EVERY GENRE PROJECT - January 21 - Japanese Hip Hop

Genre of the Day - Japanese Hip Hop

Album of the Day - THE “DEEP” by SOUL SCREAM

From the ashes of mourning and sadness comes another little post. It’s funny that again today I have been thrust with an album of which I am in an even unlikelier position to understand the lyrical content, but I think it’s probably for the best because I’m just a little musiced out and have probably consumed my maximum in terms of lyrics that can probe my heart for the time being. Anyway, we have been whisked thousands of miles away from yesterday’s musical location to Japan. As I learn about more and more music it seems to me that out of all the non-English speaking countries Japan seems most in sync with and apt to pick up American musical trends and put its own spin on it: city pop most obviously comes to mind, what with its overt American funk and disco influences combined with the shiny optimism of young Japan in the 70s and 80s. It’s no wonder they also quickly found a liking for rap, with iconic electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra kickstarting the Japanese rap scene with a track by 1981. 

Over the next 15 years, hip-hop back in the US mutated and went down many paths, from the gangster rap that has become arguably most synonymous with the genre as a whole to boom bap and more avant-garde jazzy weirdos like A Tribe Called Quest. Needless to say, Japanese hip hop aficionados took notes, with today’s album drawing much more on the latter two. I could find little information on SOUL SCREAM, but they most recently released music in 2017 so they’re sort of still around, but this is their debut album and still considered their best.

I can see why. The beat selection here is excellent—smooth, lush, and jazzy, with atmospheric and soulful interludes providing a nice counterweight to the rapping tracks. The boom bap flair of prominent kicks and snares across the album helps punctuate their fast, deftly switched flows. I’ve heard rap in many languages now, and a good-old American bald eagle tends to cry in my soul when hearing the absolutely heinous drill takes of eastern Europe or Italy (no offense), but I have to say Japanese is up there in terms of languages that mold nicely to rap and it doesn’t sound pandering here.

They occasionally throw in a little more off-kilter, unorthodox melodies which I found intriguing and effective such as on “Bland New” (the title seems a tongue in cheek reference to the fact that R & L are essentially the same phoneme in Japanese, making it difficult for native Japanese speakers to differentiate the sound while speaking English). However, their sound really finds its groove on the floatier, more atmospheric beats of 黒い月の夜 and 15丁目. This is definitely worth a listen, and I hope to be able to appreciate these songs a little bit more when there isn’t a cavernous, human sized hole in my heart, but if music has any quality, it’s redemption for the troubles we face. I am thankful for all the music out there, whether cathartic or just a distraction, in helping one navigate heartbreak.