Kohei Japan
Encyclopedia
Kohei Japan is a famous Japan
ese hip-hop emcee, and a member of the Japanese rap group, Mellow Yellow. He was born in Yokohama, Japan, and discovered rap and hip-hop while working as a chef. http://books.google.com/books?id=CH8Nj_bBxWoC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=Kohei+Japan&source=web&ots=Mwhq7Msedb&sig=OKGSPURXjlHmKiRFERfwedakwYI&hl=en#PPA14,M1
Many of his songs illustrate the contrasts between his Japanese culture and Western hip-hop influences. Indeed, in his song "Hungry Strut"http://web.mit.edu/condry/www/jhh/, he proclaims that he eats "rice, not bread, and fish, not meat", thereby asserting that while being 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. In fact, on his album "The adventures of Kohei Japan", he appears on the cover as a kabuki
character in a woodblock print.
On the album cover, his hands make the universal "funk
" sign, showing the contrast between a traditional Japan and a hip-hop culture.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese hip-hop emcee, and a member of the Japanese rap group, Mellow Yellow. He was born in Yokohama, Japan, and discovered rap and hip-hop while working as a chef. http://books.google.com/books?id=CH8Nj_bBxWoC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=Kohei+Japan&source=web&ots=Mwhq7Msedb&sig=OKGSPURXjlHmKiRFERfwedakwYI&hl=en#PPA14,M1
Many of his songs illustrate the contrasts between his Japanese culture and Western hip-hop influences. Indeed, in his song "Hungry Strut"http://web.mit.edu/condry/www/jhh/, he proclaims that he eats "rice, not bread, and fish, not meat", thereby asserting that while being 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. In fact, on his album "The adventures of Kohei Japan", he appears on the cover as a kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
character in a woodblock print.
On the album cover, his hands make the universal "funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
" sign, showing the contrast between a traditional Japan and a hip-hop culture.
Albums
- The Adventures of Kohei Japan (File Records, 2000)
- Funky 4 U (Sony Music Japan, 2003)
- Family (Pony Canyon, 2008)