Yuri Ichii

Yuri Ichii is one of Japan's biggest rap stars and the lead of East End X Yuri. She was also a singer with a revolving-door group called Tokyo Performance Doll (TPD). She was part of TPD for a while but sought to do something different; as a result, she decided to try rap. Yuri began practicing her rapping in preparation for a solo show with her friend Gaku, who was a part of the group East End. In February of 1994 when Gaku performed with Yuri for part of her show, she was seen by File Records (the independent record label that signed East End. They were impressed with her and decided to sign them together for a mini-album.

Initially, on of the members of East End, DJ Yoggy was skeptical of working with Yuri because he saw her only as a Pop idol singer as she was with TPD and that she would not be able to perform live, be he later found out that she could indeed perform quite well live and came around. In June of 1994, East End X Yuri released the mini-album titled "Denim-ed Soul" on File Records with four songs. Together East End X Yuri became very successful and began to move up the pyramid of the music scene. [Condry, Ian. Hip-hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.]

She is often seen as a comfortable middle class rap star and is not exactly what one would consider the emblem of "gansta" rap. Her sweet-sixteen image often belies her mid-twenties age. In an interview with the Tokyo Journal, she states:

If I looked more grown-up and sexier, I might use obscene words. But I don't think those words really fit me.

[ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E6DE1039F93AA15752C0A960958260 TOKYO JOURNAL;Rappers' Credo: No Sex, Please? We're Japanese - New York Times ] ] [ [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/action/showPdf?submitPDF=Full+Text+PDF+%281%2C214+KB%29&doi=10.1111%2Fj.1537-4726.2001.2401_171.x&cookieSet=1 Blackwell Synergy - Cookie Absent ] ]

Japanese rappers were influenced by Americans, Japanese rap is drastically different than American rap. Japanese rappers imitate most things having to do with Hip-hop culture - the clothing, the style, the beats, pursuing it with "ardor," [cite journal
last = Wood
first = Joe
title = The Yellow Negro
journal = Transition
issue = 73
pages = 40–67] but the lyrics are designed to not bother their mom's and dads. [cite news
last = KRISTOF
first = NICHOLAS
title = TOKYO JOURNAL;Rappers' Credo: No Sex, Please? We're Japanese
language = English
publisher = New York Times
date = January 29, 1996
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E6DE1039F93AA15752C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
accessdate = 04/01/08] Though still a mild rebellion, Japanese rap is filled with polite lyrics. The casualness portrayed in Japanese rap is a stark contrast to the uniformed-filled week days. [cite news
last = KRISTOF
first = NICHOLAS
title = TOKYO JOURNAL;Rappers' Credo: No Sex, Please? We're Japanese
language = English
publisher = New York Times
date = January 29, 1996
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E6DE1039F93AA15752C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
accessdate = 04/01/08] So Japanese rappers like Yuri Ichii talk about lighter topics like love, envy, hair, cellular phones, even food. In "Chase the Chance," Ichii states:

You're taught to cooperate,

And good girls can only be good girls.

But you've felt the beat, and there's nothing you can do

Just chase the chance.

This is in stark contrast to American Hip-hop

Notes