I love Hip Hop in it's various guises but gimme Jazzy & Soulful Hip Hop all day & I'm a happy man. The great thing about music in general is discovering a wealth of talent that you previously knew nothing about. Now, I had always known that Japan was an untapped resource for good music. I've bought my fare share of Japan only albums & wondered why the hell they got all the nice bonus tracks. But it wasn't until I found out what the japanese heads themselves had to offer, that the depth & sheer greatness of the talent out there blew me away.
The richness & uplifting vibe possessed on a lot of the work that comes from there is unsurpassed on any western Hip Hop album ive heard to date. The texure that comes through on a lot of these tracks is awesome & even the samples must be procured from some obsure sources. When the few instrumental albums that I've really taken notice of all hail from Japan, the niceness of what is on offer becomes apparent.
It sometimes Irks me that the more established of Our supposed Hip Hop luminaries don't look further afield for album worthy material. Japan must be thee most untapped market for production in Hip Hop today. With the internet such as it is, it is not hard for artists from opposite sides of the globe to contact each other (The Foreign Exchange, while recording Connected). Such a seemingly endless stream of talent deserves a far bigger stage outside of Japanese shores. Radio could've had a for bigger part to play but the state that's in right now, radio is dying a death.
So, it's up to school the good people of the movement to spread the word on the wonderful bounty that is Japanese Jazzy/Soulful/Beautiful Hip Hop. I have put together a few of my favourite tracks, from a few of my favourite Japanese artists. Nomak, Dela, Nujabes, Uyama Hiroto & others provide the sounds. Some featuring Five Deez, CL smooth, Large Pro, Surreal & more. And some superb instrumental tracks. When you realise what i'm Eulogising about, you can go & find the rest for yourselves & share the vibe
Enjoy!
Japanese Niceness Pt. 1&
Pt. 2
