Japanese Jukebox: International Collabs

Japan goes worldwide, baby, with the international collaborations in your face! Or something like that. In today’s economy where everything is a commodity, even rhymes and lyrics can be sold out to artists in need. What is cool is that we get Japanese artists and American artists coming together on tracks, but we never know if these combinations ever really meet up, or if some of our American singers/rappers are just phoning it in from across the ocean. Either way, it’s fun to check out what happens when Japan and U.S.A. throw their musical talents into one pot. Let’s do this thang!

What is cool is that we get Japanese artists and American artists coming together on tracks…

Volta Masters got some semi-retired Western Hemisphere rappers and passed them the mic. The results are actually kind of fresh. Check out the video for “Fight the Power.”

“Fight the Power” features J-artist Anna Tsuchiya, Steph Pockets and here’s the kicker: Sadat X from Brand Nubian and Sonny Cheeba from Camp Lo! Remember Brand Nubian? 1990’s “Slow Down” was an awesome hip hop jam that sampled Edie Brickell’s “What I am.” They also brought us the killer classic song “Punks Jump up to get Beat Down.”

Maybe these guys are still big in Japan?

Also, Sonny Cheeba might not be sipping amaretto no mo’ like he was in 1997’s “Luchini,” but we get him in on this J-hip hop single. Props goes to Volta Masters for getting this motley crue of artists together. This might not truly resurrect either hip hopper’s rap career, but it’s nice to hear their voices again. Who know? Maybe these guys are still big in Japan?

Volta Masters didn’t stop there. On the same album Suite (released 3.2.2011) these producers get J-POP artist DOUBLE and blast-from-the-past rappers Doitall from Lords of the Underground and Naughty by Nature’s Treach. What?!!

Talk about slow jams. This song “ThankYou” is totally different from Lords of the Underground typical lickity split rhymes. DOUBLE’s chorus makes the track sound very pop friendly, then to hear Doitall rapping over it is kind of bizarre. Add the very naughty Treach to the song and it becomes kind of a head scratcher. Still, both of these tracks are great if you are a fan of Western American 90’s hip hop.

Talk about slow jams.

There are other artists looking to the West to score rhymes, too. It was quite a shock to see the Teriyaki Boyz nab artists like Pharrell, Chris Brown, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z and Kanye West for a lot of their songs on the 1999’s album Delciious. Universal Japan holds rights to the videos which don’t allow video embedding, so head over to this link HERE to see “ZOCK ON! Feat. Busta Rhymes and Pharrell.”

Verbal is one of Japan’s biggest rappers (one part of the group m-flo), and his latest album Visionair scored Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Wayne. Hear a sample of Verbal’s single “Some Other Place feat. Drake.” This single was a digital download for Japan itunes only, so listen to get a taste of what you are missing.

More slow jams, but Drake sings the chorus, so “Some Other Place” is sure to get the ladies swaying. Verbal’s crossover appeal and collaborations with U.S. artists easily justify international sales. And for those reasons, you can check out Verbal’s latest album Visionair minus the Drake single from U.S. iTunes now.

Also, J-artists are reaching out to U.S. producers to spice up their music as well. Utada Hikaru had utilized Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins in the early 00’s. North Carolina’s Ski Beatz produced last year’s killer hip hop album 24 Hour Karate School Japan. Also rock group FACT brought producer Michael Elvis Baskette on board for their 2010 album In the Blink of an Eye. Going international is big business, and it’s good to see Japan and U.S. artists working hard to produce great tracks for the masses.