American hip hop music has since enjoyed excellent record sales in Japan. Japanese kids are attracted to Hip Hop's black image as a kind of ethnic tourism. They are also attracted to Hip Hop's aggressive, violent and hyper-sexual image. In other words Japanese kids are attracted to Hip Hop for the same reason American kids are.
Since the 1980s, Japanese Hip Hop artists have struggled to make a name for themselves in Japan and internationally. Initially, Japanese Hip Hop was often criticised for being generic and unoriginal. However, over the years a distinctive Japanese style of Hip Hop has evolved and Japanese artists are getting more recognition.
In 2002, RIP SLYME became the first Japanese Hip Hop artist to sell more than 1 million records with their big label release "Tokyo Classic".
The major labels now take Japanese Hip Hop seriously. In 2000, Universal opened a Japanese version of their Def Jam label. Sony Music has also taken notice signing and promoting a good number of Japanese hip hop artists each year.
It might be a while before black kids in the US are listening to Japanese Hip Hop ... but who knows.
| Tweet |
|
add questions
Japanese Hip Hop answers (9) ....
all answers (1022 topics) 
Japanese Hip Hop Forums (6)
all forums (1022 topics)
