wat up, dis be da nippon flava, homie!

JAPANESE

HIP HOP SUBCULTURE &

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

SASAKI KEI 09BN933W

Overview

� Emergence of Hip Hop Subculture in Japan

� Why Hip Hop?

� Taking it to the Extremes� The Burupan/BlackfaceThe Burupan/Blackface

� Market Size

� The Typical Hip Hopper

� Targeting the Hip Hopper� Magazines/Internet/Ad Vehicle/Publicity/Live Tour

� Future Outlook of Hip Hop in Japan

Emergence of Hip Hop

� Wild Style (Fall 1983)

� Movie of a graffiti artist in NYC, ft. MCs, DJs, Breakdancers released in Japan

� Stars had a live performance in Japan due to popularity of movie

� Breakdancing in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo begins

� DJ Krush, a leading world-class DJ, started out breakdancing in Yoyogi


� DJs started to perform on radios in 1985

� DJ Hiroshi Fujiwara (Godfather of Harajuku)

� 1st Hip Hop Club opened in Shibuya in 1986� 1 Hip Hop Club opened in Shibuya in 1986

� The birth of Japanese Rap in the late 1980s

� Ito Seiko, Takagi Kan

� 1990s onwards

� A vibrant commercialized subculture in Japan

� “B-Boy Park”, biggest hip hop annual event every August since 1999 in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo


“Japanese Hip Hop really exploded in the

last two, three years. I never thought there

would be a time when Japanese records would be a time when Japanese records

could outsell American ones but it’s

happening.”

– Hideaki Tamura, Tokyo record-store owner

(Interview with BBC in 2003)

Why Hip Hop?

� Japan’s unstable economy

� Studying hard and going to a good college no longer guarantees a good job

� Disillusioned youths

� Mood/Emotions

� Japanese youths might not understand lyrics of American rappers but they feel the mood of Hip Hop

� Expression of anger, frustration

� Channel to rebel in a conformist society

Taking it to the Extreme

� The Burapan (ブラパン)

� Hip Hop fans go to salons to tan/darken their skin

� Spot Afro, dreadlocks hairstyle

� Referred to as Blackfacers� Referred to as Blackfacers

� The Gosperats (Japanese R&B Group)

� Wear blackface makeup during performances

� African American fashion


Japanese or Black?!?


� Why Blackface?

� Mostly High School and College students

� An opportunity to “rebel” in a conformist society

� Allows a sense of freedom unable to be experienced � Allows a sense of freedom unable to be experienced as a “Japanese”

� Critics from Japanese Hip Hop artists

� Japanese hip hop may appear superficial

� An “imitation” of foreign hip hop

MC Battle of the Hip Hoppers

“Your parents, your grandparents are Japanese;

You can never be the black person you want to

be.”

– Banana Ice, “Imitation + Imitation = Imitation” (1995)– Banana Ice, “Imitation + Imitation = Imitation” (1995)

“First, it’s meant as a sign of respect towards

black culture, but secondly, I want to stand out

(目立ちたい)”

– Kreva, Kick the Can Crew (1997)

Market Size

� No exact figures but size cannot be underestimated

� Hip Hop dance schools

� Increased from more than 40 to over 100 since 2005 just in Tokyo (Weber Jennier)just in Tokyo (Weber Jennier)

� Hip Hop fashion

� More than 300 shops in Central Tokyo

(Takatsuki Yo, BBC)

� Hip Hop music

� Almost every club in Tokyo plays Hip Hop/R&B in one of their rooms

The Typical Hip Hopper

Baseball cap worn sideways or backwards

Oversized T-shirt/hoodiewith huge logos in front

Age 18 – 28

Listens to

American &

Japanese

Hip Hop

like...

50 Cent, Nelly, Eminem,

Orange Range, Kick the Can Crew, Dragon

Oversized sneakersto finish it off

Baggy shorts that look like it’s falling anytime

Backpack slinging low to add to the ‘dropping’ feel

with huge logos in front like...Crew, Dragon Ash, Koda Kumi

Shops at

Places like...

A Bathing Ape, ACC, 4 Ballerz

Clothing, Ambition

Hangs out

with his

homies at...

Harajuku, Roppongi &

Shibuya Clubs, Yoyogi Park

Targeting the Hip Hopper

� Magazine Advertisements

� Most magazines have circulations of 100,000 –300,000

� Free magazines in music shops (HMW, Tower Records), fashion stores have at least 100,000 copies in distributions

� A single ad in a popular magazine costs about

USD 2,000 and up


� Hip Hop Insider

� Free paper with over 100,000 distributions at over 1,300 music and fashion shops in Japan

� 55% males & 45% females readership ranging in age from 16-32

� Single Ad Budget is about USD 2,000 – 15,000


� Internet Advertisements

� Japanese consumers are very ‘wired’ to the internet

� Popular music websites get over 1 million page views per month (www.topmusic.jp)

� Cost for a single ad in a popular website starts from USD 1,000 per month

ああああ

ううううええええ

おおおお

いいいいうううう

ああああ

ええええ

いいいいおおおお


� Do it the Japanese way

� Tokyo has a metropolitan population of 35 million

� An advertisement truck that spins around the streets of Harajuku, Shibuya, Yoyogi

� Guaranteed to be viewed by several milllions

� Costs range from USD 2,000 – 5,000 per day


� Publicity

� Radio interviews, articles published

� Using a song for a commercial or advertising campaign, movie, etc

� Live Tour

� Playing gigs at venues (expense in Japan not a

revenue generating activity)

Future of Hip Hop in Japan

� Hip Hop consumption relies heavily on young consumers ranging in age between 16-30

� Changing demographics of Japan� Changing demographics of Japan

� Low birth rates

� Forecasted 8.9% (Euromonitor) decline in the population of Japanese in their twenties up till 2015 (23.3% fall since 1995)

� Aging population


Forecasted declining figures up till 2019 for Age Group: 0-14...


Forecasted declining figures up till 2019 for Age Group: 15-19 ...


� Hip Hop sales (fashion, music, equipment) will not vanish completely but see a steady declining trend

� Japanese consumers are sensitive to current trends� Consumption trends will shift towards the “new old” to replace the “old young”

� Music genres more popular with the older crowd will become the new trend

� Hip Hop market has more or less reached its peak in Japan

Peace Out!

wat up, dis be da nippon flava, homie!

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