For me the best Japanese hip hop producer by far is DJ Mitsu - he's put out several albums under his own name which mainly feature English-speaking artists, but he also produces for his brother (Hunger) who together form a group called GAGLE. They've put out 5 or 6 albums and they're all solid, can be listened to from start to finish... no rubbishy club beats at all. If you like DJ Premier, Dilla, Pete Rock etc. I'm sure you'll like them a lot.
This is the track that got me into them:
GAGLE - Big Bang Theory
This is a bit more recent:
Hunger - Jappcats
Grooveman Spot is another awesome producer, although again usually works with American artists:
Grooveman Spot feat. Hunger, Raythought & U-Zipplain - My Mind
The following are a few more artists I like a lot.
SOUL SCREAM - 蜂と蝶
Steady & Co. - 春夏秋冬 (you'll recognise ILMARI if you've listened to RIP SLYME)
BIG-O & DJ WATARAI - I'm Gonna Be Alright
SHINGO☆西成 - ILL西成BLUES (Geek Remix)
You might have heard of Dragon Ash (the leader Kenji Furaya also put together Steady & Co above) - they're hard to categorise as they've changed their style a lot, starting with pretty standard hip hop but now heavily influenced by reggae and Spanish guitar!! They're insteresting though and worth a listen:
Dragon Ash - Los Lobos
The next two are bit more abstract, not really on the same vibe as the rest I posted.
MICHITA - 足跡
Suburban featuring Shing02 - 栞
I personally really enjoy instrumental hip hop, and there are a lot of great Japanese artists in this genre too. They rarely feauture Japanese lyrics but you still might want to check out the likes of NUJABES, HIMUKI, NOMAK, SHINGO SUZUKI, TSUNENORI, UYAMA HIROTO etc....
NAJUBES - Still talking to you
SHINGO SUZUKI - Inside your love
Just for fun here's some good Korean hip hop aswell:
화나 (Feat. 황보령) - 화약고 (I love this beat!!)
Drunken Tiger - 뽕짝이야기 (might sound familiar if you listen to Non Phixion)
This is the track that got me into them:
GAGLE - Big Bang Theory
This is a bit more recent:
Hunger - Jappcats
Grooveman Spot is another awesome producer, although again usually works with American artists:
Grooveman Spot feat. Hunger, Raythought & U-Zipplain - My Mind
The following are a few more artists I like a lot.
SOUL SCREAM - 蜂と蝶
Steady & Co. - 春夏秋冬 (you'll recognise ILMARI if you've listened to RIP SLYME)
BIG-O & DJ WATARAI - I'm Gonna Be Alright
SHINGO☆西成 - ILL西成BLUES (Geek Remix)
You might have heard of Dragon Ash (the leader Kenji Furaya also put together Steady & Co above) - they're hard to categorise as they've changed their style a lot, starting with pretty standard hip hop but now heavily influenced by reggae and Spanish guitar!! They're insteresting though and worth a listen:
Dragon Ash - Los Lobos
The next two are bit more abstract, not really on the same vibe as the rest I posted.
MICHITA - 足跡
Suburban featuring Shing02 - 栞
I personally really enjoy instrumental hip hop, and there are a lot of great Japanese artists in this genre too. They rarely feauture Japanese lyrics but you still might want to check out the likes of NUJABES, HIMUKI, NOMAK, SHINGO SUZUKI, TSUNENORI, UYAMA HIROTO etc....
NAJUBES - Still talking to you
SHINGO SUZUKI - Inside your love
Just for fun here's some good Korean hip hop aswell:
화나 (Feat. 황보령) - 화약고 (I love this beat!!)
Drunken Tiger - 뽕짝이야기 (might sound familiar if you listen to Non Phixion)
Edited: 2010-01-21, 5:08 am