We’re now at the end of black history month, and we thought it would be nice to talk about an African American who made a huge splash in Japan, changing the face of Japanese music history forever: Jero. I remember first hearing Jero‘s debut single, Umiyuki, two years ago and being immediately blown away by it. If you close your eyes and listen to his music, you’d have no idea he was actually born and raised in America, and that his only claim to being Japanese was through his maternal grandmother. Jero had apparently sang Enka ever since he was six and dreamed of becoming a celebrated Enka singer because of his grandmother’s influence. His dream came true in 2008 — he won the best new artist at the 50th Japan Record Awards.
Enka is a type of Japanese traditional music that the older generation is very into. Before Jero entered the Japanese music scene, Japan’s younger generation wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of the genre. Youngsters would groan whenever their grandparents tuned into it on TV (I know I did). Then Jero came in, and pretty much overhauled our perceptions of Enka. He made it hip. It’s interesting to see him fuse the worlds of hip hop and Enka through his streetwear fashion and funky dance moves.
I’m now an Enka addict and my grandma always makes fun of me for this sudden 180 change. I remember how much she laughed when she found me in my bathroom blasting Enka music while I was primping for a night out.
