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Jerome Charles White Jr. (born September 4, 1981), better known by his stage name , is an American
Jero: Japan's First African-American Enka Singer, February 12, 2009 He also studied Japanese for some time at the
Jero, Enka's First African-American Star, February 12, 2009 Jero majored in
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
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.
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 Musicians from Pittsburgh 20th-century African-American male singers Japanese-language singers American musicians of Japanese descent Enka singers Japanese male singers University of Pittsburgh alumni American expatriates in Japan Singers from Pennsylvania 21st-century American singers 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers
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, ...
singer of African-American and Japanese descent who is the first black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
enka singer in Japanese music 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
, almost always abbreviated ''Kansai Gaidai'' (関西外大), is located in Hirakata, Osaka, Japan. It is a private university focusing on foreign language studies. Kansai is the proper name of the large region where it is located, which inclu ...
school of foreign languages.Jero, Enka's First African-American Star, February 12, 2009 Jero majored in
information science
Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of informatio ...
at University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
and graduated in 2003 and moved to Japan in the same year. Two months after arriving in Japan, he entered the NHK Nodo Jiman
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 where the competition is held. The first competition was held on the radio ...
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 PittsburghWashington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
, March 28, 2009
His grandmother, originally from Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
, 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
is the Japanese word for amber.
Kohaku (琥珀) may refer to:
Music
* Kohaku, a song by Mikuni Shimokawa
Characters
* Kohaku (''Dr. Stone''), a character in the manga series ''Dr. Stone''
* Kohaku (''InuYasha''), a character in ''InuYash ...
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 and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...
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:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
for Kirin "Fire" coffee, the first time he had appeared in a TV commercial. In October 2008, he was interviewed on CNN International
CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inte ...
's ''TalkAsia
''TalkAsia'' is a weekly half-hour interview show on CNN International, produced from the network's Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong. Each month, the show features a candid and in-depth conversation between a CNN correspondent and a newsma ...
''.
He won Best New Artist Award in 50th Japan Record Awards
The 50th Annual Japan Record Awards took place at the New National Theatre in Shibuya, Tokyo, on December 30, 2008, starting at 6:30PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS.
Performers
* Wink
* Kome Kome Club
* Aki Yashiro
* ...
on December 30, 2008.
Jero was selected to appear on the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen
The , referred to from hereon as "Kōhaku", was aired on December 31, 2008 from NHK Hall in Japan.
The music show on New Year's Eve is broadcast on both television and radio, and divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing te ...
, NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
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
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington, D.C. Ozaki gave the trees to enhan ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Jero's first official U.S. appearance was a live concert to over 500 fans at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
, 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
The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
on March 28, 2010 and at the Aratani Japan America Theatre in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
on March 31, 2010. In addition, he also appeared in the 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles on March 30, 2010.
Appeal
African-American culture 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 inShibuya
Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...
, 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'' forToyo Suisan
, best known as , is a Japanese company specializing in ramen noodles, through its Maruchan brand, seafood and frozen and refrigerated
foods. It is the fourth-largest transnational seafood corporation.
History
The company was established in 195 ...
(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 Musicians from Pittsburgh 20th-century African-American male singers Japanese-language singers American musicians of Japanese descent Enka singers Japanese male singers University of Pittsburgh alumni American expatriates in Japan Singers from Pennsylvania 21st-century American singers 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers