Dragon Ash (ドラゴンアッシュ, Doragon Asshu?) are a Japanese rap rock group founded in 1996 by Kenji "Kj" Furuya and Sakurai Makoto. They were one of the first groups to popularize hip hop in Japan. They brought a western flavor to Japanese music and helped to turn rap music mainstream, with a mixture of reggae, hip hop, metal, punk, drum 'n' bass, rhythm 'n' blues and Spanish music influences. Some of their best known songs include "Shizuka na Hibi no Kaidan Wo", "Grateful Days", "Life Goes On", and "I Love Hip Hop". Kenji has stated in several interviews that the reason Dragon Ash started out as a pseudo-punk band was because, at the time, punk was popular in Japan, and his handlers felt that the hip hop image would not sell. He has also noted that hip hop has always been first in his book, but he did what was necessary to become successful in the industry. Dragon Ash is a member of Mob Squad, which is an affiliation with the bands Source and Endive.
Read more about Dragon Ash: History, Influences, Side Projects, Members, Awards & Nominations, Discography, Music Videos, Collaboration Music Videos
Famous quotes containing the words dragon and/or ash:
“Sir Eglamour, that worthy knight,
He took his sword and went to fight;
And as he rode both hill and dale,
Armed upon his shirt of mail,
A dragon came out of his den,
Had slain, God knows how many men!”
—Samuel Rowlands (1570?–1630?)
“And in the next instant, immediately behind them, Victor saw his former wife.
At once he lowered his gaze, automatically tapping his cigarette to dislodge the ash that had not yet had time to form. From somewhere low down his heart rose like a fist to deliver an uppercut, drew back, struck again, then went into a fast disorderly throb, contradicting the music and drowning it.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)