Japanese Hip-Hop album review #3: Guiness - Me and the Papes (2013)

You know, I like how he called this album "Me and the Papes" instead of "Me and the Paper". The fluidity and the usage of the English slang here obviously impresses scholars everywhere. I wonder if the term paper is in the Japanese dictionary, and the fact that Guinness knows what Paper means in Hip-Hop vernacular is not something to be scoffed at. I don't know if most Japanese rappers even understands half the things we Americanos say since a lot of the slang or words used in Japanese Hip-Hop is pretty straight-forward, none of the "Chuuurch", "Hova", "Yolo" nonsense that you hear. Yeah, maybe Asians do lack in creativity.

So, who is Guinness and what does he do? Well, other than being a has-been weed-carrier for MSC, fighting for feature spots on random albums, beefing with Seeda for who knows what reason, I guess he spends his days dressing up as a 1930s Al Capone reject. But at least the cover is fashionable and entertaining enough to dwell on for a couple of seconds. I like the orange brick wall he's leaning on, as if he's holding down some unknown block that only exists to the hustlers and gangsters in Tokyo.

Well, I don't really get it either, and I also don't remember much about this guy, even listening to the ancient MSC tapes. Maybe you can hear him sweeping the studio floor in the background or something. But as for now, Guinness has a clean slate with me, he's innocent until proven guilty. So, let's find out just how gangsta this guy really is.


1. Intro (Prod. Kemui) - Well, this is a hard song to judge. It's a half-intro, half-song type of things that got my face all confused and twisted up. It's a more severe "public service announcement" informing the listeners of his own status a couple of years ago, the troubles he ran into, and teases us as to what we will expect from this album, lots of serious no-nonsense raps, which surprisingly he does fairly well. Not only does he have a good flow, he really holds his own in his first solo track.  3.5/5

2. Both Arms (Prod. Flammable)  - It's only fitting that the album starter is credited to Flammable, who is a decent enough producer but on here he really brings the sly and sneaky trumpet sample to life. This gives the track its own mafioso theme, sort of like Necro did on the Godfather's album but superior in its own way. Guinness once again proves that he could have been one of the best rappers in MSC, he flows along the beat and lyrically handles the track effortlessly. The way he snakes his way his wordplay reminds me of Pusha-T, not a bad first impression, not bad at all. 4.5/5

3.Cali ft. One-Law (Prod. One-Law) - One-Law's production is hard-hitting and fast-paced, I would love the Onyx to recruit this guy. And with that, Cali is an instant head-nodder. This beat is so simple but yet can cause some serious neck-injuries. The hook is as simple as "my fucking dream is to go to Cali", which I find contradicting to the rest of the song since the lyrics have nothing to do with California or the West Coast but instead Guinness and One-Law trade verses about stealing money and escaping from the police. Something like this could have gone south since rapping about committing crimes isn't the repertoire of most Japanese rappers (as it shouldn't), but Guinness' flow and lyrics are top-notch, making him sound like a smooth-criminal. One-Law on the other hand shouldn't be rapping, but he doesn't hurt the track that much, thankfully.  4/5


4. Tweet (Prod. T.Tanaka) - I was excited when I saw T.Tanaka working with Guinness, since he also produced Mega-G's previous album. At this point Guinness sounds like a much more refined, less-annoying Mega-G. He has almost a serene and sensual flow while Mega-G is more stagnant, and uses severe inflections in his delivery, which can get quite annoying. After just 4 tracks, it seems Guinness is the much better rapper, even though their voices sound extremely similar. On this track, T.Tanaka crafts a very boring beat that sounds similar and inferior to Ghostface's "Wu-Banga 101", how he was able to extract the soul and essence out of this sample I have no idea, but it sounds like a rushed throwaway. Guinness of course does not disappointment in the same way as his producer, he does his best to bolster the track with another solid performance.  2.5/5

5. Skit (Prod. Flammable) - A dull Hip-Hop beat by our man Flammable, glad this was a skit.

6. Musk - What, two skits in a row? How did Guinness get away with something like this? Oh, you might want to wait until the end of this one if you're an hapless Otaku.

7. Sexcuseme ft. Onz (Prod. Punpee) - Any time you see the name Punpee,you know you are in for a ride. This guy can be described as a music nerd, listening to his beats you can tell that there is something more to this depressed genius. And it's as if he's always holding himself back, just letting you pick a splinter out of his orchestra of chaotic madness. Sexcuseme immediately offers a track that is vastly different than anything else on here, it's brash and naked, with unabashed drums that repeatedly knocks against your eardrums. Guinness uses this as his sex anthem, although not just describing his hormones, but the global appetite for sexual cravings. He brings it all out, touching on subjects such as BDSM, cyber sex, masturbation, this song is much needed after two useless skits, and does its job to satisfy our musical cravings.  5/5

8. Document Shit (Prod. Noz) - This is probably the best song on the album, which is certainly impressive after the orgasmic Sexcuseme. But this track even dials it up another notch with Guinness telling a story of a mishandled drug deal, giving us his best display of lyricism yet. I've rarely heard a rapper able to conceive a story in such a short and fine manner. The visuals in his lyrics are simple and sharp without having to rely on filler words and unnecessary jargon. Although the story seems to end on a cliff-hanger, this is one song that woke me up and made me realize that Guinness is a damn good lyricist. 5/5

9. 先入観は罰、固定観念は悪 feat. B.D. & Norikiyo (Prod. T.Tanaka) - This title translate to the idiom "Preconceived Assumption is a crime, closed-mindedness is unhealthy", or something of that nature. But forget long titles, just when I say that Guinness reached his peak lyrically on the last song, he goes another level higher. His flow on here is undeniably sick, and it's amazing how none of his rhymes sound even remotely forced. He even makes top-tier rappers like BD and Norikiyo sound like grade school amateurs. Yikes.   4/5

10. Green Soul ft. 25時の影絵 (Prod. Noz) - There is very little soul offered here, although the sample is definitely from a old 70s soul record, I find it very empty. And what is up with the rapper named 25時の影絵, which literally translates to Shadow Painting of the 25th Hour, sounds like a member of the Earthlings or some other nerd-rap group. 1.5/5

11. Skit - Tuff City Grove (Prod. Noz) - A cool chill beat by Noz, a nice 2 minute instrumental skit.


12. Future ft. SLACK, Issugi (Prod. Noz) - One thing I've noticed about this album as it reaches its conclusion is that it has a very muddy and hazy sound that pervades all corners. A lot of the songs, although good musically and lyrically, are actually pretty forgettable. Most of the tracks are slow, crooning along and doesn't punch its way through our ears. I guess CALI and  Sexecuseme are the most energetic tracks on the whole album. Future is also slow and safe, but the problem here is that this track overall is just not that good, the beat literally wants me to go to sleep.I wished Noz would have used the instrumental on Tuff City Groove as the beat to this song, I'm a fan of SlACK and Issugi, but here they brought nothing to the table. It would have been better if it was just another Guiness solo. 2/5

13. Berry Mary Jane ft. ONZ (Prod. Mr.Nice) - This track is a bit similar to Green Soul but it's actually better, has more energy, better lyrics and a pretty good beat by Mr.Nice. It's a funk and breakbeat mix by someone name Mr.Nice, thank goodness that Noz is gone for good, I don't want to hear anything by that guy anymore. At first I couldn't tell the difference between this and Green Soul, but it didn't take long for me to figure out that this one is far superior. 4/5


14. Play Back to Never ft.BES (Prod. T.Tanaka) - And here we have it, the closing symphony. T.Tanaka finally brought us his trademark production, this track just hits on all cylinders. Easily my favorite track on the entire album, and possibly the best track as well. I love these reminiscent songs where both rappers talk about their childhood growing up, and this beat just hits home like no other. It's addictive, emotional and somewhat playful at the same time, it is the perfect song to close out this album. 5/5

15. Outro (Prod. T.Tanaka) - A good piano beat by T.Tanaka and sadly wasted on the outro, this should have been used on the boring track Tweet, would have made it a much better song.

I can see Guinness with a smug on his face leaning back in that Michael Corleone brand-new leather chair of his, a ghostly puff of smoke escaping from his mouth. He fooled us all, apparently all the silly charades, the mysterious act, the unnecessary beefs is just all a distraction. When it comes down to it and when the focus is there, Guinness is a top-tier rapper, at least that's what he displayed on this album, and so far I haven't seen much guest spots from him either. So I guess until next time, he will disappear into the shadows, counting his papes, watching Godfather re-runs and leave the people wanting for more. And you know what, there's nothing wrong with keeping it plain and simple.

                                             

Manga Review # 2: Hana no Keiji (Vol. 1- 18 Complete)

The literal translation for this manga would the Keiji of Hana, Far Away into the Clouds, and I always wondered what the second part really meant. Into the clouds, as if this guy is a living demi-god, where he floats on air with huge rose petals beneath his feet, and a peaceful mist surrounds his aura wherever he roams. He does have all the features of a gallant hero, with his mane-like hair tied in a bundle, wrestling softly against the wind as he rides on his titanic stallion, every shot of him signifies the brilliance of being a かぶき者 (kabukimono), which is a term for warrior in ancient Japan. His entire appearance and profile definitely resembles a cross between Ryu from Fist of the North Star and Takeshi Kaneshiro on steroids. And if you're wondering about the connection between Keiji and Fist of the North Star, both works are indeed drawn by the same artist Tetsuo Hara.

The visual treat that is offered here cannot be understated, but what is even more impressive other than the drawings of the characters is his depiction of Marukaze, the demon horse than accompanies Keiji in his travels. This beast is probably the biggest, most monstrous horse ever seen in a manga, it is so vast and big that it frequently stomps people to death in the battlefield, and leaves them crawling with their squished intestines hanging out. This horse even have his own backstory, which was told in a short chapter, you actually get to feel the pain the horse went through as he was ostracized from his own hoard simply because he was a deformed giant compared to the rest of the horses. The scene where Marukaze battles other horses for territory was brilliantly and furiously drawn. After finishing this entire manga, I have to commend the artist Tetsuo Hara, I feel that he is probably the best manga artist I have ever seen.

As for the story in Hana no Keiji, it is filled with many historical lessons and issues. In fact, the final volume was so crammed with words and sideplots that it seriously felt like I was reading a Japanese history textbook. Every major character who appears seemed to have his own mini-biography, a page of narration and wisdom devoted to the upbringing of this glorious being who propelled Japan into the Sengoku era waving their soul-savoring swords and giving swooning speeches that can make impregnate every man and woman within a 10-mile radius. Although none of this harms the manga as a whole, it does bring down the enjoyment level and can be a minor distraction simply because for a non-Japanese person it can be really hard to remember any of these characters. However, a lot of them fulfill their roles and leave some sort of dignified impression of an old-feudal Japan that still beats proudly in people's hearts.

And thump as loud as drumsticks do they ever, because we hear it thundering in Keiji's heart. In merely a few pages and a few drips of dialogue, we understand Keiji and where he comes from. He simply lives for Japan, and he dies for Japan. The idioms and the words he speaks, or rather manifest, seems fit to be written in golden ink archived in ancient scrolls. Some of the dialogue in this historic piece are simply gripping with personality, and a wonder to read, especially in Japanese. Keiji is also one of the few manga characters who actually represents the country not because of duty or pride, but simply out of pure love. Keiji is simply a character that is filled with compassion, and it only ever grows as we follow his journey, which takes course over a few years of his life, where he grows from a motivated youngster into a mature, humble Buddhist. This is of course in no way undermines his ability in the battlefield, because once the blood rushes into the veins of this gentle warrior, he becomes an unstoppable terror to his enemies. He will die for Japan, but he will also die for a good battle, which is the way of a kabukimono, as they call it.

It was never explained anywhere in the story as to how or where Keiji got his unrivaled strength. He towers over his opposition, and destroys them effortlessly with a forceful swing of his spear. It does not matter whether they are foot soldiers or fearsome warlords with biceps as big as their scalp, they are merely ants in Keiji's eyes, and also treated as such in the manga. I was extremely impressed and fascinated at the storyline progression and the immense buildup towards the inevitable showdown between Keiji and his villains, if not only for the faux climax where it comically betrays the readers as Keiji toys with his arch-nemesis, sending them groveling on their knees with a swift kick to the crotch. The author playing and countering the conventions of storytelling is actually a good thing, in so many stories we see the hero in an epic battle and winning despite being over-matched, and escaping with a narrow victory. Here, Keiji clearly and loudly erects his huge and thick middle finger in the face of everyone's favorite shounen archetype, and delivers a mean malicious bitchslap to its face as well. Keiji does not hold back, and is ruthless when need be, he also strikes first at his first advantage, which is something rarely seen in the prototype anime character. In the entire story, there were only two or three characters who stood their ground against Keiji, most notably an evil Christian named Carlos, a memorable villain whose skill and strength came close to killing to our beloved main character.

The most enjoyable parts of this manga however are not the battles, as intensely depicted as they are. The beautiful aftermath that follows the savageness is like a rare silence, a breath in the ocean, the waves resting in calmness. Those scenes are invaluable to the reader, and this is where the manga succeeds. Every villain, except for one, goes through a change. It's as if fighting Keiji has opened up a world he's never seen, a world of love and forgiveness. Every warlord who has beheaded thousands, every stone-cold killer who buries his victims, all repent for themselves in a way I've never seen in any previous manga. This is the crucial theme that the author is repeatedly impress upon the reader's heart, and it so often strikes that sensitive spot, and as strange as it sounds, it does it extremely well. It's no surprise that the journey of Keiji ends with him retiring from being a warrior and becoming a peaceful monk. This manga is undoubtedly one of the best I've ever read, it showed me that Japanese manga is the perfect medium that can break through the cliches of anime, and it can tell stories that re-define the genre and capture the hearts of readers. Hana no Keiji accomplishes that on nearly every page, and that is highly deserving of praise.

                                                       

Japanese Hip-Hop Album Review #2 : Koitama - PLAYING EP (2013 - Mixtape)

Trying to contain my laughter as I write this, I'm still hypnotized by this piece of artwork they call a cover, maybe it's the intertwining pattern of the gold chains, the hydraulic cloudy bubbles swimming in the background, the old-man sweatshirt with the Victorian portrait of our main host who seems to be completely out of touch with the times, the 90s bowl-cut emo hair, the hidden leaf village chilling in the background, it's like he's in a competition against William Hung for who has the least swag.

I think the guy in the middle is Koitama, and the two little gremlins to the left and right of him are the producers Aiwabeatz and Shot-Arrow. One of them obviously has a case of down syndrome and the other attended a special school at early age. Actually I get it, the guy on the right (presumably Shot-Arrow) is trying to go for that Tyler Wolf simulacrum simulating a sophisticated retard, pushing his index against his chin, staring longingly at the camera, and those elf ears being his sole distinct feature, they say it's all about inner beauty, and even Einstein lives within the most wretched of imbeciles. Maybe they got something going for here that's just going over my head.

We'll just see about that.


1. Intro-Hello (Prod. Aiwa-Beatz) - I have to rate this because on most Japanese Hip-Hop albums, an intro or a skit would just be a minute long instrumental, and sometimes the instrumental would be the best beat on the album, which usually drives me nuts. The first 5 seconds of this beat is serious, making me think it's gonna be a wasted banger, but then the beat starts and it's "just" a lively trumpet sample, but it actually gets better more I listen to it.   3.5/5


2. Party People (Prod. Aiwa-Beatz) - Well, then the first actual songs begins in a very unconvincing fashion. If this is the very first song that Koitama has made, then this definitely has a dark foreboding towards his rap career. It's not battle rap, not swag rap, no bragging anywhere to be found, and a part of the lyrics goes like this "good morning, good afternoon, good evening, welcome to the late premier show/ we eat caramel popcorn while chilling at jumperland in the middle of the world/we make you forget everything about 9-5/wear nike-air ones and jump off". This guy's delivery makes it sound like he's rapping from the 70s. This beat at least sounds modern, albeit uninteresting, but it's the only thing holding up the song. And I'm thinking there's something seriously wrong with Koitama, but overall I've heard worse. Not completely terrible.  2.5/5

3. Big Love (Prod. Aiwa-Beatz) - Now I know what's wrong this guy. This can no longer be ignored. The problem with Koitama is that he doesn't know how to rap, not only that, I don't even think he knows what Hip-Hop is. I guarantee that Aiwa-Beatz and Shot-Arrow snatched this poor random kid off the beaten road from old Leaf Village and forced a microphone in his face. At this point, Koitama is just talking over the song, kind of like Prodigy from '99 onward, except Prodigy sounds like Twista and Mystikal combined compared to him. I mean the lyrics are full-retard at this point, they don't even rhyme, no flow, no rhythm. This only thing good about this song is the beat, which has a nice keyboard rhythm and a "love" feel going for it.  1.5/5

4. Playing ft. DKXO (Prod. Aiwa-Beatz) - What kind of a rap name is DKXO? Seriously what the hell wrong with these guys? Are they from another planet or something? I mean why not DFFK? Or ZKEY? or AXFG? However right here is where the mixtape does pick up a little. This beat sounds like a Tyler or Earl production because of  distinct, skeletal and irrhythmic pattern going for it which is really nice but the rapping is just seriously putting me to sleep. This dude has no charisma at all, I've probably never heard a more boring rapper in my life. Masta Killa is like workout-music compared to this guy.   3.5/5

5. Diskunion (Prod. Aiwa-Beatz) -  Diskunion is a record store somewhere in the remote hidden corners of Tokyo, and there you can get all your rare Japanese Hip-Hop vinyls and show it off to your Japanese friends, or disgust them and sever your friendship forever. And judging by Koitama's enthusiasm on this track, I'm sure he's never been to the store once in his life. But even if he did go there how excited can you get about a song where a man professes his love to a store? This song is just putrid garbage, and as bland as that sweatshirt on the cover. The beat is pretty decent, so it gets a point from that.  1/5


6. Interlude (Prod. Shot-Arrow) - Ahh, a skit. Which means it's gonna be a good song. And it is, it's a ballroom jazz sample that's done well, I'm thinking they should have just let this song be 15 minutes long and have it take over the rest of the album.   4/5


7. Episode 0 (Prod. Shot-Arrow) - Shot-Arrow shows Aiwa-beatz how it's done. I don't know what herbal leaves or what demonic green tea he conjured up, but he has awoken the great Koitama. For once, Koitama sounds energetic and interested in rapping, and actually has as a semblance of a flow, and even lyrically Koitama manages to not fumble with his words. "I get ready to head to the studio/Got my fish and sticks, with my pen and pad next to me/Bout to write a song for my girl/Set up the joint for the weekend/Plug in the MPC/ I set the micstand, lock on and ready to spit, one two check ". So he talks about the process of setting up the recording equipment, which is pretty original and interesting, it's not something you ever hear about in other rap songs. And then of course the hard-thumping piano keys in this beat is just rocking. The song is also under 2 minutes long so it ensures that you will be awake before the song ends.   4.5/5

8. Party People (Prod. Shot-Arrow) - This beat by Shot-Arrow is just flat-out ridiculous, and it actually fits Koitama's style of "zen-rapping, the way of non-rapping". It has that carefree attitude in its riffs and is extremely catchy and playful, while maintaining the Hip-Hop vibe at the same time. The lyrics stay the same, but this remix does feel like you're in a good party eating caramel popcorn.  4/5


9. Big Love (Prod. Shot-Arrow) -　This beat right here happens to be worse than Aiwa-Beatz version, lots of soft high piano keys, but it sounds bland to put it nicely. The lyrics, as I said before, barely rhyme even its original Japanese, but he pretty much paints a picture of him going on a date with his dream girl, sounds like some Backstreet Boys shit right here "The taxi passes across the train station/That's where the place of our Rendevouz/ The bubbles in the champaign popping left and right/we're gonna have a good time tonight... and the hook is embarrassingly bad.."kiss me, touch me baby/ It's only love, baby/ feel me, let me crazy/ It's only big love/  Yeah, easily one of the worst hooks of all time. Nothing can save this one.  1.5/5



10. Outro (Prod. Shot-Arrow) - This is probably the second best beat on the entire album behind Episode 0. I mean, you'll love this the minute you hear it. It's a standard Hip-Hop beat, sounds like something from the Wu camp, either Cilvaringz or Bronze Nazareth. The soul sample is just crooning with emotion. And of course they waste it on an outro, but this time it's a good thing, you won't have Mr. Excitement Koitama ruining it for us.  4/5



I don't really know what I got out of from this mixtape. All I know is that Shot-Arrow is probably a better producer than Aiwa-beatz, from the miniscule sample presented here. As a rapper, Koitama fails in just about every way, it feels that he's trying to mimic another Japanese rapper who goes by the name of ERA except without any of the passion or the love for the music. He uses the same, familiar low-drone in his voice while his rapping sounds as if he's reading a textbook. At least ERA has great lyrics and he has a great voice to back it up. Listening to this mixtape is equivalent to doing housework, vacuuming the floor, wiping the tables, cleaning the freaking toilet, it's stuff that you just don't ever want to do. I know I gave some songs high scores but they're more in an individual sense, as a mixtape I cannot listen to this all the way through, in any way shape or form. There are some good production, one song where Koitama displays some acknowledgement that he's actually trying to make music, but other than that, there is nothing remotely interesting about this. This mixtape is free for download but I'm not even posting the link, you find it yourself if you want. I'm just embarrassed that I even know these dude's websites.


 

Japanese Hip-Hop Album Review #1: Ryuzo - Document (2007)

Oh look, I talk about music as well. Japanese rap for the most part. You know I always wondered why US rap albums released in Japan would have a Japan-only bonus track, for a land with a rap fanbase of 7 people it's kind of a hassle to record a whole new track for someone who isn't even buy your shit.

So I started wondering if Japan makes Hip-Hop on their own. Well apparently they do, it's small sub-culture, and by small I mean barely-existing, and I'm talking about the fans really. Because after doing some research online, I'm shocked to find that the amount of Hip-Hop music from Japanese artists are almost the same as American artists. There are hundreds of albums released each year and hundreds of mixtapes (yeah, they got that too), but the sales for the most part are pathetically low. Most Japanese people don't care for Hip-Hop, don't know about these people, and probably doesn't even know that the music exists.

Anyways, let's talk about Ryuzo's second album Document. And judging by how hard he's posing in the cover, this guy has to be a true gangster, there's no other way. Because you know, that's what Japanese people do, the peace sign is officially played out, it's about badanas across the face now, you haven't heard?

Oh, and here's one more interesting thing about Japanese rap that's a bit different from US rap. With the Hip-Hop in the US, the first album by any artist is usually regarded to be their best (Nas, Jay, Black Moon, Bahamadia, Dre, Eminem, Pharoah Monch etc..), and then they start falling into rap hell after that. This is where Japan is different, usually the first album by the artists are their worst output, barely listenable cliched synthified junk, and then by some miraculous musical enlightenment, their second album and everything after that becomes the holy grail. They start working with American rappers, American producers, they study how to write a rap song, and they start doing it seriously. This is the case with Ryuzo. His sophomore album Document just devours his first album, which I don't even remember the name anymore. Not only that, Document is one of the best produced albums I've heard in a while, and I wouldn't be surprised if all these producers are American dudes.


1. B-Document (Prod. Lucha)  - Ok, this song samples one of X-Japan's tracks, you know the really famous one with that haunting piano at the beginning, forgot what it's called. It's been done before a bunch of times, but this song is the best rendition I've heard so far. First you hear the piano, and then storming violin strings, and then the deadly vocal sample just takes over. Three layers of samples just trying to compete with each other. This beat is just powerful, perfect, violent, and Ryuzo's voice just gets blended inside this tornado. What a fucking awesome opener.  5/5


2. Dopest Brother's Back (Prod. DJ Kensaw) - This beat is maybe even better than the opener. DJ Kensaw provides us with a brilliant beat that contains a sample of some obscure Italian opera I assume and he just kills it. And the violin strings, is just ridiculous, I love the way it creeps up to the top before dying out. Ryuzo doesn't have to do much since the beat is so good, but he actually flows pretty well and does a good job.  -  4.5/5


3. The MC (Prod. Buzzer Beats) - This song was also in the movie Ninja Assassin, which I don't ever plan to watch, but just to let you know it's the same exact song. And yes, Ryuzo is the rapper that was featured in that movie. Anyways, this sample has been done on one of Casual's albums, but Ryuzo's version came out at least 3 years before that. But I'm sure I've heard it elsewhere as well, can't put my finger on it, it's a familiar sample, not a bad song, but doesn't pack the uppercut the first 2 songs had.  -  4/5


4. My Life ft. Noshaya Morgan (Prod. Blast Off Productions) - Who doesn't love Spanish guitars? Because I do, everyone does, gets people groovy. Anyways, Blast Off Production is my favorite group of Japanese producers, they make straight heat after heat. I'm thinking these guys are American, I'm not sure, but if they're American and they only work with Japanese rappers, are they then considered Japanese producers? Yeah that's kind of confusing to think about. So, Ryuzo actually carries out some rapping here, Noshaya Morgan provides a decent hook, it's a good song but I always skip it for some reason.  - 4/5

5. Rush Hour ft. Ruff Neck and La Bono (Prod. Blast Off Productions) - Well, I have to simmer down on the enthusiasm I have towards Blast Off Productions because this beat is one of their worst, if not their absolute worst. It's fast-paced, low-synthed G-Unit type of track where the beat is trying to make you drive at 100 mph as if you're in a car chase. Sounds nice on paper, but seriously this beat is extremely generic, it sounds like a G-Unit throwaway. Anarchy is on this song, so that makes it a bit tolerable.   2.5/5

6. No Way Out ft. Deli (Prod. Blast Off Productions) - And it's as if Rush Hour didn't exist, Blast Off Productions completely redeem themselves and gives us one of the their best beats ever. This right here is soul-devouring, when I first heard it I couldn't believe how good this beat is. It's funky, groovy, and has that right amount of grittiness that makes you think you're in either Tokyo or NY, it's that damn good. This is one song that should be savored every minute.   5/5

7. Get Ready to Rumble (Prod. B-Money) - And here we have B-Money, the American guy. He's one of my favorite Japanese producers as well. He has done beats for Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Mobb Deep on the US side but for the most part his loyalty is in Japan. His beats are definitely something to watch out for, they are just hard-hitting, hardcore hip-hop. This song again sounds a bit familiar, sounds like an updated version of "Mama will Knock You Out", and for once the beat doesn't completely outshine Ryuzo, as he holds his own here and delivers a good knock-out performance.  4/5


8. Where is the Love (Prod. Malik) - Malik is a Japanese producer, because you know Malik is such a famous Japanese name. You can ask my Japanese wife Sh'iane. Anyways this beat sounds like it was carried down from Heaven with angels. In other words, it's the best beat on the whole album, and even with the other great production on here, it doesn't touch this one. Sometimes a simple sample loop is good enough, and that's exactly what this beat is, Malik found the sample goldmine, this sample is so brilliant I can't even put it into words. It's also one of the best vocal samples I've ever heard.   - 5/5


9. Muzikal Gangsta (Prod. B-Money) - Here is the second beat that B-Money contributes to the album and this is a bouncy, reggae inspired track with funky guitars plucking its way throughout. In other words, it's dope as hell. However, what brings this track down 1 star is the god-awful monkey you hear screaming on the hook, or human being or whatever that is. I was horrified when I first heard it, so it takes a bit away from an otherwise great song.  4/5

10. Fight Muzik (Prod. Knock-Eye)  - This is the song I played about 10 times in a row when I first heard this album. For some reason I just jumped to this song because it's called Fight Muzik, it caught my eye, maybe I was just curious as to how a song like this would sound on a Japanese rap album. And Knock-Eye provides us with a oriental sample that is just out of this fucking world. I just wish the sample could be chopped up a little better because I want to hear more of it, it cuts off right when it was about to get good. And I'm conflicted on this track, the beat gets you hype and is really catchy, but I felt that this song could have been so much better if given to someone else other than Ryuzo, and if the beat was arranged better, that's what's frustrating about it. But overall, not bad, although Ryuzo is getting a bit annoying at this point because he does mention "power paper, respect, represent", which are just really cliche, oh and there's "concrete jungle survive"....come on.  4/5


11. So Fly ft. La-Bono, D-Roc (Prod. Bach Logic) - This songs features some guy named D-Roc, but is this the same D-Roc from Ying Yang Twins?? I have no clue, because the intro and the hook has an American rapper on it, and he only does the hook, so he doesn't say much. And both Ryuzo and D-Roc rips this track apart, maybe it's because the beat isn't really that good. It's a keyboard beat that way below Bach-Logic standards, seriously Bach-Logic is one of the best Japanese producers and this one is underwhelming, but overall I still enjoyed this song.   3.5/5


12. Jump ft. Naughty, Young Bery (Prod. Bach Logic) - So it seems now that Bach Logic gave Ryuzo his worst crap and gave his best stuff to Seeda, AKLO and Simon. This song right here is absolute filler material, it sounds like a really bad rock song that should have been on those crappy racing video games that they release in Japan 4 times every month. Ughhh...... 1/5


13. Street Dreams ft. D-Roc (Prod. Lucha) - Well, I certainly didn't expect this to be a remake of Nas' "Street Dreams", so that automatically makes this song pure crap, because there's no way it can live up to the original. But first of all it's a relief that D-Roc is not that dude from Ying Yang Twins, you hear him speak Japanese now and he's probably a Japanese-American or something. The lyrics are ok I guess, Ryuzo talks about Koreans living in Japan and the streets, so he does touch on some stuff. But really, this song sucks because the beat is just total garbage, I really enjoyed the hook which sounds even better than the original Street Dreams, but that's about it. If the entire track was just D-Roc singing than it would have been at least decent.  1.5/5


14. It's My Town Ft. Anarchy (Prod. Blast Off Productions) - Blast Off Production comes to the rescue again and rights the ship from veering completely off-course. The minute the song starts you know it's gonna be a banger. The soul/rock sample is just amazing, and I think I should be ashamed of myself for not knowing what it is, it's one of those classic oldies that you just should know, but I tried to find it on the internet and nothing came up. But yeah we get a great beat here, striking violins and a dramatic tune. And then there's Anarchy, who shows us that he is clearly the superior one to Ryuzo, but for the most part Ryuzo doesn't put up a bad fight, he's just not as good as Anarchy.   5/5


15. My People My Hero (Prod. Yakko) - Yakko is a guy from a Japanese rap group Aquarius, which an extremely annoying and unintelligent bunch who likes to scream and wild out, so consider me surprised when I found out he made this beat, which sounds almost nothing like the music they do. This song right here just screams "hip-hop", it has a very mellow but commanding tune, and it sounds like something from Nas' third album I Am, which is great. Probably my favorite song on the whole album. Ryuzo shines on here as well, as we see a more "gentle" side of him.  4/5


You realize that I don't mention Ryuzo much, well that's because the production on here is so good that they completely outshine him on so many tracks. It doesn't matter who's rapping behind those beats, but I have to say Ryuzo doesn't suck completely, he's just forgettable. He rarely changes up his flow, he has a gruff voice that makes it sound like he's screaming at the top of his lungs even though he's not, so it can annoying by the time you reach half-point. One thing I commend Ryuzo for is that he has a great ear for beats and how well they flow together in the concept of an album, I wish someone Eminem or Nas could have an ear for beats like this guy. And this is not only restricted to this album per se, the next 2 Ryuzo albums also follow a similar formula where the beats take center-stage and Ryuzo is somewhere in the back fiddling with the curtains. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get started in Japanese Hip-Hop, some of the production on here sounds as good as anything from the States. Yes I know a lot of producers on here are American but they all bring their A-game, that's what's important, the quality of music, and here we get our money's worth of bangers.

Best song: Where is the Love

Manga Review #1 : ミナミの帝王 Vol. 11 Review

First review, let me tell you what it's about. Here is where I review and talk about Japanese manga that nobody reads or talks about, simply because most of them are not scanlated. It is the hidden treasure tacked away from dirty otaku and scanlator hands, they contain none of them wide-eyed lolita girls, the pubescent screaming teenage hero, the typical manga foundations, in other words, it's almost "anti-manga", something most non-Japanese people probably wouldn't touch.

This is where we dive into ミナミの帝王 (Minami no Teiou), or King of Minami. A manga that really doesn't care about what it presents, it doesn't care about the characters it shows, the world it lives in, it is a filthy, distinct, marvelous, but stark and brutal portrayal of the evils of money and politics. This manga has everything, prostitution, money-laundering, illegal money-bidding, human organs trafficking, drug-peddling, sex, rape and just general depravity that you can find in any under-dwelling slums of Tokyo.

But the author of the manga do put us in familiar territory at first, the main character Manda will be the closet thing in this manga to a "stereotypical" anime character, he is seen with a nonchalant grin on his face, spiked hair, and sort of carries an attitude of an airhead. He seemingly has no daily plans, a very spontaneous man who follows his lust on a brief whim. That is....of course....until someone takes his money from him and attempts to shove a back-ended middle-finger up his filthy rich-ass, because apparently Manda is so pimpin' that even his feces are like gold bricks. Anyways, this is where the heart of the manga starts to bleed, Manda transforms from a whimsical naive innocent character into a calculating, deceiving, plotting wretch that the rotting corpse of Queen Elizabeth would be proud of.

He is simliar to Kaiji in some ways, in fact I'm sure the author of Kaiji instilled some of Manda's characteristics into our lovable gambling addict. Of course the big difference being that Kaiji is a man with the senses of a good Samaritan while Manda will resort to any criminal activity with his affiliated Yakuza to....get his business done. Because if Manda was in Kaiji's world, he would be the loan-shark that lending Kaiji the money.

The typical story in a King of Minami manga is anything but typical, but for the most part it always has Manda getting his money stolen, or losing his money to a client, and the client could range from a corrupt politician, a drug addict, a thug, to your everyday lonely businessman. And Manda of course, gets backed into a corner and has to come up with some devious plans to get his money back.


             

In volume #11, we actually see Manda dealing with a corrupt police officer Tateishi for the first time, and this is maybe the first time I've ever read about the evils of rotten law enforcement officers in a manga, and let me tell you, this guy is a bastard. The opening scene we see the cop sexually abusing some hooker, and then when the hooker confronts the cop about paying up, he flashes his badge and threatens to shut down the entire whorehouse, which makes me wonder if it's really that easy in Japan. He then struts his way through the streets of Osaka like a pimp on payday.

Tateishi arrives at the station, and then finds out that his boss is giving the entire police department an assignment to track down and arrest Manda for counterfeit money operations (or whatever crime they made up), and then he starts to badmouth his boss and the entire police department for being lazy bums and how he's the only one doing any detective work such as finding out about illegal whorehouses (god I just love this guy already), and then he decides to take on the job himself to bust down our loving greedy hero Manda, but of course it isn't before we see a panel where his eyes started flashing dollar signs, we all know where this is going.

In some issues, it will take a while for Manda to show up, the author will try to develop the "villains" first, and show us the deep shit they're in before our hero comes in to either rescues them from the gates of hell, or let them burn in debt inferno.

This time, a conniving foxy lady shows up at Manda's door and asks for 1 million dollars in cash to borrow. Manda of course lends her the money willingly even though he knows that she's plotting something. Here is where the character of Manda gets interesting, he would lend just about anyone money, but he is an adapt expert in these dealings. He can immediately see through them and see if they're trying to screw him or not, he knows she's bullshitting, but plays along, and gives her the money, and then the bomb is dropped:

 She escapes. She disappears completely without a trace. Manda of course is furious, and says "to find the bitch even if we have to go to the depths of hell", well, it gets even worse. She's actually working for the corrupt Tateishi to lure Manda out and make him commit something illegal. This is another thing that Manda didn't expect, corrupt cops, so now he has hands full. He has to find the girl no matter what before the cops get to him.

Up until this issue, Manda had experienced some problems with money, whether being stolen from him or having to deal with corrupt businessman. However, there were also many stories where we see Manda being the philanthropist. There were stories where he helped a lowly Yakuza build his own business, aided a woman with her restaurant, helped people who were in debt. This time, we see him in an extreme situation where he's on the tail-end of being screwed. And in the future there will be many more stories to come that follows this pattern.

Manda, compared to Kaiji, probably isn't as smart. However, Manda knows the money business like it's the back of his hand, also, he has laywer smarts, he seems to remember every law there is in the book so he can get through loopholes as to what the cops will ignore and what they won't. He's definitely studied his material so that he can get himself out of these dire situations. Kaiji, on the other hand, is a bumbling idiot until his inches away from his own demise, that's when he transforms into a gambling genius of sorts. These are definitely two great characters that have the strength to carry a manga all by themselves.

The cop Tateishi finally arrests Manda, and then we get some great dialogue out of the two where Manda drops knowledge on the cop about the laws that he doesn't even know. Manda of course gave his Yakuza henchmen orders to find that girl in 48 hours no matter what. And this is where the game comes in between Tateishi and Manda, and it is packed with great scenes.

The more I read this manga, the more I'm intrigued about this character, and it's an absolute treat reading him. We see him whistling and taking walks in a carefree manner in the streets of Osaka, but then transforms before our eyes into a money-grabbing demon, which is what he is famous for around the town. It's always exciting to look forward to the next issue, where I just can't wait to see what kind of dealings he will have in his hands.

As for volume #11 itself, I give this a grade of B+.

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