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Initially language was a barrier for hip-hop in Japan. Rappers

initially only rapped in English because it was believed that the

differences between English and Japanese would make it

impossible to rap in Japanese. Unlike English, the Japanese

language ends phrases in auxiliary verbs . Whereas English ends

in verbs or nouns, which are extremely common, Japanese

rappers were limited by the small number of grammatically

correct possibilities for ending a phrase. Japanese also lacks the

stresses on certain syllables that provide flow to English

rapping. Even traditional Japanese poetry was based on the

numbers of syllables present, unlike English poetry, which was

based on the stresses in a line. Most Japanese lyrical music was

also formulated using textual repetition, not relying on the flow

of the words. [37]

Japanese also has many ways of indicating class distinctions.

English was seen as more direct, one far more suited to the

tough quality present in hip-hop. Eventually, artists began

translating music from English to Japanese and performing

those direct translations, often leaving the bridge of the song in

English to keep the catchiness of the rhymes and flow intact. [9]

Slowly, with the increase in popularity of rap in Japan, more

rappers began using Japanese. Rappers added stressed

syllables to their music, altering the natural flow of the language

to fit into traditional hip-hop. American injections were also

used in raps to help the flow of the music and often homonyms

were placed in raps, which appealed both to the global English-

speaking audience and to Japanese speakers, who often would

understand the double meanings intended. [37] Japanese was

found to allow subtle put downs in raps, which appealed to

many audiences. [9]

Rhymes were also added to Japanese hip- hop by altering the

basic structure of the language by eliminating the final auxiliary

verbs in raps and instead placing key words at the end of lines.

[37] Additionally, to make Japanese work in a rhyming setting,

the rappers change the language by using slang, derogatory

terms, regional variations, gendered variations, and bilingual

puns so that "more hip-hop" means the creation of "more

Japanese." [9] Rappers are able to express themselves using

mature lyrics and "create" new language that does not inhibit

their rhyming. As such, Japanese hip-hop music is often praised

for its mature and culturally relevant lyrics. [38]

English phrases were also put at the end of lines where a

Japanese word could not be found to fit. This made rhyming in

Japanese far easier, both in basic language and in regard to

themes like the concept of social responsibility versus emotional

needs. [37]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s it was thought "rap " needed

definition before rhyme . Rappers like mc Bell and Cake-K

explain that rap is talking with rhythm and melody. Mc Bell

argues that rap cannot exist without rhyme: "you need words

ending with the same sound...three rhymes in a measure is

called three- link rhyming." [9] English is perceived as cool so

that Japanese rappers usually add typical phrases such as

'check it out!', 'say ho!', 'awww shit!' , and 'Goddamn!'

According to Sh hei Hosokawa, those phrases are incidentally

added and "the phonetic quality of black verbal expression is

sometimes adopted" as well. He also notes that in Japanese Hip-

Hop, the "semantics matter, yet so do phonetics... meaningful

wording" is important, as is "playful rhyming". [39]

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