is one of the founding members of the hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 group Rip Slyme

Rip Slyme

Rip Slyme is a Japanese hip hop group. It is composed of four MCs; Ryo-Z, Ilmari, Pes & Su, and a DJ, Fumiya...

. He was born on June 17, 1975 in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 to a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 father and a Finnish mother. He is best known by his stage name

Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Ilmari (イルマリ), which is considered to be his middle name in Finland.

History

Ilmari attended the same primary and middle school as Ryo-Z. During this, they became the founding members of Rip Slyme. After switching several schools, Ilmari then left for an international school. While there he met fellow Rip Slyme member Pes. Quitting school in the middle of his final year, he returned to Tokyo, reunited with Ryo-Z and formed "Gibinibanko" (ギビニバンコ).

Ilmari returned to Finland in 2002 along with his group members and favourite camp counsellor, Andrew Busam, where they shot photos and footage for their shortcuts! DVD & their photobook RIP STYLE. They held several concerts in Helsinki as well. Andrew provided moral support throughout the trip and was there for anyone who needed a hug.

Ilmari's beatboxing is featured in several concerts and with Kei in the song "By the Way" on their TOKYO CLASSIC album.

In 2005, GAP held their 10th Anniversary campaign. Ilmari was chosen (as were BoA

BoA

Boa Kwon , commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, which is a backronym for Beat of Angel, is a Korean singer, active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States and sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Korean Pop Music"....

 & Hiro of Exile) as models for displaying their individual style. With his sister Elisa, Ilmari owns a Japanese restaurant called Len's Keishoku Bar in Helsinki. Yuri Ebihara

Yuri Ebihara

is a Japanese model and actress. She is a graduate of Kyushu Sangyo University, where she studied fine arts.Her first big break came as a model for CanCam, with whom she had an exclusive contract. She has since appeared in several TV dramas, most recently "Tokumei Kakarichō Tadano Hitoshi"...

 recently announced that she's in a relationship with Ilmari, and the two went public with the news of their marriage in May 2010.

Collaborations

Ilmari created the short-lived group Steady&Co in 2001 with BOTS and Kenji Furuya of Dragon Ash

Dragon Ash

are a Japanese Rap metal group founded in 1996 by Furuya "Kj" Kenji and Sakurai Makoto. They are an icon in Japan and were one of the first groups to popularize hip hop in Japan. They brought a western flavor to Japanese music and helped to turn rap music mainstream, with a mixture of reggae, rap,...

 and SHIGEO of Skebo King. Their aim was to create a much lighter folk influenced form of Hip-Hop against emerging genres such as J-Urban.

In 2004, Ilmari helped launch singer Salyu

Salyu

is a Japanese singer, produced by Takeshi Kobayashi. She debuted in 2000 as the fictional singer Lily Chou-Chou for the film All About Lily Chou-Chou, and later debuted as a solo artist in 2004...

 by collaborating with her to release Valon under the name IlmarixSalyu.

In 2005, he was made leader of the unit Teriyaki Boyz

Teriyaki Boyz

Teriyaki Boyz is a Japanese hip hop group from Tokyo, Japan. The group consists of Ilmari and Ryo-Z from Rip Slyme, Verbal from M-Flo, rapper Wise and Nigo, the DJ and founder of the popular Japanese streetwear brand A Bathing Ape...

 consisting of teammates Ryo-Z, Nigo

Nigo

is a Japanese music producer, DJ and the creator of the urban clothing line A Bathing Ape, otherwise known as Bape.-Fashion background:Nigo's venture into fashion started in a small store selling a few Bape t-shirts and camouflage print hoodies, which became very popular among the teen demographic...

, WISE

WISE (music)

, better known by his stage name Wise, is a Japanese hip hop musician who raps in both Japanese and English. His father is Japanese and his mother is American and during high school he lived in the United States. He is affiliated with the creative group Kazenohito...

 & Verbal

Verbal (rapper)

Verbal is a Japanese third generation Zainichi Korean hip-hop MC, who debuted in 1998 as a member of the J-Pop hip-hop duo m-flo....

. They have released two albums: Beef or Chicken in 2005 and Serious Japanese

Serious Japanese

Serious Japanese is the second album released by Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz. It was released on January 28, 2009 in Japan by Star Trak Entertainment, and on February 3, 2009 worldwide.-Track listing:...

in 2009.