Hip-Hop is still alive and well in Japan; like anywhere, Japanese Hip-Hop comes in many varieties and flavors. Some artists are simply trying to create fun pop music, rapping in the process. Others have been influenced by the world of trap and even the modern Soundcloud generation of rap artists. You’ve got groups like RIP SLYME who have been in the game for a long time, and newcomers like MIC RAW RUGA who are happy to bring youthful energy into the world of Japanese Hip Hop. Managed by E TICKET Production, MIC RAW RUGA is putting a colorful spin on the classic Boom-Bap sound that was very prevalent in the 1990s. Check out the fun and energetic ‘Concorde’.
Shot at the well known Flash Disc Ranch Record shop in Shimokitazawa, the debut video for MIC RAW RUGA features an opening shot with strategically places Run DMC, Public Enemy, and Afrika Bambaataa records. Off the bat, that gives you a taste of what you’re getting into. The girls in the group go line for line, trading off clean bars with some smooth, jazzy beats fill-up the backing track. While the production definitely is going for a boom-bap sound, it definitely also takes from the world of instrumental Japanese Hip-Hop made famous by the late and great Nujabes.
We don’t mean this as an insult to anybody, but compared to the likes of a Charisma.com, MIC RAW RUGA definitely has more of a Hip-Hop flare. The project is explicitly headed by E TICKET Production, who’s tried to do idol-rap type stuff in the past. Was it the dream of these girls to rap or is it was the production company is telling them to do? I’m not sure, but regardless ‘Concorde’ is a pretty dope track on its own right.
To our knowledge, there’s been no announcement of a full MIC RAW RUGA release following this song yet.