A research blog for my Music 129C class with Katherine Lee at the University of California, Davis. This blog looks at the differences and similarities of rap and hip hop in Japan and the United States. Also it provides a brief history of rap and hip hop in Japan, how the genres have affected Japanese culture, and how mass media has helped to bolster the genres in Japan.
Condry, Ian. Hip-hop Japan:
Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Durham: Duke UP, 2006. Print.
Craig, Timothy J. Japan Pop!:
Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
Print.
Michel, Patrick St. "How
J-Pop Stars Gain From the West's Obsession With 'Weird' Japan." The
Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 19 June 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.
Takatsuki, Yo. "Japan Grows Its Own Hip Hop." BBC News. BBC, 17 Dec. 2003. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
I will end this research blog with a few points that I discovered
through my research on the topic of Japanese hip hop and rap and its
relationship with American hip hop and rap.
1) I learned about myself, my prejudices, and my culture.
Through the research for this project I found some intriguing
information that was not previously known to me. I did not realize that
American hip hop and rap was actually a reaction to the racial
discrimination that has been going on in the United States. I always
thought that I knew it was a reaction to individual's socioeconomic
situations, hence always rapping about money, but it never occurred to
me that it was used as a form of personal expression against the hate
and prejudice that has been created. On the other end of the spectrum
it fascinated me to learn about Japanese hip hop and rap, as I am not a
big fan of rap/hip hop in general, and that in Japan it is mainly used
as a form of speaking out against politicians and issues that occur in
every day life. I may not personally listen to rap but now I am more
aware of what it may be used for and I will not dismiss it entirely.
2) I learned a little bit more about the fascinating relationship between the east (Japan) and the west (United States).
I definitely did not realize that jazz had become so popular in
Japan, but then I remembered learning about a Japanese singer who was
popular for her jazzy (enka) sound in Japan. However I did not realize
that jazz was the pinnacle of the musical relationship between the
United States and Japan. It would also make sense that jazz would seep
into the music of modern day Japan because it held such a westernizing
influence for so long. It would only make sense that hip hop and rap
would carry on the tradition of jazz through self identity and
reflections on authenticity.
3) I still have so much to learn!
Japanese culture has always fascinated me and it was interesting to
look at this aspect of their underground made newly famous culture of
rap and hip hop. It has made me seriously consider the connection that
Japan and the United States has, despite all of the historical events
that have happened. Both countries are so intertwined in each other's
destinies and cultures and it goes deeper than I ever could imagine. But
I also want to know more about true Japanese culture, so I guess I will
just have to go to Japan! It has been great getting out of my comfort
zone and learning about a musical genre that I wouldn't personally care
much for but I think there is so much to learn about Japan through the
movement of rap and hip hop.
There are still so many questions that I have to answer, but I hope that
this provides at least a good launching point for anyone interested in
learning about Japanese culture through the emerging force that is hip
hop and rap.
As I come near to concluding my blog I have one final question: what finally brought Japanese hip hop into the light of Japanese mass media? There is normally no one answer for these kinds of questions, but I wonder if it has to do with Japanese groups beginning to make their own sounds and sing in Japanese instead of English.
Another important question that Japanese artists and groups must ask themselves is whether they want to go global or not. This may seem like an easy question to answer, but there are consequences tied to either answer. First, the rap group could go global and most likely have to learn to sing in English because America is a leading producer of rap and hip hop music. Secondly, they may have to change their message or through transmission change the tone, language, and themes of their music to become more violent, sexual, and profit driven in response to American rap music.
However these rap and hip hop groups choose to go about globalization, they will first have to deal with going from the dark recesses of underground music in Japanese clubs to being out in public on the radio, TV stations, and so on.
According to the BBC documentary Music in Japan it was the children of affluent families who first made hip hop and rap famous because they were able to travel overseas and spend several years getting an education in the United States. By doing so they also experienced the injustices of not only the United States but their own country as well, thus they began to support the messages that Japanese rappers were trying to send to politicians in Japan.
(The part about Japanese rap and hip hop begins at about (9:58 and goes to about 12:49)
In my opinion, in order to get into the market of Japanese mass media one needs to know what it looks like. Right now, J-pop, or Japanese popular culture is ruling. In fact, it is even taking the western world by storm. This is an important point that Patrick St. Michel brings up in his article entitled, "How J-Pop Stars Gain From the West's Obsession with 'Weird' Japan" about the hit pop sensation Kyray Pamyu Pamyu, "Her American success stems in part from the West's ongoing fascination
with "weird Japan." For more than two decades, Western media has
highlighted and laughed at Japanese "strange" phenomena, from Gothic
Lolita fashion and pre-Tupac hologram pop stars to more deviant subjects
like used-panty vending machines and body pillows with anime girls on
them (30 Rock poked fun at this one). It's an easy go-to story:
Look at what bizarre stuff Japan is up to today—even if the subject is
an extreme niche interest most ordinary Japanese people aren't even
familiar with, or, alternatively, something that's culturally
commonplace in Japan. Now, artists like Kyary are cashing in on this
brand of foreigner curiosity". In essence the positions have switched - now it is westerners who are interested in Japanese music and style. This could be an important step for Japanese rap and hip hop artists. If they too can learn to use the niche that is Japanese style they can become a global sensation the way that Kyary has. Not only did she manage to acquire massive fame but she did it in a purely Japanese style with Japanese lyrics, music, and clothing.
I wanted to include an image of Kyary to show what made her popular in western markets as well as in Japan.
The youth are who determine what the next popular object, person, or musical sensation will be. This is very much the case in Japan, where entire districts of cities are run by Japanese youth because they set the trends. Hip hop, although still a small but growing genre in Japan, has made its way into the clothing and homes of Japanese families. As Yo Takatsuki states, "But unlike most fads before it, Japanese hip-hop is not
just staying on the streets, but is making its way into the nation's
homes." Because of hip hop and rap artists focusing more on home life and social and political issues in Japan, the genres have stuck around and artists are finding themselves not only engaging the younger crowds but families and even older generations as well. Its not just the culture either, its the clothing too, which is a very important aspect of Japanese youth culture.
Pictured below are two Japanese youth wearing hip hop inspired clothing.
I will begin with a brief history of how hip hop and rap came to be popular art forms in Japan.
The popularity of hip hop and rap began in the late 70s in the United States and has climbed to its peak in the 2000s. In Japan hip hop had a bit of a later start, only becoming popular in the 80s, but it has also seen the same boom that hip hop and rap saw in the 1990s in the United States. But the rap culture was treated differently in the United States than it was in Japan. In Japan rap began in the underground or club scene. Ian Condry, the author of Hip Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization, writes that: "Even among those who were skeptical about hip hop in Japan, everyone agreed that to understand Japanese rap music it was necessary to go to the genba, that is, nightclubs" (Condry 5). Japanese media was not highly interested in Japanese rap at first because they felt it would be just a fad amongst Japanese youth.
Yet rap and hip hop have not just stayed musical sensations in Japan, they have seeped into Japanese clothing and culture. I will elaborate more on this point in my next post, "Hip Hop Culture in Japan".This Generation West documentary called "Hip Hop Lives: Japan (Louis King x Oh No x Joe Iron x Zen la Rock)" gives a general perspective on the rise of hip hop and rap in Japanese culture and what could make it thrive or what could make it fall out of favor with Japanese youth.
For this post I will compare and contrast the differences between styles, music, lyrics, and thematic elements of Japanese hip hop and American hip hop.
According to a source in Tokyo used for the BBC article "Japan grows its own hip hop" by Yo Takatsuki, "Mr Tamura believes the secret behind its success lies in Japanese
hip-hop artists starting to do their own thing rather than copying their
US counterparts...'I think the secret behind the popularity is that Japanese hip-hop
lyrics matured. Before they used to copy American gangster rap singing
about guns and violence, which there isn't too much of in Japan,' he
said."
This conclusion is made apparent in the music of "Gangsta's Paradise" and "It G Ma". There are similar themes in the music of respectability and money, but the lyrics could not be any more different. I have provided the music videos of both songs below and a sample of the lyrics to give an idea of how different the perspectives are.
Coolio ft. L.V - Gangsta's Paradise (Official Music Video)
Lyrics:
As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left.
Cause I've been laughing and blasting so long,
That even my mama thinks that my mind is gone!
But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it,
Me be treated like a punk, yeah, you know that's unheard of.
You better watch how you're talking and where you're walking,
Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk.
I really hate to trip but I gotta loc,
As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke.
I'm the kinda G the little homies wanna be like,
On my knees in the night saying prayers in the streetlight.
Keith Ape - 잊지마 (It G Ma) ft. JayAllday, loota, Okasian, Kohh [Official Music Video]
Lyrics:
Never never never forget
Don't forget to never forget
This, that, and that over there, which one is important?
Get rid of unnecessary things
you could be happy with having only what you need
thank you
Compare and Contrast:
One major reason that the lyrics of Japanese rap is so different from American rap is that the artists do not share the same experiences. Rap was created as a way for African American artists in the United States to express their experiences and emotions about racial discrimination and socioeconomic discrimination in the United States. Thus rap lyrics in America tend to be vengeful, angry, and violent. Whereas in Japan there is little to no crime and often it is foreigners who are marginalized. Also there is a huge language barrier that does not allow for many Japanese rappers to understand the lyrics of American rap songs. Yet rappers, such as Kohh, do have similar life experiences to rappers in the United States. What is often the case with Japanese rap music is that the rappers will focus more on life experiences, social and political themes, along with the general rap themes of sex, money, and fame.
The documentary, Rising from the Tokyo Projects by VICE Japan, goes into further detail about the lives of some of Japan's more prolific rappers and how living in Japan's housing projects affected their lives and career choices.
Another important aspect of Japanese rap and hip hop that is different from American rap and hip hop is that in Japan they use various elements of humor, music, and poetry. Also the musical tastes of Americans and Japanese tend to vary. Japanese and Americans have had long standing musical roots, and I was surprised to find that even American jazz became popular in Japan in the 1950s. That jazzy sound is evident in Japanese artist Oni's song "You Gonna Go My Way". However Oni incorporated elements of Japanese language and (from what it sounds like) a more poetic form of rap. According to Timothy J. Craig jazz quite possibly began Japan's long love and hate relationship with the United States, "Through the performance and discussion of jazz, Japanese have debated and refined their knowledge of America and themselves" (Craig 29). Thus American jazz became the founding example of what authenticity means, and for Japanese, what "Japanese-ness" mean. What I mean by this is, how do the Japanese find a way to make jazz their own? This is also up for debate in the world of hip hop and rap and I think that Japanese artists have found a way to make rap and hip hop their own by combining American melodies and songs with Japanese lyrics, poetry, and social/political themes.
I began my research thinking that my topic would be about the differences between traditional Japanese music and the music that is found in Japan today. However the further I delve into my research the more I found on the hip hop and rap scene in Japan, which began to fascinate me. I wondered: how could American hip hop become so popular in Japan? What made Japanese hip hop/rap the same? What made it different? Thus my adventure into the realm of hip hop and rap in Japan began.
First, I think it is important to know the differences between American
hip hop/rap and Japanese hip hop/rap. What makes them different? What
makes them the same?
Second, I would like to examine how it was that hip hop and rap became so popular in Japan. What were the powers that came together to bring this underground form of music up to the surface? Why is it such a phenomenon today?
Thirdly, how has mass media and mass culture affected the hip hop and rap scene? How has Japan's popular culture (what I will refer to as J-pop) affected the styles, lyrics, and musicality of Japan's hip hop and rap?
