East End X Yuri
Encyclopedia
East End × Yuri was a short lived collaboration between the Japan
ese hip hop
group East End and the singer Yuri Ichii
, ex-member from Jpop girl group Tokyo Performance Doll
.
, ROCK-Tee, a DJ , and Yoggy, another DJ .
, DJ Krush
, Boy-Ken, DJ Yas, and others. East End continued to be strong as an independent act, but with little mainstream attention. Finally in 1994 the group broke strong into the mainstream with their pop-rap single “Da.Yo.Ne.” (with guest artist Yuri, thus “×” meaning “with” in the name East End × Yuri). Sales were slow at first, but in early 1995 East End × Yuri single broke the million sold record, the first in Japanese hip hop history. Essentially a mainstream one hit wonder the group continued to release singles trying to recapture the limelight, but were unable to do so. In 2003, after a short break, they released a full album with many “forefathers” of Japanese hip hop and got some media attention, but failed to break into the mainstream once again.
East End, as a group, were at first skeptical about collaborating with Yuri, an "idol" pop star with her former band Tokyo Performance Doll
. Yuri, being a woman, posed a possible threat to their careers since women do not frequent the hip hop scene in Japan. Female singers are more commonly associated with pop songs and “cute” acts/groups. The fact that Yuri was a woman, however, posed to be very beneficial for the group in the end. She gave them a second chance in the recording industry after their first album did not sell as much as the producers wanted. Having a pop star on their side then allowed them to get back in the game of recording, when they might not have had this chance without her. Also, her “cute” element made them appealing to a bigger audience. As Yuri said, she does not sing about sex and drug because it “doesn’t fit her”. This greater appeal gave East End x Yuri a bigger audience, spanning pop and hip hop fans in Japan. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E6DE1039F93AA15752C0A960958260
“Da yo ne” is informal Japanese, mainly used in Tokyo
(“east” area of Japan
). Because of this several other versions of this song were recorded as West End × Yuki, North End × Mai, North East End × Mai (and etc.) which included local versions of the phrase turned into “So.Ya.Na.,” “Da.Be.Sa.,” and “Da.Cha.Ne.” respectively. A compilation album was released made up entirely of variations of “Da.Yo.Ne.”
Although lasting only as a memory for most Japanese people, the song “Da.Yo.Ne.” helped to spark the hip hop movement in Japan.
The song contains a sample of “Turn Your Love Around
” by George Benson.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group East End and the singer Yuri Ichii
Yuri Ichii
is one of Japan's biggest rap stars and the lead of East End X Yuri. She was also a singer with the revolving-door group Tokyo Performance Doll alongside Ryoko Shinohara. She was part of TPD for a while but sought to do something different; she decided to try rap...
, ex-member from Jpop girl group Tokyo Performance Doll
Tokyo Performance Doll
Tokyo Performance Doll a.k.a. TPD was a female Jpop idol band that existed from 1990 to 1996. Inspired by Onyanko Club, it had seven main members and several other "trainees" for live performances, a formula later followed by Morning Musume, Hello! Project and AKB48...
.
Members
East End members are Gaku, the MCRapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, ROCK-Tee, a DJ , and Yoggy, another DJ .
History
Gaku and Yoggy were friends in high school, often entering rap contests when they could. Because they were interested in the same thing, they were acquainted with ROCK-Tee. Later, when entering college, Gaku ran into ROCK-Tee. As a group, East End’s first live performance was an event called “Peace Ball” (in 1990) many acts that are still famous in Japan today were in attendance, including DJ HondaDJ Honda
, better known as DJ Honda, is a Japanese hip hop DJ, turntablist, music producer, CEO, clothing line designer, and entrepreneur.-Biography:...
, DJ Krush
DJ Krush
, better known as DJ Krush, is a producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples.-Biography:...
, Boy-Ken, DJ Yas, and others. East End continued to be strong as an independent act, but with little mainstream attention. Finally in 1994 the group broke strong into the mainstream with their pop-rap single “Da.Yo.Ne.” (with guest artist Yuri, thus “×” meaning “with” in the name East End × Yuri). Sales were slow at first, but in early 1995 East End × Yuri single broke the million sold record, the first in Japanese hip hop history. Essentially a mainstream one hit wonder the group continued to release singles trying to recapture the limelight, but were unable to do so. In 2003, after a short break, they released a full album with many “forefathers” of Japanese hip hop and got some media attention, but failed to break into the mainstream once again.
East End, as a group, were at first skeptical about collaborating with Yuri, an "idol" pop star with her former band Tokyo Performance Doll
Tokyo Performance Doll
Tokyo Performance Doll a.k.a. TPD was a female Jpop idol band that existed from 1990 to 1996. Inspired by Onyanko Club, it had seven main members and several other "trainees" for live performances, a formula later followed by Morning Musume, Hello! Project and AKB48...
. Yuri, being a woman, posed a possible threat to their careers since women do not frequent the hip hop scene in Japan. Female singers are more commonly associated with pop songs and “cute” acts/groups. The fact that Yuri was a woman, however, posed to be very beneficial for the group in the end. She gave them a second chance in the recording industry after their first album did not sell as much as the producers wanted. Having a pop star on their side then allowed them to get back in the game of recording, when they might not have had this chance without her. Also, her “cute” element made them appealing to a bigger audience. As Yuri said, she does not sing about sex and drug because it “doesn’t fit her”. This greater appeal gave East End x Yuri a bigger audience, spanning pop and hip hop fans in Japan. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E6DE1039F93AA15752C0A960958260
- Reference: http://www.eastend-web.net/story/index.html (in Japanese)
The Song ‘Da.Yo.Ne.’
Unarguably the group’s biggest song, selling millions. The lyrics are often thought of as simple with no heavy social commentary (although this is similar to a lot of Japanese hip hop of the time). The song’s “chorus” contains the song’s name sake:- Da yo ne, da yo ne
- Iukkyanai ka mo ne sonna toki nara ne
“Da yo ne” is informal Japanese, mainly used in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(“east” area of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
). Because of this several other versions of this song were recorded as West End × Yuki, North End × Mai, North East End × Mai (and etc.) which included local versions of the phrase turned into “So.Ya.Na.,” “Da.Be.Sa.,” and “Da.Cha.Ne.” respectively. A compilation album was released made up entirely of variations of “Da.Yo.Ne.”
Although lasting only as a memory for most Japanese people, the song “Da.Yo.Ne.” helped to spark the hip hop movement in Japan.
The song contains a sample of “Turn Your Love Around
Turn Your Love Around
"Turn Your Love Around" is one of many major R&B, jazz and pop hit singles for George Benson. The song was written to help fill out Benson's 1981 greatest hits album, The George Benson Collection. It reached number one on the soul singles charts and number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles...
” by George Benson.