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)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xvxh_bbc-music-in-japan-documentary_music
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.
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)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xvxh_bbc-music-in-japan-documentary_music
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.
Image credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/PonPonPon_Screenshot.jpg
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