The first performer, N/K a.k.a. Naruyoshi Kikuchi, adopted a “normal” rap style, in which the performer conveys self-pride as a rapper. Rapping in a “normal” way to the accompaniment of musicians playing classical music is no trivial feat. Although a lyrical and intellectually playful approach might seem more compatible with what we usually call classical music, I did feel like not using the aura of classical music as an artistic element, but rather daring to retain the contradictions between rap and classical music as they are, did work as an approach. Kikuchi’s call for “everyone to stand up” appeared like an attempt to forcibly insert the enlivening elements of a show into the world of classical music.

N/K a.k.a. Naruyoshi Kikuchi

HIDENKA

Surprisingly, however, the other rappers seemingly sought to get rid of and integrate these contradictions, expressing themselves in artistic, unique ways rather than trying to center entertainment elements. HIDENKA offered a nice balance of artistic elements and “normal” rap. Steering in the direction of continuous and shifting images, word play, and imaginative analogy were DOTAMA and HUNGER, who appeared in the rap battle section, as well as Sibitt. These three put considerable emphasis not on the personal, but on places, objects, and the impersonal—something you don’t see often in the world of typical rap. And although there was some confusion about the direction each performer was aiming for as the whole event, that confusion was also pleasant.

DOTAMA x HUNGER (GAGLE)

NENE (Yurufuwa Gang)

NENE chose a style that didn’t seek to create a narrative, or even any coherent grammar, although I think this may have had something to do with the fragmentary structure of the piece she was working with, “Anger – from untitled 01.” This approach is characterized by the intentional choice not to form complete sentences, leaving the audience to find meaning and a story in the words spoken. In the latter half of her performance, NENE rapped about a way of life that doesn’t depend on anyone else, and shouted the words “society,” “art,” and “expression.” “A way of life that doesn’t depend on anyone else” can be interpreted as the life of a rapper, but it also resembles phrasing common in self-help and neoliberal contexts. There are two sides to a “free” way of life: liberating yourself through self-expression, and “surviving” in a harsh society without questioning the system that’s made it so unforgiving, even if it means kicking others off a cliff. The words can be used to express both aspects, and I was torn between the two. The difficulty of expressing yourself when you’re being torn apart, the feeling that no matter what you say, it’ll never make sense; self-expression is always exposed to such violence, and NENE’s rap felt like an impassioned response to that violence.

The fascinating thing about rap is its ability to connect seemingly conflicting concepts. Multiple streams of meaning exist in complex and intertwined ways. But time is cruel, moving ever on without giving the audience time to examine, determine, and develop thoughts from these meanings. This sense of being pushed aside, however, is also what makes rap so addictive.

Ryoff Karma

Ryoff Karma’s rap resembled a play, with conversational dramatic elements reminiscent of radio drama. The performance took as its theme the rapper’s identity as an individual. Theatrical and narrative elements, such as the performer hunching over and mumbling while staring intently at his phone, achieved an introspective expression of masculinity. The end, when Karma repeated, “I/You/Everyone/They have no doubt they’re special,” and “Right… right…” could have been a jab at political correctness? Was he expressing regret or being defiant? Or going on the offensive while admitting his faults? Was he talking about himself or playing a fictional character? I wasn’t even sure whether he was speaking in the first person or the third, and this was all left hanging in the air. This is the kind of stuff that makes rap interesting and frustrating at the same time. I simply wondered, “Everyone believes they’re special, don’t they?”

Including a rap battle in the middle of the program was a nice choice, as it made for a change from the serious and solemn atmosphere conjured up by Ryoff Karma and NENE, bringing the entertainment aspect to the fore. I caught rhymes about “pipe organ needles flying,” “Akasaka,” “politicians,” and various place names, and was particularly shook by lyrics like, “Someday I’ll die and return to the earth.” This didn’t feel like a battle of rappers dissing each other, but more like a collaborative, improvisational effort to create a single poem.

DOTAMA x HUNGER (GAGLE), Yuri Umemoto

The rap battle contains wordplay, wildly shifting imagery, talk of life and death, and Buddhist, Taoist, or waka-like elements. You could say that views of life and death are an inextricable feature of rap, a form of expression that’s always had to deal with violence. So many rap songs express the reality of the street, where you never know when you might be killed. References to war, albeit faint, also showed up in places.

Ryo Isobe’s foreword in the program pamphlet touched on the complex relationship between rap and violence. While violent lyrics are a staple of the form, rap also carries the nonviolent dimension of using words to stand up against power. Rap is a tool for the powerless to raise their voices, but its more recent proximity to pop music has allowed it to be used for state propaganda, including to persecute the people of Palestine. Bringing classical music and rap closer together is a groundbreaking experiment, but it can also be called a very dangerous one.

SIBITT

Sibitt is a wildly original rapper who wields onomatopoeia to create rhythm and flow, floating freely between landscapes, objects, and thoughts. I wrote “rapper,” but the program described him as a “storyteller” and “lumberjack.” His repeated references to rainbow-colored clouds stayed with me. His streams of words, murky in places and clear in others, varying in magnitude, tone, and flow, dropped in sync with the music at times, out of sync at others.

There’s a multiverse aspect to rap. Where sentences and clauses begin and end is often ambiguous, and the linguistic possibilities offered by this endless branching make you feel like you’re floating in a sea of nuance. Many of Sibitt’s verses are about the absurdity of human society, all while including an encouraging, “self-realization” aspect of how to escape from it and live your life.

Nature is another major theme for Sibitt. He’s a scathing critic of the destruction of nature by civilization, as typified by nuclear technology. He lives in the mountains and picks up words from his environment to create his works.[1] Some people live an “ecosexual” life, loving Earth in a non-violent way[2], and I can’t help but wonder how Sibitt would express pleasure or ecstasy if it were an issue for him.

Keitaro Harada

After the performance, I listened to the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 again. With the music looping over and over again, I felt like the piece had flashback-like qualities. I also felt a sense of frustration and failure, such as when the sound broke off in places where I expected it to go on. I make electronic music and sometimes use feelings of not having things go your way to spice up my own creations, so I sympathized with the music.

The acoustics of Suntory Hall led to the raps bouncing off the walls quite a bit, making it a bit a difficult to hear at times. On the other hand, this may have helped unite the audience, inspiring us to do our utmost to catch what was being said. While she benefited from the format of her song, NENE made the most of the hall’s environment with her style of loudly squeezing out fragmentary words, while Ryoff Karma adopted a slower form of speech. The beauty of rap lies in how the listener, while struggling to hear, or straining to understand a language they aren’t familiar with, can receive and interpret the rhymes in their own way by picking up fragments of words and tying them together in their head.

[1] Fumiko Ishikura, Tatsuki Katayama, Mika Yonekawa, Naoki Watanabe “From mountain to mountain – SHBITT (Poet, writer, lyricist ― Listen to the Adult #3” Uryu-Tsushin  https://uryu-tsushin.kyoto-art.ac.jp/detail/200 (Accessed 2024-09-11)

[2] Elizabeth M.Stephens, Annie Sprinkle. Ecosex Manifesto. https://sprinklestephens.ucsc.edu/research-writing/ecosex-manifesto/ (Accessed 2024-09-11) 

Translated by Ilmari Saarinen

Program

Verdi / Overture to the opera “La Forza del Destino”

N/K a.k.a. Naruyoshi Kikuchi　Hikaru Hayashi – “Last Scene: The Death of Parent and Child”, from the film “Akitsu Springs”

Ryoff Karma　Erik Satie – “I. Lent et douloureux” and “III. Lent et grave,” from “Trois Gymnopédies” (orchestrated by Claude Debussy)

NENE (Yurufuwa Gang)　Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Anger – from untitled 01”

DOTAMA x HUNGER (GAGLE)　Yuri Umemoto – “SUPER SAMPLING CLASSIC BOMB FOR MC BATTLE” (commissioned work)

HIDENKA　Gustav Holst – orchestral suite “The Planets,” Op. 32, 1st movement “Mars, the Bringer of War”

SIBITT　Ludwig van Beethoven – “Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92,” 2nd movement