MC One Werd and I share several things in common besides rapping: we’re both teachers and we both are practitioners of a specific faith. He released his “the Faculty” album this week and I’m featured on the “Addiction” track along with my friend Pure Powers. This one is for my people “in the rooms.” This album also features Orukusaki, Task1ne, Telli Prego, Pete Feliciano, JB Nimble, and Joe Mousepad.
DJ Dolbee is a veteran DJ/ producer located in Tokyo, Japan. He recently released “Still Underground” on CD and on vinyl. Buy it at We Nod Records, the illest independent record store in this solar system.
I met him in the late nineties when he resided in San Francisco, and was working at the now defunct Zebra Records on Haight Street. He was the first person to ever believe in my rapping abilities and is credited as being the first to ever record me and release any material with your boy Kuma on it. The “Nice Kut” mixtape was released in 1998 and features my first released freestyle ever.
Then he returned to Japan, had a label fly my big homie Tenzin and me out there, formed a crew “I.P.S” and featured us on a vinyl release. The 1999 “Catacombs” compilation was my official debut and remains my only vinyl appearance to date.
“East Bay Dungeons” is a track recently I did with Acmac. This one has a mid/ late-nineties Telegraph cypher throwback feel to it… you know when crews like Mystic Journeymen, the Living Legends, Bay Area Art Collective, Hobo Junction, Cytoplasm, the Slumplords, Kimetic Sunz, and of course the Group Uv Nutz were wrecking cyphers and selling four track tapes.. Yeah, those days.. What the fuck have I done with my life..
Kensho Kuma- East Bay Dungeons
Cats in/ the East Bay to A.S.I.A demanding me/ to go and murder every microphone they handing me/ it’s like a fantasy, ‘cause every fan of me/ is watching Kuma become everything he planned to be/ a true king never mistreating his followers/ people depend on me to speak up for all of us/ we’ve had enough of these demonic conquerors/ and gives a shit if you believe in the God we trust/ the soulless and monstrous stuck in the matrix/ oppressing men and women and corrupt what is sacred/ I’m numb as a basehead, dumbing down my statements/ our adolescent dreams just crumble on the pavement/ we picking up the shattered fragments piece by piece/ and the resentment and despair get released on beats/ ‘cause a life situations you believe defeat/ so we doing what we doing to achieve our piece/ ain’t got no Jesus piece, just some prayer beads/ here in the underground of the Bay, I play for keeps/ you are so damn shallow but your hatred’s deep/ all the love up in the media is make believe/ so just pray for me, as I turn my will over/ while everyone is getting drunk, your boy is still sober/ the cops and criminals that’ll kill soldiers/ been always dedicated to this, trying to build towards a/ better life, better scene, better tomorrow/ even when I’m overseas, I’m repping the locals/ been rocking Asia, Vietnam to Tokyo/ get beheaded if you ever step in my dojo/ respected by global veterans and freshmen/ for the talent we uphold and elements we blending/ 510 Ken Kuma, general of henchmen/ rule the underworld with intelligence and weapons/
“Still Making Moves” – Sohch feat. Kensho Kuma, Skalah, Hisanova, and DJ Audace. Sohch is my comrade/ engineer in Tokyo, and I have rocked numerous shows with his crew Life Penciled Crew. DJ Audace is a French DJ holding it down in Tokyo, and he’s scratched on many tracks of mine through out the years. I’ll never forget our “Deep Shit” parties @ Club Game in Shibuya; I remember living in Tokyo in ’06-’07 and I used to look forward to those parties every month. These cats have played a vital role in my international Hip Hop journey and they will forever have a place in my memory. I use my patented 4 bar switch evident on “Exact Science ver2.0” and alternate between Japanese and English every 4 bars on this track. Yours for free.
https://soundcloud.com/hisanova/still-making-moves-feat-kensho
“Still Making Moves”
このヒップホップドリームは笑えんジョークだ/
キャリアを積んでも消えない恐怖が/
狂わす、答えは草とコークか？/
No! 俺には分かるよ腐ってくソールが/
out of towners know us for bomb weed and murders/
but yo boy reps neither I’m a conscious observer/
a type of music that ain’t commonly purchased/
we possess a talent you ain’t honestly heard of/
ミーハーの所為か？ 混乱する方向性/
止めちゃった大ベテランとか高校生/
現場に来いよ 朝まで残れ/
分かってる奴らは必ず応答せい/
never been a game this a life or death errand/
no matter what happened I kept my headsets blaring/
rocking ‘round the world since you guys were bed wetting/
believing in only the most high and kept stepping/
大金を見せつけ東南アジア/
に消えてくオイラは怒れたアニマル/
得た経験はエロイ? じゃなくマジカル/
地元離れなきゃ見えん物マジある/
Yeah ‘til this business finishes my flow won’t end/
until I take my brother Ruksok out to Ho chi minh/
‘til national attentions on my coast again/
until the unlimited violence in Oakland ends/
????????????????????????????”Ghetto?????????????????????????????”????????????????Ghetto?3?4?????????????????? Cloud NI9E, DJ Audace, ?Kemui????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????MC ????????????????GHETTO 7??40????????Ghetto History X CD&DVD ?12?28????????????Kemui??”?????????”???????????????????????????
I am only present in Japan for about a month out of each year, but the word on the street is that “Ghetto” is the most respected event in the Tokyo area, if not the entire country. The event occurs once every 3, 4 months and my comrades Cloud NI9E, DJ Audace, and Kemui have all performed in the past. Unfortunately, my schedule never seems to sync with the event dates, and I have never been able to attend. The quality of the event is evident in their resident MC’s Tao and Akuryo.. these dudes raw. The party is celebrating their 7 year/ 40th event by releasing a Ghetto History X CD&DVD on 12/28/13. I am featured on the track “Genshiryoku” with my comrade Kemui. Definite masterpiece. Track list here.
One of Ghetto’s resident MC’s Tao repping Roppongi.
毎日、毎晩、働いているばっかりいるあなたへササゲマス。 今日もお疲れ様、明日も頑張って。
Kensho Kuma x Cloud NI9E
“平日の夜”
“何にも残らん、平日の夜/
死にかけた気持ちをたたき起こす/
平凡な暮らしがラップ滅ぼす/
収入は増えたが前より孤独/
a よじれたネクタイ、オンボロのスーツ/
を脱ぎ捨て, 飛び込むヴォーカルブース/
今でも現場で会えるなら cool/
でも三十路過ぎればいなくなる クルー/
後輩が裏切って, インチキしても/
五年前の彼女が妊娠しても/
知ったこっちゃねー, 感情殺しレッツゴー/
過去にこだわれば憎しみ絶望/
職場でオイラに冷たいオーエル/
以上の美人にライブでもてる/
リストラくらえば, drugsで儲ける/
お宅のお子さんのロールモデル/
一歩はみだしたら戻れない/
枠の中で生き抜く事がライフ/
我慢しきれるのが大人 right?/
絶えて絶えて, 命の音デザイン”
Besides the great sensei DJ Krush, no Japanese producer has ever influenced the global sound scape at the magnitude the late great Nujabes did; from his soundtrack of “Samurai Champloo,” the “Luv Sic” series with Shing02, to his phenomenal solo projects, it’s an understatement to say that he left his mark on music. I remember begging my former engineer Mez to lend me his Samurai Champloo DVD’s and writing for hours to his mellow, jazzy instrumentals. He was and always will be definitely a noticeable part of my Hip Hop experience.
Nujabes released his music through the Hydeout label and they manage a store called Tribe. A new project from the Hydeout label “Black Foliage” will be released on 12/18 and features my producer Cloud NI9E. It’s even more impressive that Cise Starr rocks the track; the Florida MC has been on my radar since he merked “Steady” with his group Cyne. Oh yeah… 9th Wonder is also on the project too… Be sure to cop this one, I’m more than sure that it’ll be available on the Tribe site.
Here is the promotional trailer for “the Program EP” dropping 05/08 in Japan nationwide. It is a collage of recent performances and accurately captures Kensho Kuma in action. Be sure to place your order in the pre-order section! 五月8日に日本全国で発売される ”the Program EP” のプロモトレーラーです。 最近のライブの映像をマイメンのクラウドが編集してくれました。 まだ予約してない人はここでできるよ！
Ghost Town- Citizen & Off-Balance feat. Cee, Kensho Kuma, & Cyberclops.
My comrade Citizen from the Understudies crew put me on a track produced by Off-Balance from the Digital Martyrs; Cee repping Canada and Cyberclops from Marin is also featured on the track. Please support the track on iTunes.
“What do you say to a kid in Oakland?/ when the cops and the criminals got clips reloading/ when teachers and dealers say the system’s broken/ when it’s obvious, nothing will be fixed by voting/ so we walk around high as phuck, mixed emotions/ cannot even comprehend that death is approaching/ once on the other side, we continue roaming/ ’til we come back as a ghost to ride a whip that’s stolen/”
By Kensho Kuma & Cloud NI9E
Mixed by Mezmetic at Sevyn Layerz Deep SF, CA and XLII at Fubar Cave Tokyo, JP.
Mastered by DJ Icewater
Artwork by Marcus Murray