Pioneer of Japanese Hip Hop
Zeebra began his hip hop career in 1993, joining the rap group King Giddra. Zeebra, along with his group King Giddra, played an important role in the development of the Japanese hip hop scene. In the mid 1990s, King Giddra, then an underground rap group, began addressing social issues of the time. King Giddra's 1995 album “The Power from the Sky” discussed contemporary issues, particularly the economic recession and the inability of many Japanese college graduates to find employment. Zeebra addressed this issue of working towards a good education and being unable to find employment in his song “Bullet of Truth”. Through their music, Zeebra and King Giddra “challenged youth not only to recognize the difficulties faced by Japanese society but also to speak up about them.”
King Giddra's popularity grew in Japan. In 1996, He recorded his first solo track "Untouchable" produced by Gang Starr producer DJ Premier. By 1997 Zeebra left King Gridda to start a solo career, appearing frequently in trendy hip hop and street culture magazines and TV shows about hip hop. In 1999 he released the single “Mr. Dynamite”, which became the first hip-hop single to make it into the top 50 on the Japanese Oricon pop charts. Through his early and newer work, Zeebra became one of the most popular and influential, yet controversial, Japanese hip hop artists.
In 2008, after the MTV Video Music Awards Japan Ceremony, an unhappy Zeebra went onto YouTube and published a video criticizing the MTV Japan for not appreciating musicians.
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