest the art by yourself instead of being spoon-fed the agenda at hand.

Nene and Banana Empire

The blogpost would be remiss if it didn't mention Nene. She is brilliant, she is (especially with her eccentric release Banana Boat, she's no Soft Boiled Egg gyaru), but generally not my cup of tea because this is the kind of rap that mimics the decadent empire. Given that Japan is an occupied nation, still pinned down by 120 active military bases on its land for the last 75 years, a part of Japanese rap submissively caters to the invading troops as it serves them bitch sushi. 

Heavy stuff. Sadly and despite local protests, the chronic rape of Japanese schoolgirls in neighborhoods close to those bases make this type of rap for army dogs and war pigs less palatable.

Yakuza Summer Vibes 

Let's lighten up the mood to end this piece. E.Sanny (@_e.sanny_) brings back summer vibes and the nostalgia of past trips with ANEJO. Neither intellectual nor stripper rap, it's just easy vibes, chicks in bikinis and music for hard men. Yeah, those tattoos aren't just for show—through its dark side Japan's pride still stands. Fuck around and find out. Unless you know your Kabukichō 歌舞伎町, Okubo 大久保, and Shin-okubo 新大久保, these rappers aren’t your Team Tomodachi.

Remember summer is lightness.

- "What's your name? Iranakune!"
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