Japanese rapper KOHH caught listeners off guard earlier this year with the surprise release of his album UNTITLED. But he’s certainly not just letting that collection come and go. A few weeks after releasing the full-length video for his grunge-hop collaboration with ONE OK ROCK’s Taka, KOHH now brings a video for the sparser number “Maashouganai.” It offers a snapshot (or at least a good hyperbolization) of KOHH’s daily life presumably while recording his latest album in Southern California. Watch it below.
The main lesson of UNTITLED is KOHH is going to do what he wants. He dropped the album with no warning, and the songs within go from pumped-up pit starters to lonely Auto-tune ballads to the aforementioned rock-rap with J-rock heavyweights. “Maashouganai” actually offers one of UNTITLED’s more straightforward numbers. This is a classic look-at-what-I-got flex, set over a sparse beat made uneasy by what sounds like theremin grinding up against the item music from Mario Kart 64. This gives plenty of space for KOHH to celebrate all he’s got, shouting out Tesla, Beverly Hills, and an assortment of designer labels. It’s far from KOHH’s most energetic verses, but the understated tone is part of the joke and only makes the brags better.
The accompanying clip plays this up too, though based on the ever-present timestamp this is more a look at how the album itself came together. KOHH is out in Southern California, driving around in old cars and sipping on Monster Energy drink (which, he is a sponsor for…how do you think he gets all the stuff he brags about?). He also eats a lot of junk food, ranging from what looks like a burger to pizza. Now that’s the dream. But you also get footage of him working on music in the studio. It’s all very low stakes, but a fun glimpse into the life of the most visible rappers from Japan on a global stage.