One of my recent favorite hip hop operators is one that brings a slick old school swagger to his flow is Norikiyo. He recently released a full album titled Criminal Statement that is chock full of …
Jul 25, 2023 • Subscribe
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Skaai spits over some OG hip hop style beats on his new track PRO.
Press play and you’ll immediately feel like you’ve been transported back to days gone by, when hip hop was purer, when you just needed a dj to supply…
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Be it soaring, soulful ballads, hard charging rock anthems, or straight hip hip bangers, RADWIMPS lead singer Yojiro Noda can seemingly do it all. This time around he’s…
With You On This Planet by 8 is a somber sweet rock hip hop hybrid love song.
Listening to the lyrics and watching the music video for 君と地球で/Kimi to Chikyuu de (With You On This Planet/Earth) by 8 hits me in the heart. There’s a…
The Hermit shows us a slice of Arche’s hip hop origin story.
Arche takes us on a lyrical journey, navigating chapters of her youth. The Hermit reveals a defiant, determined artist, thick in the process of defining herself. The song…
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Aztech has created tracks for Jujutsu Kaisen, BEASTARS, Dr. Stone and the upcoming anime Sakugan. Find out how anime soundtracks gave the hip-hop veteran a new avenue for…
The GLORIO Chat Episode 110: Real Hip-Hop
We discuss wholesome monster girls and debate who had the best bars in all the anime rap battles this season.
FRUITS ZIPPER's NEW KAWAII – An Album Full of Sweetness (Review)
Taking a look at the Harajuku-based idol group's first full-length release
FARMHOUSE overcomes the distance(s) that defined him and emerges as a hip hop artist in full flow.
The introductory descending notes on the keyboard and strings set a somber, cloud covered, rainy day vibe. Which, beautifully sets up the eventual ascendancy of the chords and…
How Lofi Hip Hop Introduced Me to a Thrillingly Beautiful Anime
“Hey.. are you really going to destroy the whole world?”
Anime Throwback – Samurai Champloo: More than a Hip-Hop Samurai Adventure
Don’t get me wrong, the hip-hop theme is amazing.
Anime Love & Hip-Hop with D.J. Lewis: The Past!
When you think of anime; the first thing that comes to mind for most people (if they happen to be fans) would be pioneering shows like Sailor Moon,…
Anime Love & Hip-Hop with D.J. Lewis: The Present!
When last I posted I was talking about how the subcultures of anime and Hip-Hop crossed paths and came together during the 80’s and early 90’s. Even though…
Let your childhood imagination take flight in DURDN’s new Spaceship.
DURDN sure has a gift for crafting incredibly catchy J-Pop beats to pair with some hypnotically dreamy vocals. Spaceship is the third track on their new Komorebi EP…
Friday Funsies: Why Does Hip Hop Pair Perfectly With Anime?
I am a rather huge, although recent, fan of hip hop music. While most people correlate their reasons for being interested in hip hop to be their childhoods,…
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[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 11 (Her Journey)
Oh look, it’s been so long since the last time I drafted a post that Funimation and Crunchyroll have fused and Kino’s Journey has long left both of…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 13 (A Peaceful Land)
Back again with another procrasti-post! This episode really isn’t one of the series’ strongest. It feels kind of wrong that it’s the penultimate episode in the series, when…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 13 (A Kind Land)
I could have sworn I published this post a month ago, what the heck… After approximately two years, we’re finally at the finish line! I did not know…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 1
The end of a trip is the start of another! If you still remember, I promised to episodically review an anime series in celebration of 500 followers, and…
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[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 9 (Land of Books)
Bringing back this episode review series just in time for National Library Week (thanks to e-quips for the reminder), how apropos! This is one of the hardest episode…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 8 (Land of Wizards)
An episode that takes a simple idea and explores it in a refreshing way. Probably not among the strongest of Kino’s episodes, but there’s a bit going for…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 3 (Land of Prophecies)
Back to our routine of episodic Kino. Just learned that Kino is a “she,” so I won’t be using “they/them” to describe her anymore. This episode features not…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 4 (Land of Adults)
Backstory time! This episode feels more poignant and aesthetically intense than the last few, in a way that I rather loved. Took me a while to figure out…
Jin-Woo Doesn’t Let Anyone Take Advantage of Him
Solo Leveling Episode 10 Review It’s official now: Sung Jin-Woo is a badass, and he knows it. More and more people are starting to learn about it. So far,…
Get Back the growl in J-hip hop with ralph and crew.
I gotta say, it brings a grin to my grill when I hear a rapper with a growl and grit to their flow like ralph. So it makes…
Take a Pen and Note Watson make his mark.
I must say, Watson has been consistently pumping out some serious beats over the last year. I’m always tempted to feature his tracks, but I’m glad I waited…
On the Nature of a Great Battle
Katanagatari is a wordy show…but more than that, it sure does show off a great battle.
Babel: A Girl Embarks on a Journey of Words
By Kuji Furumiya and Haruyuki Morisawa. Released in Japan as “Babel I: Shoujo wa Kotoba no Tabi ni Deru” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen…
Episode 3 – You Take The Good, You Take The Bad…
Well, this is interesting. If you are not aware of the news, Viz Media has announced that they will no longer be publishing the Gin Tama manga in…
That dude who said Japanese hip hop doesn’t have meter or rhyme was right…sort of.
Scans of a manga about a high school girl getting drawn into the world of freestyle rap have recently been making the rounds on Twitter lately….someone named Extra…
Whisper of the Heart Retrospective: The Real Story Behind the Lo-Fi Hip Hop Study Girl
Whisper of the Heart is a very low-key story compared to most of the other films in Ghibli's catalog. The stakes are 100% emotional—and that's something special.
Criminal “Investigation”
Yeah, this is a magical boy show. There are probably a lot of them out there, but this is more aligned with Harry Potter than Sailor Moon. And…
Let Me Swim A Little Bit More: Thoughts and Musings on the Album “SOAK” by Negoto (A Tribute)
Notes:*let me swim a little bit more (oyogasete mou sukoshi dake) is a reference to a line in the song “Suichuu Toshi”
The Duke of Death and His Maid – A New Twist on an Old Genre
Even though romance is far from my favourite genre, there are some titles I occasionally like. Is The Duke of Death and His Maid one of them?
ODDTAXI's Baku Kinoshita On His New Film, Housenka
The director sheds light on his in-progress Showa-era film starring an aging yakuza and how it differs from his critically-acclaimed ODDTAXI anime series.
A Fresh Take on Coming of Age – Confetti (movie review)
Every once in awhile, I unintentionally put myself in a position where I need to drag other people into my hobbies. It sounds convoluted because it is. I…
A Brand-New Metal Musical: Avaland — Theater of Sorcery Album Review
I’m deep enough in the metal rabbit hole to follow new bands as they come. Of course, since metal marketing is very difficult in the U.S., my ability…
Let Newspeak put you in a feel good State of Mind.
Newspeak serves up a sunny, spirited new song, with their new single State of Mind. It’s a perfect positive vibes kinda track to take you into the weekend.…
“With A Hip-Hip And A Clippity-Clop”: The 75th Anniversary of “The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad”
A “double feature” of a film using one half of the film to tell each story.
If You Love ’em, You’ll Let ’em Go: Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution Full Review
Eureka Seven is an anime I love to death. Nearly two decades later, I still hold it up this TV series as one of the best ever. The…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 2 (The Tale of Feeding off Others)
September’s not even over and it feels like winter already (T_T). Perfect for this episode of Kino, I guess. Check out the Episode 1 highlights here if you…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 6 (Coliseum Pt. 1)
And we’re back to the regularly (un)scheduled Kino posts! I did miss this show. I don’t know if others would describe it as “cozy,” but that is indeed…
[Highlights] Kino’s Journey Ep. 7 (Coliseum Pt. 2)
This episode wrapped up a little more hastily than I would like it to, but it shed some interesting light on Kino’s personality and objectives. A story of…
Personal Take on Fanservice
(Note: For the purpose of this article, fanservice refers to mildly sexual content: pantyshots, beach episodes, skimpy clothing and the like. Actual hentai/animated porn is excluded, as is…
Hop on the Last Train with Hakubi.
I think I was looking for something a little melancholy today. 最終電車/Saishuu Densha (Last Train) from Hakubi fit the bill. With its fatalistic lyrics and minimalist music video,…
Voice of Baceprot Get (VERY) Topical in Their Full-Length Debut Album
If you’ve seen my review of BABYMETAL’s The Other One that was released despite changing all music discussion to a bi-annual compilation post (which might need to become…
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Great Pretender – 06 – Earning His Wings
After an enticing stinger in which a terrified Makoto is along for the ride in a plane piloted by a crazed-looking Abby—which then blows up—we rewind a bit…