, better known by his stage name KOHH, 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 ho ...

recording artist from Oji,

Kita, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is City of Kita. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 340,287, and a ...

Early life

Chiba was born in Oji, Kita, Tokyo. He was raised by a single mother along with his younger brother. His younger brother is also an up-and-coming

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. His father committed suicide by jumping off an apartment building while high on drugs; his mother struggled with an addiction to

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Meth ...

. KOHH grew up around violence and drugs along with his crew of local friends who share the same experience. His tough environment along with his desire to become a rapper gave him a head start in the Japanese hip-hop scene.

Career

KOHH started producing and recording music at the age of 18 with while making various mixtapes, until he met producer 318 and started releasing material under the label GUNSMITH PRODUCTION. He saw an early underground success within the sub-urban Japanese scene when he produced the song "Young Forever" of his younger brother 'lil Kohh whose music video went viral in Japan. In 2014 KOHH released his major 2nd studio album titled ''MONOCHROME''. The album was a fair success among the urban acts and its lead track had a big reception on YouTube. In 2015, KOHH along with Japanese artist Loota collaborated with

Keith Ape Dongheon Lee (이동헌; born December 25, 1993), known professionally as Keith Ape () and previously known as Kid Ash, is a South Korean rapper from Seoul. He is a member of a crew called 'The Cohort'. Ape's breakout single "잊지마" ("It G Ma ...

's track "잊지마" (It G Ma) which became a major hit single in Japan and South Korea apart from gaining international media attention. Back in Japan, KOHH resumed his work and continued working on his new album ''DIRT'' after releasing his delayed 1st album 梔子 (''Gardenia''). ''DIRT'' was released on October 28. The album was also released internationally via iTunes in October 23. KOHH was featured along with

OG Maco Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr. (born April 23, 1992), better known by his stage name OG Maco, is an American rapper from College Park, Georgia. He is perhaps best known for his 2014 debut single " U Guessed It" which peaked at number 90 on the U ...

on the track "BUCHIAGARI" by Japanese DJ RYOW. In 2016, KOHH collaborated with

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

on the single "Nikes", available on the physical album copy of ''

Blonde Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

''. KOHH was featured in a new song from

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

superstar

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese paren ...

, titled "Bōkyaku", from her 6th Japanese album '' Fantôme''. KOHH was featured in an exclusive bonus track "Runway", in the Japanese iTunes version of

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the ...

's Caution album. KOHH's fifth studio album ''Untitled'' was released by

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

on February 2, 2019.

Reception

KOHH has been mentioned several times as a major influential force to the

scene in recent years. KOHH has occasionally criticized how small the hip hop scene is in Japan and has tackled major mainstream TVs for its negligence of noticing hip hop. KOHH has also being praised for his smart use of topics like drug use and violence within the Japanese society which are considered controversial in the country. After being featured in "잊지마" (It G Ma), KOHH received an even bigger praise from international audiences who recognized his use of the phrase 'Arigatō' (''Thank you'') in his verse as the trademark of the hit song and praised the artist whose performance was the one that left the biggest impression on the track.

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 ...

Taku Takahashi is a Japanese hip hop recording artist, DJ and record producer who debuted in 1997 as a record producer of the hip hop group M-Flo. The group rose to prominence in the early 2000s, with hit singles such as "How You Like Me Now?" and "Come Agai ...

has appointed KOHH as one of the main acts in the Japanese hip hop renaissance. Several videos featuring KOHH have gone viral on social media like YouTube, Facebook and

Vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...

among others.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

* 『YELLOW T△PE』(Released: November 28, 2012) * 『YELLOW T△PE 2』(Released: August 31, 2013) * 『YELLOW T△PE 3』(Released: June 30, 2015) * 『YELLOW T△PE 4』(Released: December 20, 2016) * 『Complete Collection 1』(Released: May 20, 2015) * 『Complete Collection 2』(Released: May 20, 2015)

Singles

* Keith Ape – 잊지마 (It G Ma) ft. JayAllday, loota,

Okasian Kim Ji-yong (Hangul: 김지용; also known as Alexander Kim; born March 11, 1987), better known by his stage name Okasian (Hangul: 오케이션), is a Korean-American rapper and singer. He released his debut album, ''Boarding Procedures'', on ...

, Kohh * HIROI SEKAI (Worldwide) – KOHH, J $tash, Young Sachi * KOHH & J $tash – Tatted up * J $tash X Kohh – HOOD RICH * J $tash x Kohh – Don't Get Me Started * KOHH, PETZ, Tokarev – 十人十色 * JOE IRON – Tomareranai feat. KOHH, Steelo & YUKI a.k.a. JUTO * Y'S – プリンス feat.KOHH&MONY HORSE * DJ RYOW – Don't Stop Remix feat. DJ Ty-Koh, Kohh, Dizzle & Socks * DJ RYOW – Turn Up feat KOHH, SMITH-CN & ZEEBRA * Goku Green – チョーヤバイ feat. KOHH & MONY HORSE * VITO (SQUASH SQUAD) – I Need Her (Remix) feat. Cherry Brown, NIPPS, KOHH * 般若 – 家族 feat. KOHH * DJ SOULJAH – aaight feat. KOHH, MARIA (SIMI LAB) * AKLO – Break The Records (Remix) feat. KOHH & 漢 * ANARCHY – MOON CHILD feat.KOHH * ANARCHY – BANK TO BANK feat. KOHH * LORD 8ERZ – TROY feat. KOHH, 三島, RAW-T * Lil Herb , Kohh, Seeda, Norikiyo – Chiraq 2 Japan * SD, Kohh, Sky-Hi – Ballin * DJ KEN WATANABE – G.O.L.D feat. KOHH * DJ KEN WATANABE – G.O.L.D PART 2 feat. KOHH, Kayzabro & Y'S * – Hate That Booty Feat.Y'S&KOHH * T.O.P. – I'm So High feat. KOHH * KOWICHI – BOYFRIEND#2 REMIX feat. YOUNG HASTLE, KOHH & DJ TY-KOH * JOYSTICKK – LOLLIPOP (DJ KM Remix) feat. KOHH * AKLO – NEW DAYS MOVE -REMIX- ft.SALU, STAXX T(CREAM), KOHH & SHINGO☆西成 * Brandon Thomas – 24 7 Feat. KOHH * DJ☆GO – MIX GRILLZ feat. KOHH, HORI * DJ CHARI & DJ TATSUKI – GIMME THE LIGHTS(A.C.E.TIME) FEAT.YUKI A.K.A. JUTO,KOHH A.K.A. YELLOW T-20 & YOUNG FREEZ　 * Loota – Somewhere feat.KOHH * SALU & the dreambandgunjo – ピラミッド feat. KOHH * FIGHT FOR TOKYO – GIRAGIRAガールズ, 巌, MEGA-G, MC漢, MC SHOW, MCクローバー, Y'S, YOUNG HASTLE, KOHH, LOOTA,EGO, 海, エリカ * HOPE-TOKYO TRIBE ANTHEM-（TRIBES UNITED VERSION）- 海, 巌, MC漢, MEGA-G, GIRAGIRAガールズ, D.O, T2K, Y'S, KOHH, 十影, YOUNG HASTLE, VITO FOCCACIO,LOOTA, EGO, MC SHOW * MINMI – #ヤッチャッタ featuring KOHH * Barry Chen – AIR FORCE ONE Feat. MJ116 Kenzy & KOHH * TeddyLoid – Break'em all feat. KOHH * DJ RYOW – BUCHIAGARI feat.KOHH & OG Maco * SOCKS – Bash feat.KOHH * RunWay (Remix) -

(prod. by

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...

& Lido) * タイプライター&YMG – Let me Know Feat. AK-69 & KOHH * KOHH – PARIS (SAM TIBA REMIX) * Frank Ocean – Nikes (Pop-Up Store Version) * Hikaru Utada – Boukyaku feat. KOHH * 5lack – 24356 feat. KOHH * CashPassion Ft. Dumbfoundead & KOHH – All In

Accolades

;

MTV Europe Music Award The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

, - , 2017 , KOHH , Best Japan Act , ;

Space Shower Music Video Awards Space Shower Music Awards (old name: SPACE SHOWER Music Video Awards, abbr. to SPACE SHOWER MVA) are an annual set of music awards sponsored by Japanese Space Shower TV. The prizes have been awarded since 1996. Winners in main categories Best ...

, - , 2016 , KOHH , Best Hip Hop Artist , , - , 2017 , KOHH , Best Hip Hop Artist ,

External links

Official Site

References

{{Authority control 1990 births Living people Japanese male singers Japanese lyricists Japanese male composers Japanese composers Japanese rappers Japanese hip hop musicians Japanese male musicians Singers from Tokyo Japanese people of Korean descent Naturalized citizens of Japan