“Japanese hip hop goes mainstream with the collaboration of hip hop group EAST END and YURI from Tokyo Performance Dolls. An awesome CD single made even better with its smooth coupling song ‘Sunao ni’!”
GROUP: EAST END x YURI
CD SINGLE: DA.YO.NE
LABEL: Epic/Sony Records
CATALOG #: ESDB-3519
DURATION: 16:35
RELEASE DATE:Â August 21, 1994
- Da.Yo.Ne
- Sunao ni
- Sunao ni (for the boys)
Possibly the biggest commercial hip hop group in Japan since Scha Dara Parr, hip hop group EAST END teams up with Tokyo Performance Dolls idol YURI to form EAST END x YURI and have dominated the charts with their song “DA.YO.NE”.
A song that have had many copycat versions but reflecting the slang of their city’s version of “oh really?”
But the significance of this song in Japan is the merging of a Japanese underground hip hop with J-Pop. And with many Japanese hip hop artists right now still known via the underground scene, it’s was quite interesting to see so much attention put on this group because of the merging and eventually, getting the name of a Japanese hip hop group out there and hopefully giving exposure to Japan’s hip hop scene. Also, the song was the first non-English hip hop track to reach a million in sales and getting the group’s name on the Guinness Book of World Records and also became the first hip hop group to appear on the popular Japanese New Year’s Eve Show – “Kouhaku Uta Gassen”.
The first track “DA.YO.NE” is a fun and enjoyable hip hop track which kicks off with Yuri known for singing busting out rhymes, followed up by MC Gaku as the two trade off with their communicative rhymes and beats supplied by DJ YOGGI.
But the surprise was the coupling track “Sunao ni” featuring a smooth hip hop ballad by both Yuri and MC Gaku. The ballad is just well done and for the most part, has surpassed my love for “DA.YO.NE” in being my favorite track of the single. Great rhythm and flow by GAKU but Yuri adds sexiness to the track.
The third track is a “version for the boys” of “Sunao ni” which is the same song without MC Gaku but only Yuri’s segment. For those who want to bust out their rhymes for the song.
This CD single comes in the horizontal packaging with lyrics and production credits.
Overall, I’ve become quite an addict to the music of EAST END x YURI and “DA.YO.NE” is just a great CD single and also great to see some form of Japanese hip hop getting noticed in Japan. Granted, some may see East End possibly selling out by teaming up with a Japanese music idol but I don’t think so. I think it’s all about opportunity and getting out into the mainstream and now the group can reap its benefits while giving some props to other Japanese hip hop artists out there.
“DA.YO.NE” is highly recommended!