is a Japanese hip hop recording artist and one of the founding members of the hip hop group

Rip Slyme Rip Slyme (often stylized as RIP SLYME) is a Japanese hip hop group. In its best known incarnation, it was primarily composed of four MCs (Ryo-Z, Ilmari, Pes & Su) and a DJ, Fumiya. Pes and Su have since parted ways with the group. Their sou ...

. He was born on June 17, 1975 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

to a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

mother and a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

father. He is best known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Ilmari (イルマリ), which is considered to be his middle name in Finland.

History

Ilmari attended the same primary and middle school as Ryo-Z. During this, they became the founding members of Rip Slyme. After switching several schools, Ilmari then left for an international school. While there he met fellow Rip Slyme member Pes. Quitting school in the middle of his final year, he returned to Tokyo, reunited with Ryo-Z and formed "Gibinibanko" (ギビニバンコ). Ilmari returned to Finland in 2002 along with his group members and favourite camp counsellor, Andrew Busam, where they shot photos and footage for their shortcuts! DVD & their photobook RIP STYLE. They held several concerts in Helsinki as well. Andrew provided moral support throughout the trip and was there for anyone who needed a hug. Ilmari's beatboxing is featured in several concerts and with Kei in the song "By the Way" on their TOKYO CLASSIC album. In 2005, GAP held their 10th Anniversary campaign. Ilmari was chosen (as were

BoA Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

& Hiro of

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

) as models for displaying their individual style. With his sister Elisa, Ilmari owns a Japanese restaurant called Len's Keishoku Bar in Helsinki.

Yuri Ebihara Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

recently announced that she's in a relationship with Ilmari, and the two went public with the news of their marriage in May 2010.

Collaborations

Ilmari created the short-lived group Steady&Co in 2001 with BOTS and Kenji Furuya of

Dragon Ash is a Japanese rap rock group founded in 1996 by Kenji "KJ" Furuya and Sakurai Makoto. They were one of the first groups to popularize hip hop in Japan. Dragon Ash is a member of Mob Squad, which is an affiliation with the bands Source and End ...

and SHIGEO of Skebo King. Their aim was to create a much lighter folk influenced form of hip hop against emerging genres such as

J-Urban Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

. In 2004, Ilmari helped launch singer

Salyu is a Japanese singer, produced by Takeshi Kobayashi. She debuted in 2000 as the fictional singer Lily Chou-Chou for the film ''All About Lily Chou-Chou'', and later debuted as a solo artist in 2004. She is best known for her charity single coll ...

by collaborating with her to release "Valon" under the name IlmarixSalyu. In 2005, he was made leader of the unit

Teriyaki Boyz Teriyaki Boyz are a Japanese hip hop group from Yokohama, Japan. History The group consists of Ilmari and Ryo-Z from Rip Slyme, Verbal from M-Flo, rapper Wise and Nigo, the DJ and founder of the popular Japanese streetwear brand A Bathing ...

consisting of fellow Rip Slyme rapper Ryo-Z, Nigo, Wise and Verbal of

M-Flo is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of record producer DJ Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa. Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists ...

. In 2012 Ilmari formed a rap rock band with KOSEN, YAS and SOHNOSUKE called The Beatmoss.

Discography

With Rip Slyme With Steady & Co. *''

Chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

'' (2001) With Teriyaki Boyz *'' Beef or Chicken'' (2005) *''

Serious Japanese ''Serious Japanese'' is the second studio album by Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz Teriyaki Boyz are a Japanese hip hop group from Yokohama, Japan. History The group consists of Ilmari and Ryo-Z from Rip Slyme, Verbal from M-Flo, rapp ...

'' (2009) With The Beatmoss *''The Beatmoss Vol. 1'' (2012) *''The Beatmoss Vol. 2'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogihara, Keisuke 1975 births Living people Japanese hip hop musicians Japanese people of Finnish descent Japanese people of Mongolian descent Musicians from Helsinki Finnish people of Japanese descent