Shades of Hip-hop
Growing up on the east coast in the 90's for me was listening to Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix in my friends basement because my parents didn't appreciate the "noise". I was rocking a poser hesher haircut and black and grey suede Airwalks that I tied so tight my toes were suffocating. All my friends were listening to 90's grunge rock and were slowly heading towards a darker realm of music, thanks to the ushering of Marilyn Manson. At that time, my family and I were relocating to the west side in sunny Southern California - probably best we did before I started wearing black make-up and trench coats.
It wasn't until 2005, when I was really digging deeper into underground hip-hop with the influences of the mighty J-Dilla, Count Bass D, Funky DL, and J. Rawls to name a few. It was these musicians who eventually led me into my discovery of Nujabes, a.k.a. Jun Seba, may he rest in beats. I finally narrowed down the type of music I was listening to and ever since then I've been building my playlists based on artists that sprouted from this discovery.
California is where I was introduced to hip-hop at a young age and my taste in music was evolving and before I knew it, my old rock CD's were collecting dust on my shelves. My image completely changed, I was rocking extra baggy jeans that sagged past my rump and always wore basketball shorts underneath to add extra waist support. The shirts I wore at the age of 13, to this day, still don't fit me. As the years passed, I eventually wore clothes that started to fit me and my taste in hip-hop was also tailored down.
When the only hip-hop you hear is junk repeated on the radio and you yearn for more tasteful music, there's always the classics to bring you back. Like hip-hop from the 80's and 90's, underground hip-hop has remained true to the roots of it's music. Syncopated beats, jazzy rifts and melodies and poetic lyrics to tie everything together is what made crave more variety. I've always had a fascination for Japanese music, ranging anywhere from J-pop in my younger adolescent years, all the way to enka, Japanese folklore music.
It wasn't until 2005, when I was really digging deeper into underground hip-hop with the influences of the mighty J-Dilla, Count Bass D, Funky DL, and J. Rawls to name a few. It was these musicians who eventually led me into my discovery of Nujabes, a.k.a. Jun Seba, may he rest in beats. I finally narrowed down the type of music I was listening to and ever since then I've been building my playlists based on artists that sprouted from this discovery.
Music and art have been a big part of my life, they go hand in hand, I can't make have one without the other. What I love about going to these underground shows in small venues is that these events serve as a canvas to everyone participating. Whether you're making jewelry, music, or paintings, everyone congregates for the same reasons and serve as influences in each other's work.
One of my earliest findings of Japanese hip-hop came from a three man group that goes by GAGLE. Made up of DJ Mu-R, DJ Mitsu the Beats, and their vocalist MC, Hunger. Something about their sound and Hunger's lyrical rhythm that transcends me into another space in my mind - a place I'm able to sort my ideas and designs. It's been 8 years since I started following this group, and ever since then I've collected and connected with their music.
I was determined to watch them live for this trip and what better city than Kobe to watch them. It was surreal to me at first, even the crowd of fans that showed up in a small cafe venue to watch these guys surprised me. To me, these guys are big time in my eyes, but in reality, this scene in Japan has been slowing down and to see this many fans still attending these shows and showing support for smaller musicians was gratifying.
This gave me hope that this scene will never fade out completely nor will it be desaturated by new musical genres, it will just keep evolving on it's own thanks to the fans. GAGLE just dropped their newest album, VG+ in March and this event was one of the earlier shows on their Japan tour. They always produce solid stuff and VG+ was a collective of some of their older sounds and a mix of newer ones but like all their other albums, they have variety so the mood is never consistent, yet their style remains.
Sitting front row, hearing and watching the words flow onto the mic was like watching a poet speak his mind. In between sets, Hunger never hesitated to connect with his fans and the crowd, real humble fella. A lot of MC's just "spit" on the mic, it literally sounds like spit sometimes, no class, no rhythm, no talent. What I admire most about Hunger is his ability to incorporate so much positive meaning in his raps and complements them with flawless lyrical rhythm - his rap style is unmatched and distinct.
After the show, the guys came out on the bar floor to mingle with their fans. After 8 years of waiting I finally had a chance to thank them for the years of inspiration in my work.
素晴らしい音楽ありがとう！
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