HawaiiStories: Hip Hop, Nippon Style

July 09, 2002

Hip Hop, Nippon Style

True story: I was listening to 102.7 Da Bomb this afternoon. And right in the middle of their scheduled back-to-back playings of Nelly, the DJ starts spinning a snippet from this song that their intern from Japan brought back from a recent trip - a song by a rapper named Sword, signed to Def Jam, with a chorus sung by R&B starlet Christina Milian.

The catch? The rest of the lyrics, as rapped by Sword himself, are in Japanese.

Yes. Rap. In Japanese.

The thing was, if you weren't listening closely, you'd probably mistake Sword's lyrics for a particularly mush-mouthed rapper anyway - he has the raspy voice and the rhythms down, and he even manages to get his beats to work with the language itself. What was even more surprising than the fact that the song was even getting airplay here Stateside, however, was the guys who called up the studio after they played the song, who basically said the exact same thing:

"Hey, yo, yo, this song is TIGHT, man. Can't understand them words but, man, I don't understand them Cash Money Millionaires when they rappin' either. Real tight, though. Hey, what's this guy singin' about, anyway?"

Even with the uniformity of those call-in responses, though, this is but one moment when I'd like to give the industry the benefit of the doubt, at least for once. But, you know, there's a joke in here somewhere, and I'm not sure if I'm the one who ought to crack it...

Posted by Stella at July 09, 2002 08:02 PM

Comments

Posted by NemesisVex on July 10, 2002 5:22 AM:

::cough, cough:: Dragon Ash :: cough, cough:: Missile Girl Scoot ::cough, cough::

I should take some cough syrup.

I'm wondering if Sword's label deal with Def Jam is somehow linked to Utada Hikaru's signing to the same label. Could be the same A&R person handling both.

But I wouldn't read too much into a Japanese artist getting airplay in Honolulu. The Mad Capsule Markets seems to be rather big on the west coast, but ask anyone beyond the western Nevada border who isn't into anime about them, you'd probably get blank looks. If Sword gets airplay on one of the bigger L.A. stations, then there might be something to watch for.

Posted by Intan on September 21, 2002 4:28 AM:

Hello!
Firstly, I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of Christina Milian or even Sword. But that song they sang, gave me a big slap on the head. I love ot! But alas, I've forgotten the name of that song. *sulk* I wonder if by any chance that you know what is the title of that song? It'll be a great help for me.

Posted by eve on September 25, 2002 9:39 PM:

Man i love that song too! It's called The Answer. For those who have yet to check the song out, you had better!

Posted by FaeViaN on October 23, 2002 1:08 AM:

hey,anyone got the lyrics in romaji(romanised) for the answer lyrics?and probably the translation 2.heard long time but can't seem to get the lyrics.

Posted by haruko chan on November 1, 2002 2:51 AM:

hmm...where can i find "The Answer" song by S-Word and Christina Millian?I'm tired searching everywhere..found nothin! i mean..."The Answer" lyrics !

Posted by ayka on November 20, 2002 12:11 AM:

YEAH I LOVE THAT SONG TOO! i downloaded an mp3 of it last night & the song's been on my head ever since. check this out: snippets of The Answer vid.

i got the lyrics of The Answer but it's in japanese... i emailed it to my japanese classmate... i'll post the romanized lyrics here as soon as she's done translating it.

Posted by Tom on November 22, 2002 6:59 PM:

yeah! go J-Hop go!

Posted by ahmad on November 23, 2002 7:03 AM:

MAn..what can i say..i love THE ANSWER song....but where the hack can i find the lyrics..ArgHhh!! i neeeddd the lyRics!!!!!PlZ AnSwAA!!!

Posted by Has Rule on December 1, 2002 3:04 PM:

Wassup Y'all. I'm from Malaysia and when I heard them play this song on MTV, I was like ... Man! This guy is so wicked! It's just too bad that I can't understand Japanese... Christina's vocals complemented S-Word perfectly. Asian Hip Hop on the rise...

Posted by Sue on December 1, 2002 10:40 PM:

I'm from Malaysia too and'The Answer' has been getting some airplay and it's a fabulous song! I'm trying to locate some info on S-Word, does anyone have any links to suggest?

Posted by Ryan on December 2, 2002 10:39 AM:

Behold, the power of Google. I have no idea how this old thread is now a hotspot for searches for the song "The Answer."

FWIW, the video seems to be posted in its entirety here.

Ayka, above, meanwhile, promised a translation. Instead of posting more here, why not ask Ayka how her friend's work is coming along.

Posted by ayka on December 11, 2002 12:13 PM:

*lol@Ryan*... ehehe... yup, i printed the lyrics & i gave it to my japanese classmate already... DON'T WORRY GUYS... hang on there... and yeah, S-WORD looks like my crush who's a dj... anyway, i'll be back to post the romanized lyrics (hopefully!)

i got this link to S-WORD's songs in ram file...

Posted by Android01 on December 13, 2002 5:26 PM:

S-Word is Dope

Posted by V on December 23, 2002 1:15 AM:

If any1 got S-word 'The Answer' romaji songlyrics pls email it to me at viv161@yahoo.co.uk aytes.thanx yall! S-word is slammin'~

Posted by flo on December 24, 2002 2:10 AM:

S-word is a mc from japan from the rap band " NITRO MICROPHONE UNDERGROUND" listen about "kross ova" and "fortune" ,he have a very strong style , the japanese dmx of tokyo !!

Posted by twinxz on December 28, 2002 11:53 PM:

any singaporeans? is s-word cd available in s'pore? i tried searching but to no avail. can anyone send me s-word mp3 via email?

Posted by Flek on January 2, 2003 1:17 PM:

Check out my URL. I just translated this song and posted it on my website.

Posted by Has Rule on January 2, 2003 9:23 PM:

As for Asian rap and hip hop artists, you should also listen up to 2 groups: Urban X-Change and Too Phat. You'll find them to be down!...Peace!

Posted by twinxz on January 2, 2003 10:56 PM:

go here. it has clips of s-words video and interviews. not much but hope i could help. anyone have mp3s of s-word? send it 2 me or post here.

Posted by blingblingchica on January 5, 2003 1:48 PM:

I live in Singapore, but i am American. I first heard of S-WORD when i saw him on MTV ... He is SOOOO HOT!!! DAMN!!!! I have been looking everywhere for his CD... it doesn't seem to exist in Singapore... and about 2 weeks ago i was in the airport in Tokyo and they were out of stock!!!! I would really like anyones help who knows where i can order it online ... THANX

Posted by Nadia^Hetatic on January 7, 2003 5:36 AM:

Then when can i get Christina Millian feu Sword lyrics..damn!These guys are too hot..D lyrics must be soo beutipoll i guess..am i rite guys?

Posted by dundee hoppus on January 17, 2003 3:35 AM:

keep joined in the fuck'n hip hop !!! i hate it !!!

Posted by endok on January 17, 2003 3:40 AM:

JANCOK SEMUA!!!!

I HATE MUSIC
I HATE GOD
I HATE FUCK'N THE WORLD

Posted by Evan on January 18, 2003 11:14 PM:

i got 2 of his damn albums and other names you should look for is SPHERE of INFLUENCE

Posted by DiRty TiGa on February 1, 2003 8:41 AM:

YoYo Guyz U Need 2 Help me 2 find this shit out! Im looking all dayz..

Who gots the song The Answer in English Version?

And Who Got it in Instrumental?

Please I Love That song!
Help me!!!

Thx...GrEETz

Posted by Bobcat on February 6, 2003 10:13 PM:

Hi all .. I'm looking for the CD and MP3 too ... I'm in Malaysia ... if you know where to get the CD, do let me know and what's the title. If you have the mp3, please email it to me or let me know where I can download it.

Thanks a lot.

Posted by Tw|nxZ on February 7, 2003 6:01 PM:

im from singapore.. he already has 2 albums..
the first one is called
One Piece,2nd is called Fortune. im also searching 4 the mp3s~..

Posted by BLINGBLINGCHICA on February 10, 2003 9:19 PM:

I just got the s-word cd the other day my friend got it for me from japan... its the bomb!!! its so phat!!! its the album fortune... damn good! PEACE!!!

Posted by we wa on February 12, 2003 5:27 AM:

personally, i think dragon ash (http://www.geocities.com/ojochan/singles/dragonash.html) and m-flo (http://www.thejhot.com/lyrics/artist.php?artist=M-flo)are awesome j-pop that has u.s. potential, imho.
try your favorite P2P and download some of their best (noted above in parentheses).
Aloha!

http://j-fan.com/jpop/jpop.cgi?action=viewrev&artist=m-flo&album=a-Planet_Shining-a

Posted by NemesisVex on February 13, 2003 8:47 PM:

m-flo was all right, but they took two albums and sapped them dry. Now that Lisa is a solo artist, I'm not sure there's much of a future for the group.

Posted by SmokiNfresH on February 18, 2003 4:49 AM:

Dragonash? Dragonash is wack. They aint hiphop they rock/hippop limp bizkit gayness.

S-word getting signed to Defjam has nothing to do with Utada Hikarus record deal with Def.
S-word is part of Def jam Japan which is mainly
operated by japanese.

Defjam opened DefJam Japan but Defjam Japan are the ones responsible for recruiting artist. go to yahoo and search def jam japan and see for yourself most of the bgm playing in the background are songs that were created in japan.

S-word's "Kross Ova zan" is Ill. This joint make you bounce.

Their are tons of Japanese artist that have U.S potential,but will they ever try?....The answer is no. Because nippon is their home and most wanna stay that way.

If you ask me F.O.H.,Hi-D, LL Brothers,Soulheads,S-word and countless others
got potential for a U.S. debut. along with Double & Hirai Ken I guess.

I highly doubt any japanese artist will bother trying as that means they will have to drasticly change their life style.

My post is too long, but i'm trying to say is that if an artist from japan were to make it big in America their popurlarity in Japan will falter. Japan has the second biggest music scene in the world. To make it big in the U.S. would make you look like a traitor.
Cuz all the money made will come to america instead of japan.

Heres a link to a fansite I made that has S-word in it. Just go to the Defjam japan section and you'll see him & Milian on the cover page of Japanese hiphop magazine similar to the source. his page is small but i'm working on it.

Posted by NemesisVex on February 18, 2003 9:38 AM:

I was under the impression that since the Japanese music market is indeed the second largest in the world, there really is no incentive or no need for Japanese artists to break in the U.S. At least, that's what Keith Cahoon, the guy in charge of Tower Records Japan, said at a SXSW panel two years ago.

It has little to do with looking like a traitor or changing styles and more to do with money, as all things are in the music business.

Why break your back -- and your bank -- touring holes in the wall across the U.S. when you're given the star treatment at home? It's the same reason bands from England aren't so prevalent in the States either, Coldplay and Radiohead being the exceptions.

And if it is the case that "all the money made will come to america instead of japan", those labels and artists ought to fire the lawyers that would allow that to happen.

Posted by aeries ortega on March 30, 2003 12:58 PM:

hey does any one no where to download mp3s of utada hikaru or any hip hop jap songs if u do then please post it cause ive been searching for it for like a week trying to find stuff but i couldnt.well thanx for ya'lls time.peace out!
oh yea and ignore my email address cause it's a fake.

Posted by NemesisVex on March 30, 2003 6:20 PM:

Download Soulseek or WinMX. Use Unicode when searching for Japanese names. In other words, use ‰F‘�“cƒqƒJƒ‹ instead of "utada hikaru" to find files. Switch the encoding on Internet Explorer to Japanese to see the encoded text in Japanese. Switch back to Western European to see the Japanese text encoded.

Posted by aeries ortega on April 1, 2003 10:54 AM:

yo thanks for advice nemesisvex!

Posted by aeries ortega on April 9, 2003 9:51 AM:

hey does any one know where to download music by s-word? well if you do then please post it well thankz. oh yea and ignore my email address cause it's a fake!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Albert on April 9, 2003 2:03 PM:

Has this yet won the prize as the Most Long Lasting Thread on Hawaii Stories? :)

Posted by jwon on April 9, 2003 2:22 PM:

CHECK OUT SOME DOPE HIP HOP YALL. HIP HOP GROUP BASED OUT IN SAN DIEGO CALI.. WE WOULD LOVE TO GO THERE AND ROCK A SHOW FOR YALL.. IF ANYONE HAS INFO RE: PROMOTERS THAT THROUGH SHOWS LET ME KNOW AND DROP A LINE.. PEEP THE WEBSITE, MP3S AND REAL AUDIO SNIPPETS FROM OUR NEW ALBUM WONDERFUL STRANGE.. PEACE AND LOVE YALL

Posted by Ryan on April 10, 2003 3:30 PM:

Has this yet won the prize as the Most Long Lasting Thread on Hawaii Stories?

It's getting there... giving the "Jennifer Who?" piling-on party a run for the title.

And with Aeries Ortega here actually repeating himself, it looks like it's time to close this down, too.

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Hip Hop, Nippon Style

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