The Life and Legacy of Rapper- Activist ECD (1960-2018)
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Volume 16 | Issue 6 | Number 3 | Article ID 5125 | Mar 15, 2018 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus “It's Our Turn to Be Heard”: The Life and Legacy of Rapper- Activist ECD (1960-2018) Noriko Manabe Abstract Part II portrays his role in Japanese social movements of this century. History tends to memorialize the stars and leaders, yet both musical and social movements are also made possible by people who work in the background, organize, seed trends, and Keywords: Japan, ECD, rap, hip-hop, protest, otherwise help make things happen. The social movements, sound demo, antinuclear Japanese rap pioneer and activist ECD, who movement, SEALDs, CRAC (Shibaki-tai), passed away on January 24, 2018, was neither protests against Abe's policies the earliest nor most commercially successful rapper, and he would have eschewed calling himself a leader of any protest group. Nonetheless, he was what Gramsci would have ECDはきっと有名になる人 called an organic intellectual of the working class. The frankness of his music, writing, and その時君だけ自慢できる人 performances touched his audiences at an affective level, connecting them to the 皆に自慢できる今日会えたこと movements in which he participated. This article looks back at his life, which embodied 皆に自慢できる今日聞いたこと the worlds of hip-hop, contentious politics, and そいつは約束するよ君だけに the working class. It also examines his songs, which not only convey a vivid account of his 教えてあげる 誰も知らない life, but also reflect his personal and political concerns as well as the ambience of street 教えてあげる 僕の名前 protests. ECD was a key figure in the development of the underground hip-hop scene, ECD will surely become famous organizing events that allowed it to take root and be lifted into commercial viability. He was Then you'll be the only person who on the front lines of several Japanese social could brag movements—anti-Iraq War, anti-nuclear power, You could brag to everyone that anti-racist, pro-democracy, and anti- you had met me militarization. He wrote protest anthems, inspired Sprechchor, performed at protests, You could brag to everyone that and helped to establish a new mode of you had heard me participatory performance, which engaged protesters more fully. His sheer presence at I'll promise that demonstrations, constant and reliable, energized and reassured protesters. Part I I'll tell only you. No one knows it describes his years as a hip-hop pioneer, and yet: 1 16 | 6 | 3 APJ | JF I'll tell you my name. performances. 1 --ECD, "Check Your Mike,” Major Yet despite this outpouring of recognition for Force, 1989 his contributions to Japanese hip-hop and protest culture, material success eluded ECD during much of his life. Although he had a record contract between 1994-2003, for many years he earned his living supporting backstage When the family of ECD (Ishida Yoshinori), the operations. His family’s struggles to survive on Japanese rapper and activist, announced that 165,000 yen a month (US $1,829) were publicly he had passed away from cancer on January 24, documented by his wife, photographer Uemoto 2018, the music and activist worlds let out a Ichiko, in her blog and book, Hatarake ECD collective groan. Having started in the (Work, ECD). After his illness became known, mid-1980s, ECD was one of Japan's first fellow musicians, record and book stores, and rappers and an important figure in the the internet broadcasterDommune set up development of the underground hip-hop scene. donation campaigns for him. His lack of Today, Japanese hip-hop is an established and mainstream success was immaterial to the recognized part of the music industry, with its admiration and importance that he held in the own show on terrestrial television Freestyle( community. Dungeon) and visibility in radio, magazines, satellite television, and web TV. Prominent This article examines the life and songs of rappers whom he'd helped along paid tribute: ECD—a pioneering rapper-activist who was not Zeebra, perhaps Japan’s most commercially a conventional star, yet whose looming successful rapper, cried audibly while honoring presence impacted the course of events. He him on his radio show. Rappers likeK Dub embodied the worlds of hip-hop, contentious Shine and Erone (of Osaka crew Infumiai politics, and working-class life, reflecting their Kumiai) acknowledged him as a majorstruggles for recognition. The frankness of his inspiration in their trajectories. Rather than music and writing impacted audiences at an just adhere to U.S. models, ECD had set an emotional level, and in turn, connected them to example by sampling Japanese popular music, movements he championed. His story is that of and his vast knowledge of that repertoire was a man who held firm to his beliefs in a society cited by music critics Isobe Ryō and Takahashi that eschews confrontation. It is also an Yoshiaki. Furthermore, in an entertainment illustration of the ways in which the artists who industry that discourages musicians from most greatly impact movements are not engaging in politics, ECD was one of very few necessarily the biggest stars. Part I describes Japanese musicians who not only produced his years as a hip-hop pioneer, and Part II political songs but also performed in street narrates his role in Japanese social movements demonstrations. In doing so, he helped to of this century. establish new forms of protest performance that continue today. Political theoristIkuo Gonoi credited his constant presence in demonstrations with creating a “liberalPart I: ECD, hip-hop pioneer, 1982–2003 moment” mixing culture and politics. A high school dropout with a philosophical take on A punk fan, ECD was introduced to hip-hop in social movements,2 he was what Gramsci would 1982 when he read an interview about Johnny have called an organic intellectual, whoLydon that mentioned Grandmaster Flash and 3 articulated the concerns and stances of the the Furious Five’s “The Message (1982).” He working class in his music, writing, and began to experiment with rapping as an actor 2 16 | 6 | 3 APJ | JF in a troupe performing rock musicals, singing radioactive fallout and nuclear power following songs by David Bowie in translation. Seeing the the Chernobyl disaster. Partly inspired by hip-hop film Wild Style in 1983 inspired him, Japanese reggae pioneer Rankin Taxi (who, like and he began frequenting Cisco Records in ECD, became a constant presence in protests), Shibuya, collecting hip-hop records like Afrika ECD rapped over a reggae beat. He also rapped Bambaataa’s Planet Rock (1982). about the history of global racism as a consequence of exceptionalism (in Racist,“ ” Run-DMC’s “Walk This Way” (1986) is often 1993) and the omission of the Nanjing credited with bringing hip-hop to mainstream Massacre from Japanese history textbooks. attention in the US and around the world. When the group came to Japan in 1986, ECD ECD, live, "Pico Curie," 1989 attended the show. Chikada Haruo, Itō Seikō, and Tinnie Punx performed as the warm-up “ECD’s Lonely Girl” (1997) acts. The concert pamphlet contained an advertisement for Chikada’s newly formed hip- Another distinctive feature of ECD’s tracks was hop label, BPM, which triggered ECD to pursue his sampling of Japanese pop for musical rapping himself. He made a demo tape using a background to his rapping, well before the sample of a riff by the 1970s rock group current international vogue in retro-Japanese Murahachibu and began working for Chikada’s pop music. He sampled the funky disco track office. In 1987, he won a contest sponsored by “Vibration” by Kasai Kimiko (1977), Vestax, rapping over a reggae beat. He began formulating it into “Vibration” (1995), and he performing in clubs like Shibaura Ink Stick and released CD mixes of Japanese pop under the toured as a warm-up act for Chikada’stitle Private Lesson.7 Vibratones. He judged several rap contests, at which he met the up-and-coming acts who ECD’s best-known song is probably “ECD no would become prominent in the 1990s, such as Lonely Girl ft. K. Dub Shine” (ECD’s Lonely Rhymester, Twigy, Gaku-MC, and Scha Dara Girl), based on a 1983 song performed by the Parr. In 1989, he performed as an opening act idol singer Satō Yuri, with music credited to for Japan tours of top American hip-hop artists Tsutsumi Kyōhei. The journalistTakahashi of the day such as Public Enemy, Jungle Yoshiaki attributes the revival of interest in Brothers, DJ Red Alert, and Queen Latifah, and Japanese popular music to this song. traveled to New York as a representative of his 4 label, Major Force , at the New Music Seminar. In Satō’s “Lonely Girl,” the protagonist is a He also began organizing the hip-hop club young woman, imagining herself saying event, Check Your Mike, at clubs like Roppongi goodbye to a lover who has discarded her for a Ink Stick, Yoyogi Chocolate City, andwoman apparently of higher socioeconomic Shimokitazawa Zoo.5 standing; she says she will “see him off” as he goes off to a party without her, leaving her like 8 ECD, live performance, 1995 a “doll with a lost screw.” In the chorus, she denies that she’s lonely or sad, claiming that she just likes being alone. She’s not crying; it’s just that the wind is hard on her eyes. Songs of the 1980s–90s Satō’s “Lonely Girl ECD’s political concerns were evident from his early days. His first, single, “Pico Curie” (Major ECD and K Dub Shine’s “Lonely Girl” (1997) 5 Force, 1989), reflected his worries about takes the opposite view to these lyrics to 3 16 | 6 | 3 APJ | JF address the teenagers who hang around East End x Yuri’s “Da.Yo.Ne” (1994) Shibuya and date rich, older men for money to 9 buy luxury goods (dubbed enjō kōsai).