is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of Taku Takahashi, Verbal and

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists for each song over three albums, including the likes of

Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, ''Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese O ...

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ; born September 20, 1977) is a retired Japanese singer. She rose to prominence as a Japanese idol, teen idol, and transitioned into a leading Pop music, pop artist due to her versatility across music styles and visual presentatio ...

Bonnie Pink , known by her stage name Bonnie Pink, is a Japanese people, Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She writes and composes all her songs, and plays guitar and piano. Asada has said that the name Bonnie Pink is random and has no special meanin ...

, Koda Kumi and BoA. Their mainstream success and critical acclaim established them as the most iconic and influential hip-hop production team in Japan with success throughout Asia. Taku Takahashi and Verbal also started successful side-projects outside M-Flo, such as the

Teriyaki Boyz Teriyaki Boyz are a Japanese hip hop group from Yokohama, Japan. History The group consists of Keisuke Ogihara, Ilmari and Ryo-Z from Rip Slyme, Verbal (rapper), Verbal from M-Flo, rapper Wise (rapper), Wise and Nigo, the DJ and founder of the p ...

and Global Astro Alliance collaborating with international producers and artists such as

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

and the

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

. In 2008, the group announced a hiatus, stating that each member would be focusing on their respective side projects. In 2012 the group ended their hiatus with the release of ''

Square One Square One may refer to: Film and TV * ''Square One: Michael Jackson'', a 2019 investigative documentary about the first allegations of child sexual abuse brought by the Chandler family *''Square One Television'', a children's television series ...

'' on March 14, 2012. On December 14, 2017,

returned to the group and they announced that they will release new material in 2018. At the same time, M-Flo also released a digital compilation album called UNIVERSE to celebrate past years of the group, that contained all the 150 songs they released since their debut.

History

Before M-Flo

and Verbal (born as Ryu Young Gi orean: /, Hanja: first met as students at St. Mary's International School in Tokyo. The pair collaborated in the group N.M.D., in which Takahashi was drummer and Verbal emceed, as well as throwing dance parties where they often performed together freestyle. Following his high school graduation, Verbal attended

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

while Taku relocated to study in Los Angeles. They are both fluent in English and use it frequently in their songs. Following their return to Japan, the duo began performing in clubs and on television hoping to attract the attention of record companies. In 1998, Taku met Asakawa Masaji, the director of management company Artimage and DJ of the group GTS. Masaji invited Taku to produce a reworking of

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

's ''

The Way We Were ''The Way We Were'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Arthur Laurents adapted the screenplay from his own 1972 novel of the same name, which was based on his ...

'', with a rap by Verbal, originally intended as a GTS release. The song was released on vinyl in 1998 on

Avex Trax is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group. History Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from othe ...

's Rhythm Republic indie imprint and later on the compilation album The Intergalactic Collection ~ギャラコレ~, and sold about 1000 units.

Forming M-Flo

Following the release of "The Way We Were", Verbal and Taku invited Elizabeth Sakura Narita, who with a Colombian background is better known by her stage name of

LISA Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

, a friend while at St. Mary's who at the time was performing under the pseudonym "Unika" solo and in several underground projects trying to gain credit as a musician, to collaborate with them on a second single, "Been So Long", released under the name Mediarite-Flow. The name was a re-spelling of 'meteorite flow' as Verbal hoped the group would have a big impact in media and "surprise the unsuspecting masses with some good music." It was shortened by the group's label to "M-Flo". The song was released on a limited-run vinyl with Rhythm Republic in 1998, attracting the attention of the major Avex Trax sublabel

Rhythm Zone (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 2000 ...

1999–2000: Planet Shining

The group's first release with Rhythm Zone, "The Tripod E.P.", was a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single which included a re-release of "Been So Long" alongside new track "Flo Jack" and was released on July 7, 1999. The EP gained the group a #7 position on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

charts, and "been so long" was licensed by

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

for inclusion in beatmania IIDX alongside the songs "The Rhyme Brokers" and "Theme from "flo-jack" ". A further four singles were released prior to the release of the group's first full-length album, '' Planet Shining'', on February 23, 2000. The album reached #6 in the Oricon charts.

2000–2002: Expo Expo, Lisa's departure

Following the release of the ''Planet Shining'' remix album '' The Replacement Percussionists'' in August 2000, the group released the first single from their second album, "How You Like Me Now?", on September 1, 2000. In January of the following year they released "Come Again", which achieved a #4 position in the Oricon charts and was their highest-selling single to date, selling 389,760 units, landing in the top 50 highest-selling singles in Japan for 2001. The group's second album, '' Expo Expo'', was released on March 28, 2001, and reached #3 on the Oricon charts. ''Expo Expo'' was followed with a Japanese tour, released on CD and DVD in September 2001, and an album of remixes from ''Expo Expo'', '' Expo Bouei Robot Gran Sonik'', in November. Following the release of '' Gran Sonik'', Lisa announced her departure from the group to pursue a solo career in early 2002. The split was not amicable following an argument at a TV show shoot, though Verbal has stated that it was exaggerated and did not want her to leave. He described the group as "Guns N' Roses minus Axl Rose" at that time.

2003–2009: m-flo Loves...

After a period of inactivity, during which Verbal and Taku engaged themselves in a series of side-projects, M-Flo released a collection of collaborations entitled '' Sotoshigoto: m-flo Turns It Out!'' and on March 5, 2003 a fan-selected

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album, '' The Intergalactic Collection ~ギャラコレ~''. The last track on the album hinted at the arrival of a new vocalist to replace Lisa, although the vocalist's identity was not revealed. Inspired by

The Neptunes The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...

, on June 6, 2003, the group released a pair of collaborations with R&B singer

, ''Reeewind!'' and ''I Like It''. The singles were released under the names "M-Flo Loves Crystal Kay" and "Crystal Kay Loves M-Flo" respectively and both charted in the top 10, providing

with her highest-selling single to date. ''Reeewind!'' began a string of collaborations that spanned four years and three albums. 2004's '' Astromantic'' featured collaborations with top names in Japanese pop,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, R&B and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

including

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

and

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...

and rose to number 2 on the Oricon charts and to number 17 on the World Charts. The album was supported by a live DVD and remix album '' Astromantic Charm School''. The album provided the group with its highest-selling single since "come again". The group's collaboration with Korean singer BoA, "the Love Bug", reached number 8 on Oricon charts. The group released their follow-up album '' Beat Space Nine'' in 2005. The record featured a heavier electronic sound than the jazz-oriented '' Astromantic'' and included collaborations with Kahimi Karie and

Akiko Wada is a Japanese singer, tarento and businesswoman from Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. She has various nicknames, one being "Akko". Due to her above-average height (174 cm or 5’8.5"), she is also nicknamed "jotei" (女帝), meaning " ...

. The album's final track, "Tripod Baby", included a cameo by former M-Flo vocalist Lisa. '' Beat Space Nine'' provided the group with their highest-selling album to date and their first Oricon #1. The album was supported by a live DVD and the remix album '' Dope Space Nine''. The third and final album in the M-Flo Loves series, '' Cosmicolor'', was released on March 28, 2007. It included collaborations with Kumi Koda, Snacky Chan,

and

, as well as a second collaboration with

, intended as a symbolic close to the M-Flo Loves... project. The album achieved a #2 Oricon position and was supported by a live DVD. A two-disc remix album, spanning remixes both from '' Cosmicolor'' and songs from M-Flo's previous four albums, '' ElectriColor'', was released on September 26, 2007. On February 13, 2008, the group released a collection of

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

from the ''M-Flo Loves...'' series, '' Award Supernova: Loves Best''. The album debuted at #1 on the Oricon charts. It also featured a final new collaboration for the series, Love Comes and Goes, with Emi Hinouchi, Ryohei Yamamoto, Emyli, Yoshika, and Lisa. Verbal has said that during the "M-Flo loves..." period "some vocalists that we thought were nice were hard to work with ecausethat are very picky because they are used to controlling people." He singled out

as the most pleasantly surprising to work with. In 2009, the group celebrated their tenth anniversary with two shows at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, capacity 13,000. The shows marked the end of the "M-Flo loves..." period and featured many special guests, including BoA and

2011–present: Reformation and Lisa's Return

In September 2011, M-Flo performed at the Reebok event, Reethym of Lite. Here, they performed a new collaboration song with Reebok titled "RUN". The song features guest vocalist Minami from CREAM (Japanese group). On March 14, 2012 the first M-Flo album in five years ''

'' was released. The group has declined to comment on who will contribute vocals to the album. On March 13, 2013, one year after ''Square One'', M-Flo released their seventh studio album, '' Neven''. The album includes the two singles, "Tonite" and "Lover" released on December 5, 2012 and February 6, 2013, and "Transformerz" which was composed as an opening theme for the Japanese broadcast of the television series '' Transformers: Prime''. In early 2018, Lisa returned to the group, releasing "The Tripod E.P. 2", a sequel to their major debut "The Tripod E.P.". This marked their first release with Lisa in over 15 years. M-Flo performed the ending theme "against all gods" for the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series ''

Black Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūki Tabata. It started in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' in February 2015. The series ran in the magazine until August 2023, and moved to ...

''. Their third full-length studio album with Lisa and ninth overall album ''Kyo'' was released on November 6, 2019. The ''m-flo loves'' series made its return March 6, 2020 with a compilation album of previous M-Flo loves songs and a new song titled "tell me tell me''"'', featuring Sik-K, eill, and Taichi Mukai. That was followed up in June with ''RUN AWAYS'' featuring

chelmico chelmico (チェルミコ ''cherumiko'') is a rap duo from Japan composed of Rachel Watashiga and Mamiko Suzuki, known professionally as Rachel and Mamiko, respectively. 'chelmico' is a portmanteau of the duo's names. Career chelmico formed i ...

Outside M-Flo

Both Verbal and Taku have headed up several side projects outside M-Flo. Verbal heads Rhythm Zone imprint, espionage records, where he produces all-girl

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

outfit

Heartsdales Heartsdales was a Japanese-American hip pop duo composed of sisters and , known by their stage names Rum and Jewels, respectively. Yumi was born on December 17, 1981, and Emi on December 4, 1976, in Tokyo, Japan. Their family moved to the Yon ...

and collaborates with Mic Banditz. Taku also heads his own Rhythm Zone imprint, Tachytelic Records. He released an album of remixes by other artists, ''Tachytelic Night: Welcomes You to the Far East'', in 2003. He also works with Ravex, a collaboration with fellow Avex DJs Tomoyuki Tanaka and Shinichi Osawa established to mark Avex's 20th anniversary. Their debut album, ''Trax'', was released on April 24, 2009, following ''I Rave U'' and ''Believe in Love''. Verbal and Taku have both acted as sometime producers and collaborators for artists who came to prominence largely because of their participation in the M-Flo Loves series, including Emi Hinouchi, Yoshika, Emyli, Ryohei Yamamoto and Lisa. Since '' Astromantic'', these artists have been collectively referred to as the Global Astro Alliance. In addition to the earlier ''Sotoshigoto: M-Flo Turns It Out!'', Verbal and Taku have released three compilations of collaborations between M-Flo, the Global Astro Alliance, and other artists. The first, '' M-Flo Inside'', was released in 2004 shortly before the first album in the series. The second, '' M-Flo Inside: Works Best II'', was released on July 26, 2006. The third, ''M-Flo Inside: Works Best III'', was released on March 19, 2009.

Discography

* '' Planet Shining'' (2000) * '' Expo Expo'' (2001) * '' Astromantic'' (2004) * '' Beat Space Nine'' (2005) * '' Cosmicolor'' (2007) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Neven'' (2013) * ''Future Is Wow'' (2014) * ''Kyo'' (2019)

Video games

M-Flo has contributed to the video games industry by both providing songs for games, and by advertising for these games. For the first versions of the video game Beatmania IIDX, M-Flo has contributed short versions of the songs "L.O.T. (Love Or Truth)", "Mirrorball Satellite 2012", "The Theme from Flo Jack", "Been so Long", and "The Rhyme Brokers". Another music related video game,

Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance ...

, featured the songs "The Theme from Flo Jack", "Been so Long", and "The Rhyme Brokers". Another song "Come Again" also appears on Reflec Beat, Jubeat, and Maimai. A version of the track "Tripod Baby" (from the album Beat Space Nine) was re-released for the ''

Shadow the Hedgehog is a character created by the Japanese game developers Takashi Iizuka (game designer), Takashi Iizuka, Shiro Maekawa, and Kazuyuki Hoshino. He is a major character in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. An Anthropomorphism, anthropomorph ...

'' video game that came out in November 2005. A commercial for the game, featuring Taku and Verbal, was also aired. Taku and Verbal are big fans of the character

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

. The remix can be found on the Japanese iTunes version (as a bonus track) of the remix album, Dope Space Nine.

Awards

References

External links

*
M-Flo Nippop ProfileM-Flo.net : Discography/WorksM-Flo Verbal official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:M Flo Musical groups established in 1997 1997 establishments in Japan Video game musicians Avex Group artists Japanese hip-hop groups Japanese pop music groups Musical groups from Setagaya LDH (company) artists