Animated music video of Jero’s “Hare Butai”

Just came across the animated music video for African American enka singer Jero‘s new song, Hare Butai (Gala). The music video is followed by an interview in English/Japanese:

As you might have guessed from the video, the song is about his mother. A post earlier this month on Jero’s blog explains that his parents divorced when he was a young child, so he was raised by his mother. Together they would often spend time listening to and singing enka songs with her mother, who was Japanese. This song thanks his mother for always being positive and helping them overcome tough times.

This song has been featured this month on N-H-K’s Minna no Uta, and Jero will also be performing on N-H-K’s New Year’s Eve Kohaku special.

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vpshockwave

I’m glad for his success. He sounds good at what he does.
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Bad Wolf

His talent and success are phenomenal. But why does he dress like that? Instructions from his handlers? It looks goofy. And the wife and I were watching the other night and wondered how he can not bust out laughing at the back dancers.

Well, looking forward to watching him on the big red and white ho-down.

Jerry

I think how he dress really shows that Enka isn’t limited to Japanese people. It shows how it breaks the wall of seclusion and really bridges two cultures together, the style of hip-hop with the music of traditional Enka.

http://yamatologic.com Jeshii

I loved when he switched to Japanese. I wonder why they had him speaking English at first…

illusion

um maybe because the show he was on is a english learning show?

Tetras

He switched to Japanese because he couldn’t express what he was about to say in English. If you understood what he said afterwards, it made total sense.

D-san

He couldn’t express what he had to say in his own language?

Bruce Smith

Which one of his own languages are you referring to ?

hmm

nah he could have said that in english. all he had to say is ” yea i think japan is a place where people are really important. when you enter somewhere they say irashaimen or otsukare..english doesnt really have that kind of meaning. people to people respect is important, my grandma and mom really thought that too… blah blah that kind of feeling its like everyday life in japan.” i mean he could have said it in english pretty easily if you as me, but shoot i

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LadyLLawliet

Beautiful voice, beautiful song!
LadyLLawliet

But I like his voice when he speaks Japanese better!
Rudey

I hope he continues on, growing as an artist. If he treats his voice well, it’ll only become more expressive as he gets older. I especially like that he uses each language to refine his intents as he speaks. He’s very conscientious that way.

I do find “African American” to be an imprecise term for his cultural heritage, since it disregards his Japanese heritage, but such things are complicated.

I hope he remains relevant and that more people listen to Enka in general, through enjoying Jero.
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Animated music video of Jero’s “Hare Butai”

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