East vs. West

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.