Fans of Megan Thee Stallion were treated to a new voice from afar on the GRAMMY-winning rapper's latest album, Megan. On "Mamushi" – named for a type of snake found in Japan, fitting the snake theme of the record – MTS trades verses with Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba.
The track’s chorus beamed around the world and back again, and spawned a viral TikTok trend started by a Japanese dancer Mona712. It earned an MTV award for its Japan-set video, reached No.36 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. Rhythmic chart. While Chiba has been performing since 2012, previously under the moniker KOHH, "Mamushi" is his first global chart hit.
For Japanese audiences, hearing the GRAMMY-winning rapper flow in their language was surreal; and from outside the country, the reaction was huge. Megan took Chiba on tour and brought him out specifically for "Mamushi." His appearance elicited cheers and shouts, Chiba's calm presence a contrast to the energetic Megan.
Chiba followed this success by dropping his first full-length album under his new moniker in December 2024. The 13-track Star features production by GRAMMY-winning engineer Leslie Brathwaite and GRAMMY-winning mastering engineer Colin Leonard.
Chiba has been instrumental in boosting the popularity of rap in Japan and beyond, yet he isn't the only Japanese rapper earning global recognition. Awich, the "Queen of Japanese Rap," has been rapping for over 20 years but had a particularly phenomenal 2024, completing a sold out seven-date headliner arena tour in support of her album The Union and performing worldwide, from Hong Kong to New York. She performed at Coachella for the first time this year as part of the 88rising Futures showcase. Joining her were Japanese rappers JP the Wavy, Nene and Mari.
During a performance in Japan in early December, Awich debuted a new song "Butcher Shop," produced by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA. She prefaced the song by giving her predominantly Japanese audience a short introduction into the importance of Wu-Tang’s role in hip-hop, and the genre's broader legacy to Black artists.
Now in its third year, rap festival Pop Yours is held in Chiba and focuses specifically on Japanese rap artists. The festival has grown year over year, and in 2024 sold out of its 35,000 tickets in record time — months in advance. The lineup boasted 43 acts, many of whom are members of Gen-Z.
After years of languishing in the background, J-rap is finally becoming a genre worthy of note at home, and on the global stage too.
Finding A Formula For Rapping
As hip-hop spread across the U.S. and beyond, the music made its way to Japan in the early '80s. Tokyo-based DJ Hiroshi Fujiwara was inspired by the hip hop that he discovered in New York, and started playing it to local audiences. Around the same time, musician Toshio Nakanishi had traveled to New York and immersed himself in hip-hop culture; he later hired breakdancers to feature in a promotional video for his band, Melon.
"We weren’t prepared for anything like it, and were shocked to see breakdancing," Nakanishi told Red Bull Music Academy."I think the only people even aware of hip-hop in Japan around this time were me and Hiroshi Fujiwara."
Gradually, Japanese breakdancing crews started to become popular, as did DJs playing American hip-hop. But local artists had difficulty approximating rap's lyrical flow — both in English verses as well as raps in the Japanese language.
Rhyming in Japanese may not be as innate as with other languages, notes Hiroshi Egaitsu, a DJ, critic and lecturer in the history of hip-hop at Waseda and Rikyu Universities. As a result, it took a while for a rap formula to come about in the often formal language.
This formula simply removes the formal endings like "desu" and "masu" to verbs and phrases to keep the core word at the center — creating the least formal version of each word, which opens up its possibilities for rhyme. Take Keiju’s recently released "backseat" feat. Kvi Baba & tofubeats: "Sayonara Aoen light no shita/subete ga/umakuikusou to omotta (we said goodbye under the Aeon lights/I thought everything was going well)." Each phrase ends on the "a" sound, as opposed to words like "omotta" (thought) ending with "masu" only.
"Japanese poems like haiku are lauded because they have a beautiful structure – 5-7-5 – not because they rhyme, as may be the case in English," Egaitsu says.
It’s not just the case of finding the Japanese language formula that has helped Japanese rap to find its feet, it’s also the lyrical content. Before the 2000s, Japanese artists followed the example of American gangsta rappers, detailing issues of guns, violence and drugs. But these lyrics weren't necessarily authentic to Japanese audiences living in a country where guns are illegal to carry, and the homicide rate is 2000 percent lower than that in the U.S.
To the broader Japanese population, this unfamiliar style of rhyming, coupled with unrealistic topics, meant that rap wasn’t taken seriously as a genre for a long time. It’s only in the last decade that it’s started to become truly mainstream. Egaitsu recently said that hip-hop fully arrived in Japan in 2010. "A lot of Japanese rap fans are Gen-Z," he says. "They really understand it as a genre."
Different Countries, Different Topics
The reason for this change in perceptions lies in no small part due to the newly-relatable nature of the lyrics: contemporary Japanese hip-hop focuses on very different subject matter. Over the past five years, younger rappers such as Lex have begun discussing mental health and family troubles. Often performing alongside his sister, Lana, Lex is frank about his battles with mental illness. This in itself is rebellious for a country like Japan, where mental health is still very much a taboo topic.
Yuki Chiba's simple lyrics are similarly loaded with meaning, yet feature catchy, memorable choruses. "Team Tomodachi," — which received a remix by Will Smith — for instance, repeats its title eight times in the first 15 seconds, more than enough to stick in your head. The recently released "Dareda?" (Who’s this?) shares a body/identity-positive message about the importance of being yourself.
Chiba’s manager, Shumpei Shoji, says these lyrics "really resonate with people — that’s why Megan wanted to work with him. His talent is absolutely unrivaled." Chiba views "lyrics as his diary, everyday he's penning new ones," Shoji continued.
Single mother Charlu was a finalist in the 2024 Abema Rapstar competition, Japan’s premier rap contest. In a particularly poignant moment in the "Hood Stage" round, Charlu introduced the crews to her local neighborhood, directing her lyrics towards her two children.
Outside of the competition, the rapper is known for peppering her lyrics with themes surrounding motherhood. In the September 2024 track "My Verse," Charlu includes bars about how she feels motivated to keep going when she sees her children at the end of the day.
There are examples of family life throughout Japanese hip hop lyrics. Gen-Z rapper Dada has been frank about being raised in a single parent family, such as his verse on Nene’s track, "Heavy," which shouts out his mother who raised him alone.
Japanese History, Heritage & Hip-Hop
The unique history of Japan also plays a factor in gaining followers domestically. Several rappers incorporate Japanese heritage and local pride into their work.
Twenty-four-year-old rapper Watson, known for his high-speed flow, is from the little-known Tokushima Prefecture. Watson often raps about Tokushima and he raps in a local dialect on "Awa-ben," his most recent release. The Koshy-produced backing track features traditional instruments like the Japanese folk guitar shamisen mimicking the two-rhythm pattern of the classic music, and folk dancers in the music video itself. Watson "belongs to the new generation who tries to show the reality of working class life here in Japan without boasting too much," Egaitsu notes.
Awich's pride for being Okinawan, as well as raps in the Okinawan language, has been a throughline in her music over decades. "Me and my homies create work linked to street culture, inspired by our hometown and I hope that this can inspire young people around the world to reflect on their own origins too," she tells GRAMMY.com.
Her island hometown of Okinawa now houses a controversial U.S. army base. "Even through tragedy and occupation… We’ve never forgotten how to enjoy life, placing a particular importance on music and celebration," she adds.
A Particular Visual & Sonic Identity
Japanese rap’s explosion in popularity coincided with the global trap boom in the early 2010s, which continues to influence its sound.
Producer Koshy — who’s responsible for some of the biggest tracks of the year such as "Mamushi" and "Team Tomodachi" — is known for his dark, growling beats. Despite entering the rap producing game in 2021, his trademark producer tag "Koshy atsuu…" can be heard across a plethora of key 2024 J-rap tracks from artists like Watson, Charlu and, of course, Yuki Chiba.
On "Yummy," a standout track from Nene's August EP Gekiatsu, Koshy builds in snapping hi-hats across trap-style, three note synthline. "More young artists are creating music with hard, dark trap hip-hop sounds, pairing them with lyrics that feel real and grounded," he says.
This is prevalent across the scene, especially among younger rappers such as like kZm, Elle Teresa and Tohji, who favor autotuned vocals, trilling drum beats and icy synthlines. Others, like ralph and Jumadiba, are known for their darker tracks, working with producers like UK grime-influenced duo, Double Clapperz.
A Distinctive Visual Identity
Japanese rap is coming into its own across the visual spectrum, from distinct fashions, to album jackets and logos. Nene in particular embodies the Japanese subculture "gyaru" spirit, donning extra-long talons for nails, bright colors and pinks.
In 2024, she worked with video director Nathalie Scarlette to create a blue/pink tinged music video for "Yummy." In "Heat" off the same EP, she appears in a with Sunny Only One, a dancer/performer who is known for their neon colors and surreal, alien imagery, alongside a group of cosplayer girls.
Egaitsu points out that Yentown (the rap crew and label that includes kZm and Awich) were among the first to jump onto the streetwear trend, releasing their own branded goods which are now stocked in their own physical shop in Shibuya. Rapper Tohji, re-released his own clothing brand in June this year, complete with fashion editorial-style imagery.
Looking Ahead To Japanese Rap In 2025
As interest in east-Asian culture grows, 2025 looks set to be another big year for Japanese rap, with new artists emerging at a faster pace than ever before.
Koshy plans to move to L.A. in 2025 to burgeon his already-booming career. Egaitsu cites Charlu and Watson as two rappers who really came into their own in 2024.
In addition to newcomers and younger rappers, established Japanese rap stars also continue to drive the gene forward. Along with releasing Star at the end of 2024, Chiba announced his first ever headline show in July 2025 at Nippon Budokan, an inner-city Tokyo venue that is known for hosting the Beatles and is said to be the "pinnacle" for a Japanese artist.
It seems that finally, Japanese rappers are kicking it with the big shots, moving up onto the global stage in their own way.