(ケツメイシ, Ketsumeishi?)Ketsumeishi is one of those groups whose music automatically makes you think of hot summer days lounging on the beach and sipping a few tall cool ones. The band got star...

(ケツメイシ, Ketsumeishi?)Ketsumeishi is one of those groups whose music automatically makes you think of hot summer days lounging on the beach and sipping a few tall cool ones. The band got started back in 1993, and settled on the current lineup - four members are Ryo (rapper/MC), Ryoji (vocals), Ookura (rapper/MC) and DJ Kohno – in 1996. According to the band’s website, the name “Ketsumeishi” is based on a herb used as a laxative in traditional Chinese medicine, while “ketsu” is a Japanese slang terms meaning “ass” – all of the band’s albums are titled Ketsu no Police, i.e., "Ass Police", followed by the number of the album. That kind of lighthearted, slightly risque word play, as opposed to macho posing, is a key difference between Japanese rap and the original Stateside article. And like many other Japanese rap groups, Ketsumeishi’s music is based as much on dancehall-style reggae as on hip-hop rhythms. A crucial break for Ketsumeishi was when their track “Kochi Oide (Move Over Here)” was used as the theme song for automaker Toyota’s “Gazoo.com” online shopping mall. That helped them get a record deal with mid-ranking label Toy’s Factory, and since then Ketsumeishi have released a string of steady-selling singles and albums in which they proclaim their feel-good, party-time philosophy to the accompaniment of their uptempo grooves. The band’s members have also collaborated, either individually or as a group, with J-pop artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Chemistry.

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