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Remember Jero, the American enka singer we mentioned back on February 1st? The music video for his first single, Umiyuki, has since found its way onto YouTube:
[hat tip to 空]
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I’m at work and can’t listen to the sound (I’ve heard it before on another show) but based solely on the visuals I find it kind of annoying that they put him in the stereotypical hip-hop fashion to make him look black. I understand that they are trying for the whole “wow, he’s not Japanese but he’s singing enka”-angle, but they probably could have done this just as easily by putting him in a cool looking kimono or something.
Hopefully his production company is looking at him more than as a fad and will actually stick with him in the long run. I’d like to see Jero grow into a really famous enka singer.
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oh dear god.that video is a mistake and a half.
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its beyond a mistake, can’t he dress more sophisticated. I’m tired of other black men following stupid setreotypes and dressing all gangster like. especially in a song were it looks absurdly out of place. Dress properly like a real man.
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How is this dressing gangster like? The man can dress any way he wants. He actually has talent and is trying to use it. I liked it.
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Sure he can dress any way he likes. I hope he wears a chicken suit or something even more absurd next time though. If he is gonna look stupid then why not go all the way.
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God, I love parodies!
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Err… so if a black man doesn’t dress or talk a certain way, all of the sudden we are “thugs” and less than others? I’m very glad to see him have his own style, I seriously think that most people who are ripping on his style are just ignorant, and dare I say, prejudiced on some level.
Get over yourselves guys. Just because your pants are tighter, shirts a bit smaller and you speak proper “proper”, believe it or not, doesn’t make you superior. Jero can dress how he wants. If you see Michael Buble in a suit singing Christmas carols, does he remind you of an Italian mafia member? It’s okay for Japanese kids to cosplay as Nazi’s, but not okay to dress hip hop because it’s “thuggish”? Double standards? Embrace diversity and open mindedness not the stupid stereotypes YOU all project on others.
Thumbs up, guys! Smile!
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I would think you would actually be more supportive of Jero deciding to dress in a kimono or something more traditionally Japanese. Maybe he does have his own style, but for the listeners of Japanese enka, he probably just reinforced the image that all black people wear that kind of clothing. Having him in a kimono would have actually gone a long way in showing that even foreigners can do things in a normal Japanese way.
No one is saying it’s wrong to wear hip-hop fashion, but for a lot of us in Japan, we’re trying to break stereotypes, not reinforce them.
I’ll give you a perfect example. The Yoso guy (spokesperson for Softbank) was portrayed as a very smart, business-savy black man who spoke fluent Japanese – hence the yosogai (above expectations) theme was born. I was really happy to see a company finally showing a NJ in a more positive light as compared to someone like Bob Sapp who just jumped around eating ice cream or pizza or something. BUT…just tonight I saw that same yoso guy in a different commercial wearing traditional tribal African garments and saying the awe-inspiring Konnichiwa. He’s not even African, just black. Never mind that though. These are the kinds of prejudicial images that you should be concerning yourself with.
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>I would think you would actually be more supportive >of Jero deciding to dress in a kimono or something >more traditionally Japanese.
No I dont think so. how long have you been living in japan? You’re looking at this all wrong. hiphop and other “black culture” is coolest foreign culture especially for yonger generation in japan. Jero’s agency harnesses this groovy image to promote him, as they promote any other japanese talents. foreign ppl with wearing kimono look just agonistic, not natural. in my case, Ive been lived in other countries, Ive never hoped to comform completely and lose my identity, and I know I cant never ever.
I support your effort to break stereotypes. but you seem to think the stereotype of black ppl in japan is “people without education” or something. actually, distinct stereotypes of black ppl are good at sports, friendly, cheery and not stupid. Bob Sapp and Bobby Ologun are most beloved foreign talents in japan. you are overly negative person or judge our society by the Western way of thinking.
Ive never seen the commercial of yosoguy wearing african garment, but its same with chinese or korean actors playing japanese in US drama or something, isnt it? they never use Bob Sapp for the role of african ppl because everyone knows he is american.
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new school enka singing
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the beginning of the video…i had an impression of it being some half gangsta rap/enka…but its just enka…
he sings pretty well
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I’m surprised…i expected something completely different based on the intro, but when he started singing, it didn’t even sound like that was his voice lol. He’s got a great voice and talent.
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It almost seemed like a parody. The hip-hop dancing in an Enka video just doesn’t match. I thought there would be more respect shown to Enka and Japanese culture. He should either do hip-hop in Japanese with that type of garb and dancing, or do a more traditional Enka. Thumbs down for me. I am impressed with his voice, tho’
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I think its cool that be brought hip hop and enka together i mean it expresses him, he doesnt have to impress anybody, but its business, well 50/50
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I liked it. It’s neat to see the contrast of cultures and how he can portray enka music in a totally unique way. Plus, he sings it quite well. Good for him.
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If that is how he actually wants to dress then so be it. It in my opinion is awkward because even here in America African-American’s who sing do not dress like that at all maybe rappers but not singers.
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I can name one singer that dress hip hop in USA like that Trey Songz, but he’s not really around anymore. I wonder what happen to him. But anyways I get what you are talking about. He has a great voice. I get what ya are talking about him dressing in a Hip-Hop style and singing Enka. It’s kind of weird. I read that his company is doing that so them can get more young people into Enka. I also read that he didn’t want to do that, but his company wanted him too.
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kevin – I understand what you said about kimono and the traditional African garb, but let’s face it; the Japanese have waaaay far to go in terms of stereotypes, and it you yourself may as well. You say a well-dressed black man who speaks Japanese is yosogai? If you meet a white man in a suit who speaks Japanese, and then meet a black man in a suit who speaks Japanese, the fact that you are more shocked at the black man’s ability means you have some deep-seated stereotypes about the capabilities of blacks.
I live in rural Japan and when I go to a restaurant with a white colleague who speaks little or less Japanese than I, it doesn’t matter. 9 times out of 10, the waitress will come over and address the white person immediately, and even persist in speaking to the white person after I’ve tried to order in fluent Japanese. Because they just don’t think us blacks can speak Japanese. Business suit, dashiki, kimono — it makes no difference. It’s too bad they’ve given Dante Carver such an ironic nickname as “yosogai”, because if you are startled by a black person speaking Japanese in this day and age, you are a throwback and you need to get with the program. (Of course I realize that it’s gonna take decades for most Japanese to get with the program — most people around here don’t even have passports or have never been to Tokyo. Sometimes Japan seems to be a little island lost in time.)
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