Kohei Japan Explained

Kohei Japan is a Japanese hip hop emcee and a member of the Japanese rap group, Mellow Yellow. Born in Yokohama, Japan, he discovered rap and hip hop while working as a chef.[1]

Many of his songs illustrate the contrasts between his Japanese culture and Western hip hop influences. In his song "Hungry Strut",[2] he proclaims that he eats "rice, not bread, and fish, not meat", thereby asserting that while he is a member of the hip hop culture, he remains Japanese. He shows his attachment to Japanese culture by wearing a traditional kimono in many of his appearances. On his album "The adventures of Kohei Japan", he appears on the cover as a kabuki character in a woodblock print.[3] On the album cover, his hands make the universal "funk" sign, showing the contrast between traditional Japan and hip hop culture.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. 0822338920. Condry. Ian. November 2006.
  2. Web site: Japanese Hip-Hop, by Ian Condry (MIT) . web.mit.edu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20030430144943/http://web.mit.edu/condry/www/jhh/ . 2003-04-30.
  3. Ian Condry, "Hip-hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization", 2006