KM Lets Fans Know Who MYPPL is With Latest Music Video!

Everything Inside Jacket Cover

Rapper KM released the music video for his track “MYPPL” on his YouTube channel. A part of his album Everything Inside, which was released in June, the lead number finds KM teaming up with rapper Daichi Yamamoto for this out of this world track. The music video is directed by Naohiro Ohashi of HAVIT ART STUDIO. In the video, artists who are close friends with Daichi Yamamoto and KM are making cameo appearances. KM also participates in Daichi Yamamoto's latest album WHITE CUBE and produces the ending song "Testin’”.

Be sure to check out the music video in question below, along with the digital streaming link for Everything Inside here!

Daichi Yamamoto Sends A Statement With Latest Digital Release!

“Kill Me” digital jacket cover

Vocalist Daichi Yamamoto announced that he will be releasing a brand new track, “Kill Me”, across all music streaming platforms. This will be the latest release by the vocalist since his digital single “Paradise feat. mabanua” back in November of last year and it is his first release of 2021. “Kill Me" is set to be the leading single from Yamamoto’s new album WHITE CUBE. With cooperation of American label Frank Renaissance, Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins, who is also known for his collaborations with bands Disclosure and Badbadnotgood, is participating as a guest vocalist. Also joining is track master QUNIMUNE, who has worked with Yamamoto on previous tracks "Let it Be feat. Kid Fresino" and “Blueberry”; he will take charge of production.

Be sure to check out “Kill Me” on all digital streaming platforms here!

Ongaku to You's Songs and Artists of the Year for 2020

2020 was a very interesting year for the Japanese music industry and we at Ongaku to You would like to praise the songs and artists that helped us traverse this amazing year. Each member broke down the year in three categories, Song of the Year, New Artist that we discovered in 2020, and lastly our Artist of the Year. We hope that 2021 will bring many surprises to the Japanese music industry like we received in 2020!

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Luna’s Top Song and Artists of 2020!

Song of the Year: “XXKK” by Koda Kumi

“XXKK” felt like a comeback song to me. Koda Kumi always does great songs, but “XXKK stuck out from her more recent songs as it brought you back to her early-middle career mixed with her current music career.  The chorus is catchy, and the lyrics ring true to me as she is my queen. This is the perfect celebratory track of her 20th-anniversary career and it shows who she is now while incorporating her old self as well. 

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New Artist of the Year: Miyuu

Miyuu was an artist that I discovered randomly on Spotify. I remember that from the moment I heard that first track, "Southern Waves," I was hooked. This track moved me to the point I began checking out all her other music and discovered so much by Miyuu. Her voice is beautiful and despite her having the "girl with guitar" theme like many others, Miyuu gives a breath of fresh air to the industry with her light voice and how it matches with all her composition perfectly.

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Artist of the Year: Awich

Awich has had an amazing year - starting off with the release of Kujyaku in January, then releasing her first major label release, Partition in August. Both releases were amazing and I fell in love with how real her music is, her rap style, her lyrics, and just everything about her. Awich brought something new to the Japanese Hip-Hop scene to me and she stuck out in a good way. She caught my ear with so many tracks this year. Her Kujyaku album was a masterpiece in how it was put together and Awich did not disappoint in Partition. She ended the year with a cover of a famous Christmas song and by being featured in the remix of AI's latest single "Not So Different.”  Awich was a "hit" with me all year and has kept me looking forward to anything new from her.

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Gray’s Top Song and Artists of 2020

Song of the Year: “Ayumi” by YU-TA of IVVY

I still remember the day I discovered these guys and I always knew they would be at the top of my list. For the longest time it was "Alice" which was the first song I ever heard by them, but then I heard "Ayumi" and knew immediately that it would be my number one for the year. I absolutely love the piano that is in this song. Played expertly by YU-TA, he also carries the track vocally, with the rest of the group joining him only on the chorus. YU-TA’s vocals are on point for this track. The whole song just comes together and I fall in love with it each time I hear it. IVVY has put out a lot of great songs for the year but this one is their best. Even if you are not into boy groups, this one is a must listen.

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New Artist of the Year: IVVY

I still remember the day I first discovered IVVY and I've been listening to them ever since. I just love their ability to harmonize and they have a bunch of catchy songs. They just dropped their first album and I'm looking to pick it up soon. This past year will be the year of boy groups for me. There have been a few that I've discovered that I've quite enjoyed, but, of all the artists I've heard over the year, these guys are still my favorite. I look forward to hearing more music by them. My number two song is "Alice" which is just a showcase of how you take a generic song and make it memorable with awesome vocal work and fantastic rap at the end. 

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Artist of the Year: Da-ICE

Man, I wasn't expecting to fall in love with Da-iCE the way I did, but I'm glad I took the plunge. It all started with Sota's song he did with Beverly, "Endless Love". I just fell in love with his performance in that song and I was encouraged to go back and check out Da-iCE because I had seen them around but never felt like looking them up. So, I checked out their album Face, which came out in April, and I've had that album on repeat ever since. Sota is my favorite mostly due to how I discovered the group, but all the guys are fantastic. They really bridge the idea of vocals and dance-heavy so well. They have a ton of songs, so it's hard to just sit there and listen to them without getting up to dance your butt off. I've been busted in public dancing to Da-iCE a few times, and this in a year when I'm not getting out as much as normal. I'm so glad I checked these guys out. I'm hoping to pick up Face physically soon and I'm super excited for Six which is due to come out close to my birthday. Da-iCE has really made my 2020, and to me there is no other group I could imagine taking this spot for me.

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Ken’s Top Song and Artist of 2020

Song of the Year: Stinging Spica by Polkadot Stingray 

Honestly, this track was going to be my number one since March or so. I loved this track and it was the small ray of hope that kept me going throughout the year that was 2020. Its simple composition is something that I can get lost in hours on end, and in fact, I’ve done exactly that while doing articles. The guitar work done by both was something that just intices me even more to the track every time. 

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New Artist of the Year: Daichi Yamamoto

Honestly, for New Artist of the Year this was a very easy choice for me to make, as listening to Yamamoto has been a treat for the eyes and ears for a genre that I only listen to once in a while. His various demos on his YouTube channel is what won me over, to be honest. The Tokyo Drift remix is absolute fire and really shows his range and diversity. That one spark of “Blue Berry” ignited a passion for me to dive deep into his discography. 

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Artist of the Year: Polkadot Stingray

Now. for overall Artist of the Year, this was another easy pick as Polkadot Stingray, as a whole, had a very sold year for me with three digital singles, one mini-album and one full album that were, in my opinion, just hit after hit even in this horrible year that was 2020. Polkadot was also one of the first groups to transition to streaming concerts back in June, when the ongoing pandemic was reaching in Japan, and proved that artists with big labels backing them can make this successful. With the release of their album, Nanimono, in December, the band has no plans on backing down for 2021 and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for fans.

Daichi Yamamoto Serves His Blueberries With Latest Music Video!

Rapper Daichi Yamamoto released the music video for his track “Blueberry” on his YouTube channel. The track was released on his brand new EP Elephant In My Room which dropped across all digital music streaming platforms the week of August 10. It shows off just how much Yamamoto is a master of his craft, spitting out rhymes that are unmatched. Directed by Yuki Hori, the video takes a more vintage feel as it was filmed on a 16mm film camera with a vintagely grainy quality interspersed throughout the video.

Check out the music video in question along with the digital streaming link for Elephant In My Room below!

Daichi Yamamoto「Elephant In My Room」

1. Splash [ Prod. KM ]

2. Netsukikyu [ Prod. grooveman Spot ]

3. Ajisai [ Prod. Flat Stanley ]

4. Blueberry [ Prod. QUNIMUNE ]

5. Radio Feat. 5lack [ Prod. 5lack ]

6. Spotless [ Prod. Daichi Yamamoto ]

Ken's Ongaku Go for August 2020!

Another month down from 2020 and we at Ongaku to You would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms with Apple Music being featured on this site.

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“Blueberry” by Daichi Yamamoto

Missing that western R&B/ Rap music I get during my morning work, in-d was the initial step to Daichi Yamamoto. He had a lot of impressive tracks off of his latest EP Elephant in My Room but “Blueberry” scratched that itch that I needed for western style. It’s beautiful yet haunting composition is something that needs to be heard. Yamamoto’s rap skill is nothing to sneeze at and goes above Music Corner alum Sorane’s skill and I put him high in that regard in the Japanese music industry.  Yamamoto left a great first impression on his style and cadence from this track and I can’t wait to dive into the rest of his discography.

Check out “Blueberry” here along with the music video below!

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“Free” by Polkadot Stingray

While released back in July, I didn’t get a chance to listen to it during our whole ordeal with Kenshi, however, I had high expectations for this song due to their previous track “Stinging Spica” already being in the race for song of the year. While not reaching the top parse, it reaches that bite size goodness a solid pop-rock band needs to be. That one simple act will always make me go back to tracks like this all too often. 

Check out “Free” here along with its music video below!

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“Your Love” by SIRUP

Continuing from my R&B/ Hip-Hop trance that I was put into this month, SIRUP was an artist that I kept going back to. From my rotation last month, “Your Love” was always that second pick from his discography. The craft and skill SIRUP has shown in this song was just absolutely fantastic and shows that he’s enjoying every bit of it. From the high energy and simplistic composition to going above and beyond with his vocal range, it’s a track that needs to be heard.

Check out the music video for “Your Love” along with the track here!

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“Blue” by LUCKY TAPES feat. Kojikoji

I was absolutely ecstatic about this collaboration as I’ve been high on LUCKY TAPES for years since starting the podcast. Kojikoji was an up-and-coming vocalist that I’ve been keeping my eye on since the abundant of collaborations that she as already done with similar artists. One of the things that I just love about this track is that the vocalist Kai doesn’t do anything dance while the track keeps the composition simple and not overbearing. From that one simple act, it puts both his and Kojikoji’s vocals into the forefront and entices you to keep listening. The track had gone above and beyond my expectations and was the main reason I did a Music Corner about them in the first place. 

Check out the track here along with the lyric video below!

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 “Fireworks” by Daoko and Kenshi Yonezu

Due to our podcast doing an Artist Spotlight about Yonezu last month, one of his tracks was going to bleed over into my heavy rotation. “Fireworks” was one of the first songs I honestly fell in love with from Yonezu that I didn’t know it was from him originally. Its beautiful composition brings out the best of both vocalists. While the solo versions of the song were just ok, the original duet version is absolutely fantastic and in my opinion the best work that both Daoko and Yonezu have done.

Check out the music video along with the song here!