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Jero – Japan’s First Black Enka Singer

Meet Jero, who is being described by the press as the “first black enka singer in history:”

jero enka singer

Believe it or not, this 26-year-old American in hip hop clothing is actually about to become a professional enka singer in Japan!

According to the biographical information on his JVC Music site, Jero’s Japanese grandmother exposed him to enka music, building a great love in him for traditional Japanese music. Jero hadn’t planned on becoming a musician, and had actually graduated from the University of Pittsburg as a computer engineer, but a chance runner-up victory in a karaoke contest led JVC Music to scout him. He’s been in Japan for two years for vocal training and he will be releasing his first CD later this month.

Here are some videos of appearances he has made on Japanese TV:

His single, Umiyuki:

{democracy:115}

56 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - February 1, 2008 at 9:32 pm

Categories: Celebrity News, Foreigners in Japan Tags: enka, japan, japanese, jero, music

D-san

I’ll never judge a book by it’s cover again!
shazzb0t

I really enjoyed this. Two thumbs up.
http://alecinjapan.com Alec

That’s really great. I also grew up listening to some of my grandma’s enka and I like it, but not enough to become an enka singer. Hopefully this’ll also help break negative stereotypes about black people in Japan.
sireB

Homeboy’s voice is flat, yo.

chris

Naw i have to disagree Jero is the man i call him NuFresh cuz what he is doing is new to me and its a fresh look for him i think he will bring ENKA music really mainstream and i am black by the way

The Overthinker

Good voice, but not an enka voice. Too smooth. Doesn’t have that vibrato effect.
marinaliteyears

Is Enka still popular in Japan?

ponta

I don’t think Enka is popular in Japan now. But look, Akimonoto and Uzaki produced his song:They are super　hit makers. A miracle might happen.
I welcome his debut

klara

it is still popular, maybe not as much as it was but it is ^^ especially among older people (i mean about 50)

chris

well its about to popular with black people in the US

Fay

NO ITS NOT LOLZ IM BLACK THIS IS BORING J-Rock =3

Rob A

I voted yes, but only because it makes me laugh hysterically. I don’t think he should be celebrated because he’s the first black singer, but because he looks so ridiculous dressed like an American hip-hop thug singing Enka.

chris

thats the beauty of it stop hating on Jero stop being a JeroHater if a Japanese wanted to sing hiphop if he is good i would embrace him

df

props to him for doing his thing. shit sooner or later we might see rapping samurais in america. which i dont think will be too bad. look at wutang. haha
http://eleclutier.blogspot.com Elec

This is awesome, seriously. I’m always glad to see a foreigner prove that Japanese culture isn’t as inscrutable as people would have you believe.

I like the quality that his voice lends to the music. I don’t think he’s stellar, but he’s certainly different. And I don’t care how he looks.

Enka is still popular with older folks, who make up most of Japan’s population anyway.

dfjidf

heh

RYO

I’d love to see him audition for American Idol with those songs just to see how Simon and the other judges would react.

http://alecinjapan.com Alec

Hehe. That would be so interesting!

luxis

knowing that miserbale bunch they’d have a field day in ridiculing him

Anthony

Wow! He sings very well. I enjoyed the fact that there are more and more people willing to explore different people’s culture and viceversa see people of Japan open to seeing other people become a part of their culture. Great post!
Erika

Awww, it’s so cute that he’s doing it for his grandma )
http://www.keepingpaceinjapan.com Turner

Alan Booth would be proud.
http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

He’ll put out one, maybe two CDs and they’ll sell as a gimmick, but he doesn’t have staying power because his voice isn’t “enka”. His clothes DEFINITELY aren’t enka. Not many people would buy “SMAP sing The Beatles” as a serious purchase, after all.

I appreciate that he’s trying, though, against all adversity. He might even shatter some stereotypes a few people hold.

Renny

Alex, do you live in Japan? If so, you know this young man is doing great. He is also being talked about here in NY and also in other places around the country. The under- and above ground music wires have this guy as somebody to watch. There are three reasons for the compass pointing to him, talent, intellect and appeal to a cross-cultural audience.

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kimonorapper

I bet people’s reaction would be different if the guy was wearing clothes that real enka singers would wear.
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bebs

omg. this is so crazy. im so scared. he would be SO much better if he sang something normal. not…enka…
lalia

I’m spanish and i love japanese culture, music….. I think that Jero is superb!!
masami

well hey there…i think that your voice is awesome and i never would of thought in a million years that a black man would sing enka…i love enka because it has so much feeling to it and you can feel what the artist is trying to tell you…i believe you can be the next star…keep believing in yourself like how everyone around you are…you will get there…let the haters hate cause they can’t participate…

gamba`te ne
chris

I like his style.. I think if he did sing something other then enka he would be very popular. But he is doin good he singing wut he loves. I like i his music. Ill buy his cd. I see some people hatin on him but shoot there are always going to be haters. DO YOUR THING JERO
mscpro

Jero is doing something he loves and has the talent for. I wish him all the best. He has a beautiful voice – and I can’t say that for even a handful in today’s music world. Someone posted that he’s flat?!! Clean your ears.
Nami

We all love him..
He’ll be the new star for us Japanese (and people around the world!)
Pingback: Jero - The First Black Enka Singer in Japan | Techotic
Ruth

Funny, just because he looks more black doesn’t mean Japanese isn’t part of his culture. He’s a quarter Japanese, Japan is part of his identity and culture! Just like Tiger Woods is part Chinese. Who you are is all of your ancestors. Why do so many people forget this?

Stephanie

Finally someone who has some SENSE! I don’t know why people seem to base someone’s identity by their skin color. I am a mother to a bi-racial child so I understand the more. We must embrace all parts of our ancestry not just the parts that society would have us embrace. Bless you Ruth!

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Mike Wilson

I think it is about time this happened. I have liked Enka since I first came to Japan in 1987 but I am no singer. I hope Jero has a wonderful career ahead of him.
Jero, If you are reading this look me up.(Moderators you can give him my email addr) I have 2 big cases of enka laser discs and and old machine from a dear old friend of mine’s club you can borrow anytime.
If you want to hang out in Yokosuka where your folks were before I know a few places where nobody will bother you and you can actually relax.
Take care out there everybody. American enka fan in Japan
http://www.barkbiteblog.com BarkBite

I just got turned on to Jero from the Washington Post’s profile on him. His story is inspiring and his song “Umiyuki” isn’t bad. But then again, I’m a former anime fan, so I already have a predisposition for J-Pop.
Jazzie/Japanese Fan

Ok, I am an African American girl myself, and one day,my dream was to go to Japan to be a singer. After I realized I couldn’t really do that, I thought I could never tell the Japanese the truth about African Americans. Then, Jero came along and crushed every stereotype of African Americans (except for the wearing baggy clothes,or hip- hop clothes, but that’s beside the point.)Like I was going to say, he gave off a light that African Americans can make it in the Japanese entertainment world. He make African Americans and Americans alike, proud to be Americans after that point. And to the haters that say he’s flat,or about his clothes, or to the simple fact that he won’t last long, you hate the fact that homeboy made it farther than you did. Like Jay-Z said “If you feeling like a pimp, go on a bush your shoulders off. Haters is crazy baby,don’t forget that boy who told you get that dirt off your shoulders” And I bet he’s still dusting his shoulders off. I love Japanese and Japanese culture,I wish to live in Japan. GO JERO!!!
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chimster

I think he is great! I don’t like enka because of annoying “vibrato” which is really a tremolo in most cases. Enka singers with tremolo tend to be flat, because of rapid alteration (sometimes too slow) of two tones when he or she is supposed to be singing one tone. His voice is clean without the annoying tremolo, but has true vibrato.Great voice and a good musician. He is not flat.I like his video of enka mixed with hip hop. It is refreshing. He probably will need to vary his image as time goes on to avoid getting stale.
Joe (Masayuki) Kaneshi Mesa

I too was brought up with my mom singing Enka, and if I could speak Japanese like Jero…..Some some critics might say he looks bad with the clothes he wears, his clothing has got nothing to do with his gift to carring out his grandmother’s culture….So get over it with stupid remarks, if you are that critic learn from this young man, he is a million times a man.
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neece

this video is so funny. I just can’t stop laughin’. Nor can I take him seriously. He looks like a rapper but when he opens up his mouth i hear bad karaoke. I wish the best of luck to Jero though!
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http://www.facebook.com/people/Natsu-Melo/100002825709379 Natsu Melo

Would like to introduce you to the best of japanese music (real enka) : http://www.natsumelo.com
Anonymous

Very talented and sexy <3

Jero – Japan’s First Black Enka Singer

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