Osaka’s Superhuman Rapper Shaping Tokyo’s Underground Culture: rirugiliyangugili
A mouthful of a stage name, and more than a handful on stage: that’s the essence of rapper rirugiliyangugili (pronounced similar to lil gili young gili).
Born in 2000, the Osaka-native rapper is a kaleidoscopic explosion of multi-dimensional colors and twitching gifs, layered by a burst of abrasive vocals and unhinged lyrics. The mix of all his artistic choices creates invasive and overflowing songs that are simultaneously addicting and liberating. It goes without saying that rirugiliyangugili is too complex to be boxed into a single genre as if he isn’t himself an entirely new kind of J-hip-hop.
rirugiliyangugili loved music from a young age, dwelling in the worlds of Limp Bizkit, Tech N9ne, Maximum the Hormone, and Slip Knot, which introduced him to hip-hop as well as hardcore rock. Growing up in the infamous area of Nishinari in Osaka, the rapper quit high school to focus on music, living a sheltered life as he spent his days writing songs in his room. At 17, he started regularly visiting Ill Homies studio, which, as he recalls, was a sleazy flat scattered with Doraemon comic books and no address. From there, rirugiliyangugili went upwards, performing alongside big names in Tokyo and such.
Stimulating, overpowering, footloose, and extreme, his music could be classified as a cause for hypertension, yet its youthfulness and freshness have hooked fans nationwide and overseas. rirugiliyangugili’s art is unforgiving and dangerous, assembling hip-hop, hyperpop, heavy metal vocals, and electro to create a SoundCloud fever dream. He is an emblem of Osaka and Tokyo’s underground scene, though he doesn’t necessarily associate with any particular scene.
Each and every one of rirugiliyangugili’s performances are as if hell was awakened. Undressing, jumping, screaming, and shuffling on the stage floor, he raises a mob in the music hall. Like a nosebleed, his art stains and spreads, and listening to his music is an experience in itself. One release at a time, rirugiliyangugili is reforming Japan’s hip-hop scene.
About the Author:
Mizuki Khoury
Born in Montreal, based in Tokyo. Sabukaru’s senior writer and works as an artist under Exit Number Five.
