Shuren the Fire & more

Shuren the Fire is a rapper from Sapporo who, from what I can tell, is a good example of the jazzy laid-back hip-hop that the city is kinda known for. I mean, I see posters for ridiculous faux-gangster club nights all the time, but the famous hip-hop group from here are Tha Blue Herb, and Shuren the Fire was on their label and certainly stands alongside them. I read that book Hip-Hop Japan by Ian Condry (that far more people have read than I expected) and he'll back me up on this I'm pretty sure.

Anyway for some wonderful reason someone on youtube decided to set his music to some old video clips... frankly I don't really get it, and they don't fit perfectly, but I love it anyway.

I was in a used clothing shop in Sapporo one day with Yuki, and this Japanese hip-hop was playing with really nice beats and suddenly he was giving shout outs to towns in Hokkaido. We both wanted to know who it was but someone (Yuki) wouldn't ask the clerk so I had to stumble up and ask um... what is this music? And that's how I found Shuren the Fire. Seriously, the beats on the whole album are great, really nicely underplayed and effective without being seriously mixed and bass-boosted. His rough delivery is fun too but I have a feeling that his strong accent when he throws down in English will put a lot of people off. Anyway it looks like he ain't all that productive anymore, but I really like the one full album he made.

In other events tonight a waiter told me I look like Orlando Bloom, which is just... yes, well. I am caucasian.