The Year in Japan's Rap in 10 Songs
plus a list of the 50 best Japanese rap songs of the year
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The best of Japan’s rap in 2023 showcased a scene tapped into the most current styles bubbling at a global scale. Drill overtook trap as the popular sound, club rap spread into the mainstream, and more artists have been feeling the rage. The underground crews solidified their respective styles, whether they were embedded in dance, emo-rap or hyperpop, while growing their base outward from their respective niche. So much have been happening across all levels with new stars being minted up and down the tier.
Let’s take a look at the year in Japan’s rap with these 10 songs. And the end will be a list of top 50 Japanese rap songs of 2023. Here is also a Spotify playlist of the top 50.
“MAKE IT BOUNCE” by Tokyo Young Vision ft. Hideyoshi, Big Mike, Asiff, DALU & OSAMI [Tokyo Young Vision]
Club rap exploded as a hot new sound this year in Japan. While the beginning of 2023 saw a few rappers dabbling in the thumping beats that took from corners like Jersey club, the summer observed a spike in rappers adopting it to freshen up their style, the stuttering drums trickling in singles by mainstream stars like Awich and JP THE WAVY. Tokyo Young Vision’s posse cut represents the tipping point with its tough beat that’s situated in equal distance from drill and club: while the shifty drums and wobbled bass line of the former are laid out in the verses, the sputtering percussion of the latter is unleashed in the chorus: “Gather around, dummies,” Hideyoshi rallies the crowd over the riotous beat, “Wild out as much as you can / Live out now, do my best.”
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Makuhari” by Bonbero, LANA, MFS, Watson; “I.Y.A.” by JP THE WAVY & JIG ft. Sik-K; “What?” by Yellow Bucks ft. C.O.S.A.
“DOSHABURI (Remix)” by kZm ft. JUMADIBA & ralph [YENTOWN / De-void*]
The knocking percussion driving “DOSHABURI” sees its producer Chaki Zulu eyeing the club-rap sounds buzzing in the American East Coast, but the sliding bass line connects the beat with the UK. The titular chorus by the rappers, too, echoes the threats made by drill and grime rappers from the other side of the Atlantic: “Why don’t you go to a conbini and steal an umbrella / I’ll make you wet,” kZM suggestively taunts a potential bloodbath. The remix further deepens the link with the Brits by bringing on ralph, perhaps the most visible rapper bringing grime to Japan’s rap scene. American rap has long informed Japan’s, but the influence from the UK has been also undeniable.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Intelligent Bad Bwoy” by BIM ft. C.O.S.A., Daigos; “UP” by JUMADIBA; “Get Back” by ralph ft. JUMADIBA & Watson
“Acrophobia (Remix)” by Lunv Loyal ft. SEEDA & watson [self-released]
Whether they hail from the corner of Thugger-inspired trap or soulful boom-bap, every other rapper in Japan are trying their best to adapt their usual style into drill beats. Lunv Loyal and SEEDA work in those respective lanes, and the production of “Acrophobia” push the former’s slippery, impish vocals and the latter’s measured, chill flow to fit into its peculiar wobbly grid. That said, despite the beat’s rugged, bumpy feel, Lunv Loyal approaches the song rather like a sleek and shiny swag rap track as he hums the titular chorus: “A fear of heights / but I’m still flying to the top,” he boasts. “I just keep going up / no way I’ll fall.”
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Gimme Your Soul” by Tade Dust; “Working Class Anthem” by Watson & eyden; “YW” by Whaleo x Bonbero
“BUST A MOVE” by ONJUICY & Submerse [Trekkie Trax]
Rapping over UK garage beats isn’t anything new for ONJUICY, but his collab “BUST A MOVE” with producer Submerse arrives just in time when the more footwork-happy strains of club music such as Jersey club and liquid drum ‘n’ bass have been inspiring the current trends in production. Hang around this side of the water, and it won’t be long until you come across others bridging house music and rap such as the Y2K-rave nostalgia of JUBEE and his Rave Racer crew or the Mondo Grosso-approved hip-house by the duo Dongurizu. ONJUICY himself forges a strong link in the dance-music sphere through his connection with the producers behind the great Trekkie Trax label, who teamed up with him for the collaborative Slide on Life EP. A dip into dance isn’t too far off when following rap in Japan.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “DOMBIESS” by Dongurizu x Neibiss; “SWAG” by JUBEE & Yohji Igarashi ft. MORI; “Cho-Chocolate drip v2” by ONJUICY, Nakamura Minami, uyuni, SKOLOR, Masayoshii Iimori
“Bad B*tch Bigaku (Remix)” by Awich, NENE, LANA, MaRI, AI & YURIYAN RETRIEVER
The original “Bad B*tch Bigaku” already brought the some of the most fitting names in Awich, LANA, MaRI and Yurufuwa Gang’s NENE for a girlboss rap cypher. But the record became the year’s most buzzed-about after the remix invited two new voices, singer-songwriter AI and comedian YURIYAN RETRIEVER, both of whom lay down show-stealing verses: while the sex-game wordplay of ringleader Awich stick to memory, it’s AI’s flexing of her worth through sheer life experience that inspires one of the rawest lyrics from this crew anthem: “I got two kids / I got music / I got bruises / but I gotta do this.” You got to thank the two, too, for helping this song get performed in the prime-time music program Music Station.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “ALI BABA” by Awich ft. MFS; “Cho Fast” by GOSHI ft. Yurufuwa Gng & Ralph; “L7 Blues” by LANA
“Speedy Freeky” by DJ KANJI ft. CYBER RUI & Elle Teresa [Ovahead]
If “Bad Bitch Bigaku” aspired to be a summit of Japan’s best female rappers, the absence of CYBER RUI and Elle Teresa on the cypher was a huge oversight. CYBER RUI made good on her promising 2022 with this year’s Issues EP and its Pierre Bourne-like quick hits of rugged, bratty raps; she would qualify for a spot with her guest appearance in the DJ RYOW-hosted baddies roll call “Bling Bling” alone. Elle Teresa’s best tracks in her KAWAII BUBBLY LOVELY III album had her make the year’s best bass rap, turning up to the Triggerman loop or Miami bass. While their DJ KANJI-sanctioned collaboration “Speedy Freeky” presents them in a rather subdued light, they don’t hold back their sneering raps nor XXX flexes even when they decide to move low-key.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “MONOLOGUE” by CYBER RUI; “Come On” by Elle Teresa; “Bling Bling” by DJ RYOW ft. CYBER RUI & MaRI
“Kimi No Mama” by Mukade & Inman [BTB]
Mukade and Inman became a known name far outside of rap this year as their collab “Kimi No Mama” hung out among the likes of J-pop hitmakers like Vaundy and YOASOBI in Line Music’s Best of 2023 during the first half of the year. They can thank TikTok, especially for the song’s reach to the teens: the single was second to YOASOBI’s “Idol” in the chart’s category tracking what’s trended among the teens. The music speaks for its appeal with its respective young audience. The song’s pairing of acoustic-guitar loop paired and melodic sad-boy raps echo past pop-rap TikTok crossover Rinne but also Juice WRLD if he had less of a thorn on his side. A moody rap hit for sentimental individuals, “Kimi No Mama” offers a snapshot to the kind of pop-rap that’s friendly with casual rap listeners.
MILLION is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
“Never” by Neo Iceyyy ft. rirugiliyangugili & EDWARD(me) [CNG Squad]
The melodic raps of CNG Squad reside more at the fringes of the Drain Gang school of emo rap, largely due to a corrosive roughness in the production favored by its most visible artist rirugiliyangugili. But while the latter channels violence more for violence’s sake through his acidic shout-rap, the collective’s Neo Iceyyy lets that weathered mix detail the music like a deep bruise worn raw on his sleeve in his group-defining SPID3R EP. His maudlin take on the crew’s sound shown in “Never” takes from brooding Lil Peep-esque emo rap as much as bloodthirsty horrorcore. And he recruits two names in the scene who excels at this flavor of melodic rap, his peer rirugiliyangugili and EDWARD(me), who delivers a melange of rap- and punk-inspired hyperpop of her own.
SPID3R is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “R3BORN” by Neo Iceyy; “PUKE” by rirugiliyangugili; “Trust” by woodland pure luvheart ft. rirugiliyangugili
“What U Say!” by Only U & Hezron [self-released]
The pastel 8-bit beats home to plugg have been informing rap’s digital underground in Japan from the start of this decade, including the music of Only U and Hezron. So rappers selecting the more damaged variant of rage for their instrumentals seems like a natural step of the evolution. The YSL camp from Atlanta had also inspired them to warp their vocals more as they adopt the percussive triple-time flows from the likes of Gunna and Lil Keed. And yet the vocal manipulations as well as the blunt, psychedelic use of ad libs, which largely references Playboi Carti and his Whole Lotta Red, still take me back in how liberally they take it in comparison with the rest of the country’s rap. Appropriate for the style they indulge in, “What U Say!” by the duo scans as deviant music—or what their influences might call punk rock.
WANTED 2 is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Unknown” by Lisa lil vinci; “TENOHIRA (Remix)” by NEO Fox & Disorder ft. FreekoyaBoiii; “DEMON TIME” by Yung sticky wom
“Kokoro” by JJJ ft. OMSB [FL$Nation / AWDR / LR2]
JJJ’s MAKTUB stands as my favorite rap album of the year partly through how it locates the stylistic middle of the country’s scene. While his boom-bap origin remains intact in some of the chosen sounds, the rapper eagerly dips into a wide array of new styles that lie outside of it. Drill, for one, factors into two of the album’s best tracks, and the mellow swing of “July” recalls an Afrobeats production. “Kokoro,” then, might be more of a conservative choice, but it’s nevertheless representative of JJJ’s home style: his liquid verses unreel over STUTS’s busy beat like he’s jotting down his restless thoughts in real time. If boom-bap is alive and well in Japan, maybe stubbornly so, then might as well share the best from the crop not only in terms of craft but in its willingness to see what lies beyond it.
…from MAKTUB. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “rose” by KID FRESINO; “Pro” by Skaai; “Kaze Wo Kitte” by NORIKYO & Dengaryu
Here is my list of top 50 Japanese rap songs of 2023! Here is the Spotify playlist of this list.
Tokyo Young Vision ft. Hideyoshi, Big Mike, Asiff, DALU & OSAMI - “MAKE IT BOUNCE”
Mall Boyz - “My Life”
GOSHI ft. Yurufuwa Gang & ralph - “Cho Fast”
DJ KANJI ft. CYBER RUI & Elle Teresa - “Speedy Freeky”
NEI - “ENN”
KID FRESINO - “rose”
BIM ft. C.O.S.A. & Daigos - “Intelligent Bad Bwoy”
kZm ft. JUMADIBA & ralph - “DOSHABURI (Remix)”
CYBER RUI - “MONOLOGUE”
rirugiliyangugili - “PUKE”
Awich, NENE, LANA, MaRI, AI & YURIYAN RETRIEVER - “Bad B*tch Bigaku (Remix)”
Bonbero, LANA, MFS, Watson - “Makuhari”
Elle Teresa - “Come On”
Only U & Hezron - “What U Say!”
JJJ - “Eye Splice”
JUMADIBA - “UP”
Skaai - “PRO”
Yung sticky wom - “DEMON TIME”
ralph ft. JUMADIBA & Watson - “Get Back”
SKOLOR, Lo-Key Boi & Cuffboi - “CyClonE”
DJ RYOW ft. CYBER RUI & MaRI - “Bling Bling”
Neo Iceyy ft. rirugiliyangugili & EDWARD(me) - “Never”
NEO Fox & Disorder ft. Freekoyaboiii - “TENOHIRA (Remix)”
Lunv Loyal ft. SEEDA - “Acrophobia”
Yellow Bucks ft. C.O.S.A. - “What?”
NORIKIYO & Dengaryu - “Kaze Wo Kitte”
Lisa lil vinci - “Unknown”
DollarBoi$tackin - “Chrome Hearts”
JUBEE & Yohji Igarashi ft. MORI - “SWAG”
Jinmenusagi - “SAKURABA”
Won & LIFELESS - “FTP”
BAD HOP - “Champion Road”
Flat Line Classics - “FLAT LINE CLASSICS”
Cuffboi - “Inorganic Night”
7, Myghty Tommy, 999dobby, Spada & Whoopee Bomb - “RAPSTAR CYPHER”
ONJUICY, Nakamur Minami, uyuni, SKOLOR, Masayoshi Iimori - “Cho-chocolate drip v2”
MUD - “Resetter”
Pune ft. Shurkn Pap - “SWAGGER”
ONJUICY & Submerse - “BUST A MOVE”
JP THE WAVY ft. Sik-K - “I.Y.A.”
NeS ft. VillaFranca & YOUNG GAGA GG DIOR - “GAS”
ibu & Cuffboi - “Who die young”
Sound’s Deli - “LOWKEY LIKE”
OZworld ft. Peanuts Kun & PIEC3 POPPO - “META EDEN”
e5 - “Access”
Bardin Beatz & 999dobby ft. NARIMIMI & Whopee Bomb - “HEART (Remix)”
DCA ft. I$$EI, 13ELL, JAYLOX & WAWA - “CHAIN”
Young zetton & Watson - “Bulletproof Vest”
MFS - “New World”
MUKADE & INMAN - “KIMINOMAMA”
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