Encounter J-Rap And Come Out Unharmed: Taro Soul’s “Soul Dreamer” (Review)

I’ve been taking some risks with my musical tastes lately. I have a cautious optimism when it comes to hip-hop. The mainstream American hip-hop scene I consider to be either disturbing or dead. But indie hip-hop and international hip-hop have shown some promise.

So I decided to give the “J-Rap” genre a chance. I suspected it might not be good, since even Japanese musicians tend to turn to Western artists to help perform hip-hop themes (see: Persona 3). At any rate, Ki/oon records has been promoting the artist Taro Soul quite a bit. The guy seems to have a sense of humor, as his second single, “Soul Dreamer,” features a sleeping chimpanzee on a bed for the front cover. On the reverse side, you see Taro Soul in the same position. With those images in mind, I popped in the “Soul Dreamer” single, hoping for the best.

Find out if my gamble paid off in our review after the jump.

The titular track from the single, “Soul Dreamer,” isn’t even a rap song. There is no rhymed, spoken word to be found. It’s an R&B “soul” piece. But it’s surprisingly catchy. Taro Soul, in standard Japanese pop star fashion, indiscriminately throws English words among the Japanese words. The chorus ends with the hook line “stay dreaming, dreamer!” This is a surprisingly uplifting and inspirational piece. It borders on cheesy, but it’s not like we’re dipping in a big fondue pot of cheese. Not yet, anyway.

The B-side, “Shake and Bake,” immediately draws to my mind memories of Talladega Nights. Other than in reference to the food product, anyone who uses the phrase “shake and bake” has a dated sense of lyrical style. Alright everyone, it’s time to shake and bake! There are a lot more English lyrics scattered throughout this spoken-word rap, and many of them come out painfully butchered. Just one more disadvantage for we Gaijin listening to Japanese music: the horrid rendering of English words bothers us. It doesn’t bother them.

The single rounds out with an instrumental version of Soul Dreamer, as well as an acoustic/unplugged mix of Taro Soul’s first single, “Everytime.”

While I’m not impressed with the overall artistry of “Taro Soul,” the single itself is catchy enough to warrant a listen. This learning experience could have gone far worse for me, but it didn’t.

What about you? Do you have any decent (or horrendous) J-Rap artists to recommend to us? We may just check them out at your request!