Jerome Charles White Jr. (born September 4, 1981), better known by his stage name , is an American

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, pop ...

singer of African-American and Japanese descent who is the first

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

enka singer in

Japanese music In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern.ref> The word for "music" in Japanese language, Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comf ...

history. In 2018, Jero announced that he was taking an indefinite hiatus from his music career to focus on a career in computers.

Biography

Jero began singing Enka at the age of six and continued to study the Japanese language all throughout high school and college.
Jero: Japan's First African-American Enka Singer, February 12, 2009 He also studied Japanese for some time at the Kansai Gaidai University school of foreign languages.
Jero, Enka's First African-American Star, February 12, 2009 Jero majored in information science at

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and graduated in 2003 and moved to Japan in the same year. Two months after arriving in Japan, he entered the

NHK Nodo Jiman , also known by its English title as ''NHK Amateur Singing Contest'', is a long-running TV program broadcast on NHK TV and NHK radio in Japan. History ''Nodo Jiman'' ("Proud of my voice") features amateur singers who live in the locality wher ...

competition broadcast on TV. Jero first began pursuing his dream to become an Enka artist because of the influence of his Japanese grandmother Takiko, who had met his grandfather, an African-American serviceman, at a dance during World War II. They married, had a daughter, Harumi - now a department store sales clerk - and eventually moved to his grandfather's hometown, Pittsburgh. His parents divorced when he was young and he was reared amid a strong sense of Japanese culture.Festival Feature: A Japanese Idol From Pittsburgh

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

, March 28, 2009 His grandmother, originally from

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan, first introduced Jero to Enka and it was under her guidance that he grew to love the genre as a child. Jero, who majored in information technology at the University of Pittsburgh, did not initially imagine himself in a career as an Enka singer.
Jero: Japan's First Black Enka Singer, February 12, 2009 Rather, after he permanently moved to Japan, his main forms of employment were as an English teacher at NOVA and as a computer engineer. He only began to actively work towards becoming an Enka singer because he had promised his grandmother that one day he would someday perform at the annual Kohaku Uta Gassen song show. As a result, he actively participated in numerous singing contests while he continued to work as a computer engineer and eventually achieved real success after only two months since he had arrived in Japan. His grandmother never was able to see her grandson achieve Enka fame, she died in 2005, three years before he became famous. His first single, , was released in Japan on February 20, 2008. It entered 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 at number 4. Umi Yuki, references the Sea of Japan, but Jero has admitted that the only ocean he has ever really seen was in California. From May 21, 2008, Jero appeared in a Japanese TV

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

for Kirin "Fire" coffee, the first time he had appeared in a TV commercial. In October 2008, he was interviewed on

CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...

's '' TalkAsia''. He won Best New Artist Award in 50th Japan Record Awards on December 30, 2008. Jero was selected to appear on the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen,

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

New Year's Eve musical spectacular, on December 31, 2008. In his participation, he fulfilled a pledge he made to his dying grandmother to appear on the yearly competition. Jero appeared wearing a black and white shirt bearing the image of his grandmother. He also appeared on the following year's show. Jero made his first major U.S. appearance on March 28, 2009 during the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Jero's first official U.S. appearance was a live concert to over 500 fans at the

, his alma mater, on August 27, 2008. Jero completed his first official US concert tour by singing to a sold-out house at the Palace of Fine Arts in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on March 28, 2010 and at the Aratani Japan America Theatre in

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on March 31, 2010. In addition, he also appeared in the 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration of the

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles on March 30, 2010.

Appeal

African-American culture African-American culture, also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American/Bl ...

has been popular among a segment of young Japanese since the mid-1990s, so many are hoping that he will be able to spark interest in enka in the younger generation. He held a concert on February 20, 2008 in

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

, a popular hangout for young people. Enka, a product of the late 1940s, is often viewed today by the music industry as commercially obsolete. However, there is hope for Enka yet as Jero's fanbase is not limited to older women who grew up with the genre but also a new and emerging younger fanbase who before would never have been thought of as potential fans for the genre.
US rapper Jerome White Junior aka Jero finds enka stardom in Japan, February 12, 2009 Jero's devotion to the memory of his grandmother and his image as a well-educated individual have helped him to win over the hearts of older fans, while younger fans are drawn to him and his music because of the way he has revitalized the genre by blending it with a dash of hip hop. From the start, Jero always wanted to keep his hip hop attire, but his record company was a bit hesitant at first. Most Enka singers wear a kimono in their performances, which Jero felt was inappropriate for him. After pleading with his management company, he was allowed to maintain the hip hop image and to great success as it is one of the many factors that contribute to his popularity.

Discography

Singles

* "Umiyuki" (海雪) (2008.02.20) * "Eisa" (えいさ) (2009.01.28) * "Yancha michi" (やんちゃ道) (2009.04.15) * "Tsumeato" (爪跡) (2009.08.19) * "Usonaki" (嘘泣き) (2010.06.16) # Usonaki ��泣き# Otokonaki ��泣き# Shiki no uta ��季の歌* "Tada...Namida" (ただ...涙) (2011.06.22) # Tada...Namida ��だ...涙# Kaenjyu ��焔樹

Digital Songs

* "Mezamashi yume ondo" (めざまし夢音頭) (2008.08.13) * "Shiren" (試練) (2008.12.03) * "Wakeari ressha" (訳あり列車) (2011.03.30)

Albums

* ''Covers'' (カバーズ) (2008.06.25) # Hisame ��雨# Kimi koishi ��恋し# Yozura ��空# Mizukigami ��鏡# Honmoku meruhen ��牧メルヘン# Pusanko e kaere ��山港へ帰れ# Saraba koibito ��らば恋人* ''Covers'' (カバーズ) Special Edition (CD + DVD) (2008.06.25) * ''Yakusoku'' (約束) (2009.02.25) # Eisa ��いさ# Tokyo hyouryuu ��京漂流# Aruzenchin touhikou ��ルゼンチン逃避行# Shiren ��練# Hare butai ��れ舞台# Kyoko to takashi ��ョーコとタカシ# Rurou no machi ��浪の街# Osaka jewel ��阪ジュエル# Nanohana hatake de tsukamae te ��の花畑でつかまえて# Umiyuki ��雪* ''Covers 2'' (カバーズ 2) (2009.09.23) # Matteiru onna ��っている女# Shishuuki ��秋期# Aijin ��人# Orizuru ��鶴# Rashoumon ��生門# Tasogare ��昏# Yukiguni ��國# Hajimeteno machide ��めての街で* ''Covers 3 - Roots of Jero'' (カバーズ 3) (2010.06.16) # Echigojishi no uta ��後獅子の唄# Tsugaru heiya ��軽平野# Amerika bashi ��メリカ橋# Chigiri ��り# Yozakura oshichi ��桜お七# Tsugaru koionna ��軽恋女# J * ''Best and Rare'' (ベスト&レア) (2011.03.30) # Umiyuki ��雪# Hisame ��雨# Hare butai ��れ舞台# Yurakuchode arimasho ��楽町で逢いましょう# Tsuemato ��跡# Shiki no uta ��季の歌# Shiren ��練# Usonaki ��泣き# Rurou no machi ��浪の街# Hajimeteno machide ��めての街で# Eisa ��いさ# Mezamashi yume ondo ��ざまし夢音頭# Yancha michi ��んちゃ道# Wakeari ressha ��あり列車# Taitoru mitei ��イトル未定* ''Covers 4'' (カバーズ 4) (2011.06.22) # Soshite Kobe ��して神戸# Mado ��# Tasogaremai・rabu ��そがれマイ・ラブ# Nora ��ラ# Soemoncho blues ��右衛門町ブルース# Itoshiki hibi ��しき日々# Katteni shiyagare ��手にしやがれ# Sakurazaka ��坂

Movies

* ''Donju'' as Akira. (2009)

Commercial tie-ins

* ''Hisame'' for ''Kirin Fire Cafe Zero'' (2008) * ''Shiren'' for ''Fushigi no Dungeon Furai no Shiren DS2-Sabaku no Majō'' (2008) * ''Hare Butai'' for ''Minna no Uta'' (2008) * ''Rurō no Machi'' for ''Donju'' (2009) * ''Yancha Michi'' for ''Crayon Shin-chan: Otakebe! Kasukabe Yasei Ōkoku'' (2009) * ''Kyoko to Takashi'' for Hokkaidō Railway Company (2009) * ''Shiki no uta'' for Toyo Suisan (2010)

References

External links

Jero's Official Website

Jero's Official Page at Victor Entertainment

Jero's Official Blog

Jero's Former Official Blog
*
Jero - Video interview by the Japanese American National Museum, Discover Nikkei project
(March 30, 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jero 1981 births Living people Singers from Pittsburgh 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Japanese-language singers of the United States American musicians of Japanese descent Enka singers Japanese male singers Japanese people of African-American descent University of Pittsburgh alumni American expatriates in Japan 21st-century American singers 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers