Rip Slyme (often stylized as RIP SLYME) is a

Japanese hip hop Japanese hip hop is hip hop music from Japan. It is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing hip hop records in the early 1980s. Japanese hip hop tends to be most directly influenced by old school 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 sound is influenced by

old-school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...

and other western rappers such as

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown ...

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macf ...

, the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...

and

Leaders of the New School Leaders of the New School was an American hip hop group based in Long Island, New York. History The crew was composed of Uniondale, New York, natives Charlie Brown (born Bryan Higgins on September 19, 1970) and Dinco D (born James Jackson on No ...

. During their career, they have released two indie albums, ten major albums, one live album, one indies collection, and three best-of albums. They released six singles as an indie act, and 17 with a major label. On October 31, 2018 the group announced that they were suspending all activities. This announcement came six months after a tabloid alleged that Su was cheating on his wife and the group started conducting activities without him. Rip Slyme’s website has since shut down. Pes left the group as well in November 2017, but this was unknown to the general public until October 2021. On April 15, 2022, Rip Slyme, now the trio of Ryo-Z, Ilmari & Fumiya, returned with the first of what was said to be five monthly singles, "Human Nature". This was followed by the next single, "Gentleman" on May 14, and the third, "After the rain" on June 17.

Members

* Ryo-Z: Ryouji Narita (成田亮治 ''Narita Ryouji''), born July 15, 1974 *

Ilmari Ilmari is a Finnish male given name. It is a short form of Ilmarinen, a mythological smith in the Kalevala. Notable people with the name include: * Ilmari Aalto (1891–1934), Finnish painter * Ilmari Auer (1879–1965), Finnish politician *Ilmar ...

: Keisuke Ogihara (荻原恵介 ''Ogihara Keisuke''), b. June 17, 1975 * DJ Fumiya: Fumiya Takeuchi (竹内文也 ''Takeuchi Fumiya''), b. March 14, 1979

Biography

The group was formed in 1994 by Ryo-Z and Ilmari, who were later joined by Pes (he attended the same school as Ilmari). The Rip in Rip Slyme stands for their initials. Slyme was a popular children's toy at that time. Their name is also a pun on the phrase "lips' rhyme". Winning an amateur rapping contest "Young MCs In Town", they started their musical career with their first album '' Lips Rhyme'' in 1995. Later they added DJ Fumiya (who had studied under East End X Yuri's DJ Yoggy) and Su (previously a backup dancer for East End X Yuri). In 1998 they released their second

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, " Talkin' Cheap" and also took part in

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 En ...

Total Communication Total communication (TC) is an approach to communicating that aims to make use of a number of modes of communication such as signed, oral, auditory, written and visual aids, depending on the particular needs and abilities of the person. History ...

event. Becoming more successful, they signed to

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

in 2000. By then they had released several indie singles including their EP "Underline No. 5" and "Mata Au Hi Made" which had received the help of Fantastic Plastic Machine. "Mata Au Hi Made" was released on

's Indies label. Their first major single was " Stepper's Delight" released 22 March 2001. The title was a play on

The Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's onl ...

's "

Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip-hop track by the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip-hop mus ...

". In general, Fumiya composes most of the music, while Ryo-Z, Pes, Ilmari, and Su write their own lyrics. However, before Fumiya became a member, Pes composed most of the songs. Each member has tried their hand at composing music for Rip Slyme, and Pes occasionally played guitar on some tracks (Such as Home and More & More, for example). Allegedly, Pes was in a rock band before being introduced to hip hop music by Ilmari and Ryo-Z. In 2002, they received

MTV Video Music Awards Japan The MTV Video Music Awards Japan (MTV VMAJ for short) are the Japanese version of the MTV Video Music Awards. Like the MTV Video Music Awards in the United States, in this event artists are awarded for their songs and videos through online votin ...

for "Best Newcomer" and "Best Hip-hop Group". The same year they released a big-budget album "

Tokyo Classic Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

", which became

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's first million-selling hip-hop album, with a sound compared to

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

. Two singles from the album, "Funkastic" and "Rakuen Baby" collected MTV awards in 2003. "Super Shooter", featured as a

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

to their

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Galaxy", is the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the

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

Gantz ''Gantz'' (stylized as ''GANTZ'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected i ...

''. From late 2005 (after the release of ''Good Job!'' in August) through 2006, DJ Fumiya was on extended break, citing illness. For performances, a friend of the band, DJ Soma, was a stand-in. Fumiya's break led to several interesting side projects and collaborations from other members. Fumiya returned to activity for concerts in late summer 2006, and for the Rip Slyme release, ''Epoch''. On 7 July 2007, Rip Slyme performed their single "Nettaiya" at

Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ''Live Earth'' was built upon the beli ...

Kyoto, Japan Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the city ...

. Later that year, they would go on to release their fifteenth major single, "Speed King", and their seventh Warner album, ''Funfair'', shortly after. In summer 2008, they released "Taiyou to Bikini". Later that year, three digital singles would debut, all of which would be on the February 2009 single "Stairs". Rip Slyme released their eighth album, ''Journey'', on June 10, 2009. Rip Slyme has provided voiceover work as well as the ending theme for an episode of the Japanese dub of ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

''. The episode aired on May 6, 2009. In 2010, Rip Slyme was one of the artists launched on Warner Music's new sublabel, unBORDE. In October 2021, during the group's hiatus, Pes announced that he had quietly parted ways with Rip Slyme in November 2017 and stated that "a reunion would be difficult" due to the tensions he had with the other members.

Side projects

Ilmari formed a short lived group with Kj and BOTS of

, and Shigeo of Skebo King called Steady & Co. The group released their debut album ''

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 ...

'' in 2001. Ilmari and Ryo-Z along with Wise, 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 fo ...

, and Nigo the founder of

A Bathing Ape A Bathing Ape (or BAPE) is a Japanese fashion brand founded by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in Ura-Harajuku in 1993.David FischerNIGO Announces His Definitive Departure from BAPE''highsnobiety'', May 25, 2013

formed a super group known as

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 ...

. The Teriyaki Boyz released two albums: '' Beef or Chicken'' (2005) and ''

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). In 2012 Ilmari formed a Hip-Hop/Rock band named The Beatmoss with Kosen, Yas, and Sohnosuke. The group released two albums: ''The Beatmoss Vol. 1'' (2012) and ''The Beatmoss Vol. 2'' (2013). Pes released his first solo album, ''Suteki na Koto'' in 2012.

Discography

*''Talkin' Cheap'' (1998) *''Five'' (2001) *''Tokyo Classic'' (2002) *''Time to Go'' (2003) *''Masterpiece'' (2004) *''Epoch'' (2006) *''Funfair'' (2007) *''Journey'' (2009) *''Star'' (2011) *''Golden Time'' (2013) *''10 (2015)

Awards and nominations

''2002'' *

- Best Hip Hop Artist (Winner) *

- Best New Artist (Winner) *

- Best Live Performance ''2003'' *

- Video of the Year - Rakuen Baby (Winner) *

- Best Group Video - Rakuen Baby (Winner) *

- Best Hip Hop Video - Funktastic (Winner) *

- Album of the Year - Tokyo Classic ''2004'' *

- Best Group Video - Joint *

- Best Hip Hop Video - Joint *

- Best buzzASIA Japan - Joint ''2006'' *

- Best Collaboration Video - Hotei x Rip Slyme - Battle Funkastic (Winner) ''2007'' *

- Best Collaboration Video - Quruli feat. Rip Slyme - Juice ''2008'' *

- Best Hip Hop Video - I.N.G (Winner) *

- Best Group Video - I.N.G ''2009'' *

- Best Pop Video - Taiyou to Bikini

References

External links

Official site

Warner's Rip Slyme Page

Metropolis.japantoday.com
{{Authority control Japanese hip hop groups Japanese pop music groups Musical groups established in 1994 1994 establishments in Japan Musical groups from Kanagawa Prefecture Japanese boy bands