Talk about good timing. Just as the enervating ennui of tsuyu set in, reggae singer Mikidozan released "Lifetime Respect," whose mellow vibe and infectious melody have taken it to the top of the charts. (It's No. 1 on the July 2 Oricon singles chart). With its loping, steady groove and positive message of love and dedication, "Lifetime Respect" (released May 23 by Tokuma Japan Communications) is the perfect antidote to the rainy-season blahs.
There has been a dearth of reggae on the charts in the past couple of years, so Mikidozan's timing is also good in that he correctly sensed that a good solid reggae number would grab the public's attention. And in taking as his motto "Music sung by Japanese, in Japanese, about Japan," he's building on the tradition established by pioneering Japanese reggae artists such as Nahki, who was one of the first local musicians to write and perform credible Japanese reggae.
In many ways, Japanese reggae's evolution parallels that of Japanese rap: Take a very culture-specific black musical genre, copy it, get into the fashion and lifestyle associated with the music, start to gain a deeper understanding of the music's spiritual/social roots, and eventually transmute it into homegrown rap or reggae.