Welcome to Black Tokyo!

I mentioned in a previous post that the enka singer Jero would perform on NHK’s 2008 Kohaku Uta Gassen. He pays tribute to his grandmother and has his mother give him a tearful wish of encouragement. Watch the video clip below (double-click on the video to view in a larger screen). 

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Money, money, money! It seems like that what’s on the mind of many recently. Recession, depression, aggression, concessions… Wow! Well here is something to take you to another place, music!
The “Jam JAM Jam” blog by GELATIN SNACK is a great way to listen to some good music and learn Japanese at the same time. The writer has a wealth of music knowledge and insight on the “ura” or behind-the-scenes tidbits. Check out Gelatin Snack’s post here to learn about soul, R&B, funk and jazz music in Japanese. Those on Twitter can …

Good friend and fellow Detroiter, Glynis “Black Ice” Martin, a.k.a. “G. John Martin” has another reason to smile while he continues to make great music in Tokyo.

His son, Glynis Martin, Jr., commonly known as Lil’ G, and best known remembered as the featured lead singer of the group, “7 Mile” continues to shine on his solo debut single ‘WannaBe.’
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Japan Probe posted Jero’s new song, Hare Butai (Gala). The music video is followed by an interview in English/Japanese:
 

A great song to practice Japanese reading, listening, and speaking! 
Thanks James for the find!
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A star-studded lineup of 53 groups and individual performers will take part in NHK’s “Kohaku Utagassen” annual year-end singing contest on New Year’s Eve, including Japan’s first black enka singer Jero and Speed, an all-female J-pop group that disbanded in 1999 and got back together in September this year.
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12/13(Sat) @ Roppongi RISE TOKYO Vol.43″ 

 DJs=KIYOMI/ETSUKO/HIDE/Brother-M 
 Guest DJ = KAWABATA (From Miracle) 
 Live = mimi (From U.S.A), Himuka, Yo-Hey 
 Dance = Hiromi & Nori - Funk Generation 
 MC = AYA-NEE 

FEE: 3,500Yen (with 2 drink/food Tickets) ? with Flyer 500Yen Off!! 
$$: mention the name of the DJ at the door If you forget your flyer 
MUSIC ? Dance Classics, Soul, Funk, R&B, Hip-Hop 
DRESS TO IMPRESS
info: http://mixi.jp/view_event.pl?id=37172582&comm_id=1166 
info: http://mixi.jp/view_event.pl?id=37213706&comm_id=3236174 
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Chante Moore and Kenny Lattimore will perform at Tokyo’s Cotton Club on the time and dates below:

Dec. 8th, Monday
Dec. 9th. Tuesday
Dec. 11th,Thursday
Dec. 12th, Friday

Showtimes: 7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
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This in from Sista in Tokyo (SIT):  For well over two years now, a group of black professionals in Tokyo has been getting together to connect, chill, and catchup on the first Friday of every month.  I’ve posted a few times about some of the more interesting discussions from our little shindig, but have not yet posted on the actual group.  So today, I figured it was about time I did so.
Tomorrow, our cocktail hour will be held at 57 restaurant in Ropppongi(located behind Tokyo Midtown).  Usually, our group includes around 7-12 attendees from …

Many BT’er know that I love comedy and have a pretty thick skin but I just received an email/rant asking me why I took umbrage to the Tunnels and DJ Ozuma’s Yajima Beauty Salon CM campaign and follow-up PR stunt. You can read my previous posts on the subject but the bottom line is that I am tired of having certain performers or corporations in Japan continue with their BS ways of trying to dis’ on the DL. Maybe they think that no one will complain about it.
Japan Sugoi reports on Japanese …

Tunnels and DJ Ozuma are back for more shadiness but I guess one way to revive a career is to do something out of the box or attempt to push the buttons of others. Click here for the original story on Yajima Beauty Salon. It may help to familiarize yourself with this CM before reading the post below. 
Many thanks to James at Japan Probe for posting this:
“Fuji TV has shown me that Yajima Beauty Salon, the comedy group that impersonates black women from Nevada, can do more than just sing. A clip from …

The Obama Song (World of Friends): Japan-based American musical artists created and performed this song to celebrate Senator Obama’s historic candidacy and to inspire us all to change the world.
Bridges for Obama: American supporters of US Senator Barack Obama have been staging rallies abroad at world-famous bridges to show support for the Democratic presidential candidate and his pledge to span old political divisions.
Bridges for Obama created and ignited by Meredith Wheeler, Democrats Abroad France.
The Obama Song (World of Friends) written by: Garrison Davis
Performed by Change to Change (much love to y’all):

Brenda Vaughn
Kaleb James
Melodie …

The talented and sometimes funny owarai duo, Tunnels, have recently hooked-up with DJ Ozma (former Kishidan band leader) to form and produce a temporary female trio called Yajima Biyoshitsu (Yajima Beauty Salon). The female trio is actually the three men in drag. Here is the official website.
The Yajima Biyoshitsu new song ties into a new Lotte chewing gum commercial (the CM schedule can be found here) starring actress Masami Nagasawa. The debut song, “Nihon no Mikata - Nevada Kara Kimashita,” debuted on TV the day before and saw a reportedly 14,000 chaku-uta (ringtone) downloads in the hour after its premiere, …

Remember the yo-yo? It was the rave back in day. Anyway, this guy, Black, is pretty entertaining! He even puts one of my favorite comedians to the test. Gotta love those Japanese TV shows.
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First of all, this man always handles his biz and was one of my virtual sensei when I lived in Osaka. At any rate, this in from Harvey at Japan Newbie:
 
Dude’s standing a pile of money!!! 
This wallpaper is from a famous Japanese TV Drama staring Riki Takeuchi called Minami no Teiou or, roughly translated, “The Caesar of South Osaka”.
I asked a random Osaka friend for tips on any interesting jdramas that use a lot of Osaka dialect, and she mentioned this one… Unfortunately I can’t seem to get my hands on the actual drama …

Japan Newbie discovers something new.
 

What do you think of the video?
Source
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I’ve mentioned Don Quixote a few times here, as well as Roppongi, but here’s a little bit of background information: Roppongi, besides having a reputation as the Devil’s Playground (I don’t think it’s that bad but it is pretty weird, especially for Japan) literally translates as ’six trees’; or six (roku) book (hon) tree (ki) , if you know your literal translation of kanji. 

Roppongi is a known for Roppongi Hills, it’s active/vibrant night life and the huge presence of Western tutorists and expats. However, a majority of the people who live in Roppongi are Japanese but …

 

This in from Hairfish: 
Everyone goes nuts over Roppongi, and I admit, its interesting but Shibuya is where it’s at, mainly because it’s where the locals hang out. It’s far more affordable to spend a night in Shibuya and even go to a pub or a club without spending over 5,000 YEN (that’s about 50 USD). For my train fair, food, and karaoke, I only spent 2,000 YEN. There is so much to see and do. Shibuya really is something to see at night. There are arcades everywhere, purikura, places to …

Click here for the Yokosuka City Website.
Click here for Yokosuka 1chiban Website.
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YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — What do a dress shop, a music store and a Mexican restaurant all have in common? A yellow sticker on the window welcoming American customers from Yokosuka Naval Base.
As of this week, 42 local businesses within a 15-minute walk from the base are sporting “base-friendly” stickers.
Restaurant owner Hiroshi Watanabe got his just last week and was trying to find the best place for it on Thursday.
“I hope the word spreads (about the stickers),” said Watanabe, who worked at Yokosuka’s Port Operations for 30 years before …

 

I wanted to outline a couple of connections between the Negro Leagues and Japanese baseball that aren’t (I think) all that well-known.

First: for decades, the standard story about the rise of professional baseball in Japan has credited a 1934 tour of Japan by major league all stars, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, for sparking interest in the sport and leading to the first professional league two years later.  But the Japanese baseball historian Kazuo Sayama, in the 1987 Baseball Research Journal, told a somewhat different story. 
He argued that much of …

I will start posting on the various Soul & Funk bars in Japan. Here is an event hosted by one J-brotha that put soul and disco on the map in Japan, Kawabata Oya-G!

EVENT:  KAWABATA OYA-G Presents 70’s SOUL & JAZZ FUNK!! 
DATE:  2008.09.24(?) 22:00-MIDNIGHT 
GUEST DJ:  KAWABATA (formerly of MIRACLE) 
PLACE:? Velours @ Tokyo-to, Minato-ku Minami Aoyama 6-4-6 #b1 Almost Blue 
CONTACT: TEL 03-5778-4777 
WEBSITE: http://www.velours.jp/
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Former makuuchi division Russian wrestler, 20-year-old Toshinori Wakanoho (whose real name is Soslan Gagloev), under arrest for possessing marijuana, has told police that he first turned to drugs in his early teens, and that after he entered the sumo world he smoked dope every time he went home to Russia.
According to a statement Wakanoho made to police, he went to a nightclub in Tokyo’s Roppongi entertainment district by himself on June 20, where he was offered marijuana by a Russian man and a black man. He smoked the drug in …

Most of you all know that Fukuda resigned as Prime Minister (PM) of Japan. In response to why I didn’t blog about his resignation, the short answer is: “I’m waiting for the rest of the story!” In the meantime, I am following the buzz about Taro Aso.
The following article was forwarded by Tenrou Kibagami. Kibagami has been following the otaku culture’s news regarding Aso’s candidacy for PM.  For those unfamiliar with the term, “otaku” are basically fanboys.  While there can be different types of otaku, the term is commonly …

The Olympic Games started on 08/08/08 and the U.S.A.’s eight-year quest for gold in international basketball has the U.S. men’s basketball team (a.k.a. the Redeem Team) beating Spain to win the 2008 Olympic gold medal. Spain fought hard but had to settle for silver and Argentina takes home the bronze medal. In women’s 2008 Olympic Basketball, the USA women’s team won gold. 
 

 
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Soul singer-songwriter, ALICIA SALDENHA, performs for the first time at the new Osaka jazz club, WAZZ, on Saturday 16th August. No cover charge!!

Doors open - 6:00 p.m.
1st set - 7:30 p.m.
2nd set - 8:45 p.m.
3rd set - 10:00 p.m.

Entrance - Free
For more details please visit the Wazz HP at www.wazz.jp or Alicia’s pages at:

http://alicia.kansaiblogger.com
http://www.myspace.com/aliciasaldenha
http://www.youtube.com/user/soulsistah100

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