Chin Music Press - Adventures in Publishing

Scha Dara Parr

Music Fridays

"5th Wheel 2 the Coach" (1995)

Formed in 1988, shortly after hip-hop was introduced in Japan, Scha Dara Parr was one of the first major forces in the Japanese hip-hop genre. Six years and a few albums later, they produced a song called "Kon-ya Wa Boogie Back" with Kenji Ozawa (formerly of Flipper's Guitar), which became a chart-topping hit and the first Japanese hip-hop song adapted for karaoke.

Their approach to hip-hop music is more De La Soul than Public Enemy. Eschewing hard-edged street life depiction (of which there's very little in Japan that they can authentically talk about) in favor of word play and funny observations, they are sometimes perceived as a novelty act rather than serious hip-hop artists, but the fact that they stayed relevant on the scene for this long is enough proof of their musical and lyrical virtuosity.

"5th wheel 2 the Coach" came out in 1995. Despite the fame that came with their hit song in the previous year, it is one of their most solidly hip-hop albums. DJ Shinco's sound turned more hard-edged and life-like ("phat" as my former American roommate once described them) than in their earlier efforts. His signature soundscape, composed of everything from old TV show sound-bytes to vintage records, peppered with old-school funk taste, is still prevalent. The MCs Bose and Ani's Japanese rapping uses the creative elasticity of hip hop music to push Japanese language beyond its usual limits. Their observations go from tardiness ("The Late Show"), life in a scalding hot summer ("Summer Jam '95") to driving all night ("Ultimate Breakfast & Beats"). The rappers effortlessly blend English stock phrases with Japanese dajare (puns), to create a flow that sometimes transcends meaning; while the jokes contained within are funny, it takes repeated listening, even for Japanese ears, to understand them. It's hard to put this on paper, but take the passage from "Ultimate..." that begins:

Bose: Oh shit mou docchirake bushi, joshuseki de nemuringu sunnno nashi
Yo! asa!! nete nineteen ninety five. Ani, Ani,
Ani: V!! Nande V-ji kane tori chouten no yatsu ga erainokanetori.
toriaezu dame mou harahecchicchi, taberukanne ore wa mou kicchiri

Still obviously Japanese, but to me this is no less hip-hop than the finest rhyming from KRS-One.

Beastie Boys fans would have heard of Scha Dara Parr from their collaboration with Adam "Adrock" Horovitz on a single "Where Ya At?" which was released in 2000. An mp3 snippet from the song got circulated on the Web. And De La Soul fans might be interested to know that Scha Dara Parr, before being featured in their song "Long Island Wildin'," scored the opening slot on De La Soul's Japan tour in 1989. They also have done collaborative work with many of today's A-listed musicians in Japan, most recently with Japanese techno group Denki Groove. Expect a new release in album format in the next few weeks.

(If you can't find the album in the linked site, try this -- it's a discount shop in Japan selling used Japanese CDs)

Akira Morita >> June 10, 2005

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