A Sweet Little Dis

Thought about posting one of the !!! remixes that appears on the bonus disc that comes with the initial Japanese pressing of Louden Up Now. But I'm thinking that everyone already has, or probably will buy a copy or find it somewhere, you know. So for something different.

Japanese hip hop.

To tell you the truth, most of it is shit. Gangster wannabes, baggy pants, fashion replaces content...you know the routine. In the cesspool of Japanese hip hop, Tha Blue Herb fucking shine.


Tha Blue Herb
A Sweet Little Dis
Front Act CDEP
Tha Blue Herb Recordings 2002

Lyrics broken down:

1. On the commercialism of Japanese hip hop

"Hip hop degraded to commercial and cafe background music..."
"Behind each boom, the enriched brokers, promoters, ad agencies/Mr. Industry, up the dark end of every arrangement..."
"My hip hop is what you threw away that day, not 'mass', but 'core', 'tight' and 'rough'."

2. On critics

"Reviews are only first impression, a last-minute job before the deadline..."
"Sobre otaku, a garbage heap, hanging about the DJ booth waiting to be recognized/Have you ever created a single snare beat?"
"A Japanese Will Smith? Yeah right, just a cheap comedy..."

3. Boss The MC doesn't hate everyone

"There are also some cats that deserve my respect/Reckless graf writers and breakers, skaters and their resistance/Full of wit, dogmatic and deranged..."

(All quotes taken from the lyric sheet. Yes, Tha Blue Herb releases include English translations!)

Tha Blue Herb (Boss The MC+O.N.O) seem to distance themselves from fellow Japanese rappers, the one time I saw them live, they opened for a dub band (their name has like, totally warped from my mind.) Their thoughts on other Japanese hip hop artists (from the Musique Machine website):

Interviewer: What do you think of people like Shing02 or other Japanese hip hop acts?
Boss The MC: Nothing. If I would need to say something, I would just tell them: "Do your best".

Bold words. They back them up with their music.

Endnotes
1. For more on Tha Blue Herb, go here. More info, the full interview and mp3s+English translations of songs. Check out the "The Future Is In Our Hands" track, which is a super loose cover of an old Blue Hearts tune. Unrecognizable from the original song. Totally different lyrics, beats: the only thing that tied them together was the title. No wonder it got booted off of the Blue Hearts tribute CD it was intended for...
2. Another link! Domo Fat Planet!