Friends, International: Exploring the Team Tomodachi Remixes Across Asia
Highlighting a few of the many remixes of Yuki Chiba's viral rap anthem done by rappers from China, Malaysia and more
This feature is from This Side of Japan issue #88. You can check out the main newsletter here.
Among followers of Japan’s rap scene, “Team Tomodachi” immediately landed with a buzz as the return of the rapper now going by Yuki Chiba, who retired his former moniker KOHH in 2020. His comeback echoed the proto-crunk fight songs of late ‘90s Memphis from the ominous 3-note piano riff of its bare-bones trap beat to its mosh-pit chant of a refrain—Chiba’s own “Who Run It.” While his sleepy flow cooled the rally cry into more a low-key anthem, it wouldn’t take long for other rappers to heed the call. A couple months later, “Team Tomodachi” became bigger than just Yuki Chiba with it hosting dozens of rappers across Japan, answering from all four cardinal directions, just as he calls out in the hook.
The record eventually would spread far outside of Japan with the remixes and their music videos catching the attention of rappers all across Asia. Assembled crews from South Korea to China, Vietnam to Thailand, Malaysia to Indonesia recorded their own verses and filmed themselves gathered outside a local establishment: the Google Map location of a restaurant in Chiba’s original video soon became the official part of the full meme. More and more videos began to feature a mutual sentiment: you didn’t know there was a rap scene in my country? The “Team Tomodachi” remixes were no longer just a craze, now a platform to showcase local rap talent and their overlooked communities.
Inspiring a continent-spanning phenomenon, “Team Tomodachi” is easily the biggest Japanese song of the year. Though, Yuki Chiba’s original record that ignited the trend is hardly the best of its iteration. The best remixes digs out a better flow, lays out more creative wordplay and introduces a more appealing personality on the cypher-made beat. Above all, they call attention to the fact that the whole craze thrives on group chemistry and camaraderie, what Chiba can’t bring just by himself.
There’s been dozens and dozens of great “Team Tomodachi” remixes this year across Asia. Starting from its origin point in Japan, I wanted highlight just a few while hopping from country to country. Unfortunately, I can’t cover all of it—sorry to Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar and others I missed. But here are some of my favorites and their cast of rappers.
“GALS Remix☆” ft. 3liYen, Renee Couto & Charlu [Japan]
Yuki Chiba capitalized on the craze inspired by his hit from early on the song’s life cycle, commissioning official locally-based remixes that covered a comprehensive range of Japan’s rap scene—hitting up, literally, as the rapper chants in his monotone, the West, the East, North and the South. 3liYen, Renee Couto and Charlu, though, remind of the most important group of folks that Chiba left out from his home country: the gyarus1. While the beat takes out the first two space from their woozy digicore, their verses translate the brash attitudes of their own work; more the traditionalist with a pop bent, Charlu, meanwhile, goes even harder. But more than in-your-face flashiness, the camaraderie flowing in the cypher establishes the gyaru connection with the “Team Tomodachi” enterprise.
See also: “BL333SED” by 3liYen; “RockstaRRR XD!” by Renee Couto; “Perfect Night” by Charlu
“KR Remix” ft. 200, Koominjae, SIVAA & YOSI [South Korea]
With South Korea being one of the closest international neighbors, perhaps it’s not surprising that the first remixes I’ve seen from outside of Japan came from rappers based in Seoul2. While the more established names stuck to the script laid out by the steely beat, the baby-faced rappers of SIK KOO—“the average age of our team is 20,” raps the collective’s Raoul, second in line here—sucked me in through their take’s scrappy rookie feel. The first-up, 200 especially perked my ears through her opening bar: “watashi wa meccha kawaii.” Her chirpy voice also reminded me of Yuzion, a favorite Korean rapper of mine, and it turns out she has made moody, Auto-Tune drenched bedroom-rap like her, too. That said, SIK KOO got a well-polished crew project under their belt, the Han: Cooked EP, casting a wide net of styles from jiggy boom-bap, hazy rap&B to garage-y hip-house. If anything, the remixes finding the kids catching a break, and letting themselves talk some shit.
See also: “Skid Mark” by 200, Koonminjae, SIVAA & YOSI; “Nightmare” by 200 ft. GOLDBUDDA
“Chongqing remix” ft. DonotZetah, blacksister, Siqi Song & UKEYZ [China]
Many remixes came from the different regions of China, an amount maybe only rivaled by Myanmar or Indonesia. A lot of them opted to match the smugness of the beat, appearing rugged on camera as their verses suggested. So this lively ensemble of rappers from Chongqing was refreshing to watch in comparison to the countless cross-armed groups, even if a few members run with a hounding style similar to those other takes. One of the two here with a song I can readily find, BLACKSISTER, second up to bat, and her most recent track sounds like an audition tape for the ASAP Mob, from her barking flow to a trap beat with echoes of Three 6 Mafia. DonotZetah, the first in line and unofficial host of the remix, channels Cardi B with a snappy flow matching the voice. The four may act tough but they also bounce around together like they’re having the night of their lives—this may as well be the Chinese gyaru remix.
See also: “加把力” by BLACKSISTER ft. Xeezy Olatoundji; “红玉” by UKEYZ
“VietNam Remix” ft. Feelif, FluV, DVGKHOI, Rekkol, PWAVE [Vietnam]
It counts to get melodic over the Memphis-esque beat primed for metronomic double-time especially when a dozen crews press flows that are aggressive as it is percussive to flex an equally tough personality. These five from Vietnam stick out from the pack by doing just that, with a rapper like FluV free to switch to a more tuneful cadence mid-verse that echo trap crooners from the ‘10s. As if to seize an opportunity, the ones whose solo works bring more pop-juiced raps stack lyrical-miracle acrobatics: once seen rocking “Hotline Bling” energy, DVGKHOI crams syllables in syllables without breaking a sweat. Once he passes it to fellow rapper Rekkol, it pivots back to a melody-meets-bars direction that others could take notes from.
“BORNEO REMIX” ft. Airseeyaw, Badthehood, Isobahtos, Tuju & Benzooloo [Malaysia]
Tuju croaks the titular refrain basically as formality to warm up the posse cut, dying to just get into it already and tear apart the creaky beat. His raspy voice, though, appears well after his peers from Borneo have added damage from seemingly every angle. Airseeyaw floats like a specter with his ghoulish rasp, abandoning the beat’s metronomic lull; the members from the BADTHEHOOD crew then switches into gear after gear at whiplash speed. That said, Tuju still explodes with charisma, indulging in a Thugger-like croon one moment, tiptoeing across the beat with a whispered flow the next. When it comes to style, the Borneo remix features it in droves.
See also: “RISIKO” by Benzooloo, Ghidd ISOBAHTOS, TUJU, MeerFly & MK K-CLIQUE; “BAD NEWS” by BADTHEHOOD; “AIR” by Airseeyaw
“GADIS REMIX” ft. Tish Errda, Yang Ummul, Lil Asian Thiccle, SOPHIARZK, SYA, MARUXALYND, Bubu Natassia, LOCA B & Aliana Azizi [Malaysia/Singapore]
Several personalities meet in the Malaysian gadis remix, each displaying her own distinct style without overshadowing her peers. And this boasts the most diverse set of artists here in this list as it cedes the floor to girl-boss MCs, R&B singers, brat-pop club heads, trappers eyeing Opium and artists lying somewhere in between. That said, the tight-knit chemistry despite the differences might be a rather natural outcome with most of them once crossing paths with another on a song or a rap-competition cypher. It brings a simple, infectious joy seeing them convene for a moment in the video, particularly for the chigiri hook where they get into improvised choreography all in sync. A showcase of both individual features and the strength of the team, this is the best remix out of the craze so far.
See also: “BEM CAMNE” by Tish Errda; “WUNNABE” by Yang Ummul; “xXXbraiinnssXXx” by Lil Asian Thiccie; “WELCOME 2 MY FANTASY” by SOPHIARAZK; “GLORY” by SYA ft. ASYRAF NASIR; “GELABAH” by Maruxa Lynd; “MEAN” by Bubu Natassia; “BNKR” by TUJULOCA; “WANTITALL” by Aliana Azizi ft. Bubu Natassia & Axel Jonas
This Side of Japan has a Ko-Fi as a tip jar if you want to show appreciation. A subscription to This Side of Japan is free, and you don’t have to pay money to access any published content. I appreciate any form of support, but if you want to, you can buy a Coffee to show thanks.
Next issue of This Side of Japan is out October 23. You can check out previous issues of the newsletter here.
Need to contact? You can find me on Twitter or reach me at thissideofjapan@gmail.com
Speaking of a gyaru remix, it’d be criminal not to include valknee’s homemade remix.
Let’s not forget the remix by moon! In her most recent track as of this writing, she raps over a club beat sampling Britney Spears’s “Toxic.” My favorite of hers still is “Seoul City Drift,” where she hop on a UK drill beat.