Mega Late Show

Back with another "classic" phone call. This time got the guy Jordan Smith, one of the guests from way back in the archive all the way to episode 39. We talk about family and existing in "ｔｈｅｓｅ　ｔｉｍｅｓ" and all the different things he has his hands in such as the Japanese language poetry scene and art & culture in general. There is also an update on his collaborative project with @ddahlinger, now titled "Syzygy". Hope ya'll enjoy content and keep your heads and spirits up. @jordangiraffe topojo.com @megalateshow

This week weve got two returning guests to the show. Dj Double El (Ep #089) and MC Boodah aka G-Rillah! We caught up and talked a bit about how weve been doing during the coronavirus outbreak. We have a long discussion about drinking while someone drives in Tokyo and the difference in listening to an album in a car vs headphones, the difficulty of finding a good deodorant in Tokyo, peoples seemingly disregard for deodorant, crime in Tokyo and Black Lives Matter. Boodah just had a new collaboration album drop. On part two we discuss that as well as some more music. so check that out on tuesday. As always thanks for listening. Were going to have a lot of changes over the next few months. Im really excited about that, so stay tuned. @djdoubleel @Boodah___bridge @grillah_climax @megalateshow

Yo so i wasnt able to record a regular episode last weekend. I get into why during the intro but i wanted to make sure to get some content out. So heres a conversation i had with the homie, writer and poet, Tracy Jones. Recently listeners will recognize the name as the host and moderator of the new bi-weekly podcast im contributing to, The Fire This Time. Older listeners will recognize his from way back in episode 16. and new listeners may recognize him a writer thats appear in the Tokyo Weekender and Huffington Post. We start off with Tracy surprising me with new of a re-release of an album he created back in the early-mid aughts,Human Cloud Abandonment. Its being re-released by legendary underground hip-hop artist, Uncommon Nasa. So be on the look out for that soon. We discuss some more mythical underground rappers and Tracys friendship with a few of them, James Baldwin, Conspiracy Theory and Dr Malachi Z York-el, his writing and the response to certain piece, and we have some light discussions about

Part two of our conversation with newest member of the Hilt, Monsieur Jovoni. Also joining us is the rest of the Hilt. Nair B, A Valley and Mj The Sensei. Episode two always focuses on sharing and discussing music. Lots of shares about different artists. Our favorites, cats that disappeared, the legacy of Souljah Boy, and we also take a lot of time to discuss the Nation of the Gods and Earth. Thanks for checking us out! New episodes Tuesdays and Fridays. Like subscribe and go check out the Hilt. monsieurjovoni.bandcamp.com @monsieur_monsieur_jp @flyerrrmilesj @a._.valley @nair_b

The Hilt is a newly formed rap group here in Tokyo. Youll recognize Nair B, A Valley and MJ the Sensei from episodes #117 and 120. Today we have the newest member of the Hilt and recent Tokyo transplant by way of Knoxville TN, Monsieur Jovoni. Jovoni is a musician, producer and emcee. Right at the beginning of the conversation we find out he has only been in Tokyo for 6 months. So we started with a bunch of questions regarding him thoughts on Tokyo. We spend a lot of time talking about going to onsens, ranking the konbinis, Japanese toilets, and American food franchises. Jovoni gives us insight into his musical taste, tells us how he got interested in music, how he used to live in Portland and was a part of grow operation. Catch part two next Tuesday! Thanks for listening monsieurjovoni.bandcamp.com @monsieur_monsieur_jp @flyerrrmilesj @a._.valley @nair_b

Part two of our episode with two of the founders of Japan For Black Lives, Brooklyn Terry and Naomi Kawahara. Check out part one for more details about the organization as well as perspective on some of the racial issues non-Japanese people face her in Japan. Particularly in the hiphop and dance community. Part two of our episodes focus on sharing and discussing music. This time we get into a fairly long discussion about WAP but also share a lot of old and new gems. Please follow Japan for Black Lives and all the guests on Instagram. Thanks for listening. @jp4blacklives @brooklynterryef @fabfivetokyo @afrodyty88 @megalateshow

Ayyyoo Had a lot of fun with this joint. We sat down with our good friends, Naomi Kawahara and Brooklyn Terry Wright. Both of them wear many hats and are involved with a variety of projects. But let me try to keep it simple... Naomi is a founder and head of Fab Five Tokyo, a creative consulting company. She is also simply awesome. Long time listeners will recognize Brooklyn Terry as a previous guest of the podcast. With his crew, Elite Force, he is a pioneer in the global house music dance community and highly formative in Japans exposure to the Black dance music culture in general. Also a ton of other things that we mention during the recording. For this episode we focus on their newest project, Japan For Black Lives. Which is a non-profit cross cultural endeavor to discuss racism and Black culture with the Japanese community. Inspired by recent events and decades of conversations with Japanese people, they hope to creative more awareness and context for the experiences Black people face in Japan and abr

Part two of our episode with the Hilt. A tokyo-based rap group consisting of A Valley , MJ the Sensei and Nair B. Check out part one to find out where theyre from, how they formed and some of the science. In part two we focus on sharing and discussing music and art. So here weve got some solo tracks, a live rendition of one of their tracks and also some freestyles. Plus a variety of random tangents. follow them on insta. subscribe and rate us on whatever. Thanks for listening @a._.valley @flyerrrmilesj @nair_b @the_superiors @megalateshow

120 knowledge!!! A. Valley is a creative and emcee from Kansas City. MJ the Sensei is AA clothing designer and emcee from Baltimore. Nair B is a musician/ beatmaker from VA. also featured on episode 117. After working together on various projects they decided to come together and create the Hilt. A Tokyo-based hip-hop music ensemble. Nair B joins in as guest co-host and we discuss the origins and philosophy behind the new and growing group. We touch on a lot of different topics and really was just rocking. Some of the topics include fashion and MJs clothing brand The Superiors, sacred Geometry, The Book of Five Rings, Broly being brolic, AAVE (African American Vernacular English) and pop culture, what inspires them and what the future may hold. The energy was right. Follow all these guys on Instagram. @flyerrrmilesj @a._.valley @nair_b @the_superiors Bmoresuperior.com

Part two of our episode with Tokyo based Bay Area Emcee, Alonzo Mori. The second part of our episodes focus on sharing and discussing music. Alonzo and J The Protagonist share some of their music. J hits us with an unreleased joint and we have a themed share today. We each picked a track that has a specific concept or meaning. We share some Nelly, Lupe and Open Mike Eagle. Make sure to tune in and follow our guys Alonzo and J the Protagonist on Insta. Like subscribe and rate us on itunes. @alonzo_mori @jtheprotangonist @megalateshow

Yo, Another Temperature Check drop-off featuring our real good guy, DJ Neil Armstrong. We were able to get a lot of insight into how current activity is and what current the entertainment field might look like post-corona. Neil is a well-traveled and knowledgeable dude, so being able to pick his brain was a real gift. This recording was done in early July just to put some of the things we're talking about into context. Hope ya'll enjoy the convo, @djneilarmstrong @megalateshow

Ayooo! Alonzo Mori is a Black and Japanese-American emcee from the Bay Area. Weve known of each other online and through several mutual friends but had never met before. So this episode, J the Protagonist, returns as guest host and we get to know Alonzo. We touch on a little of everything regarding his approach, philosophy and taste in rap music. How he got started and what he plans on doing in the future. He also told us about how he has been working/ touring with the Japanese band, Ali. Who did the theme music for the anime "Beastars." Dope shit only. Check out both his and J the Protagonist on instagram and follow the path to their music. Next week weve got part two dropping where we play and discuss music. @alonzomori @jtheprotagonist

Part two with rapper emcee J the Protagonist and producer Ghostpop. Part two always features music shares and discussions about music. We listen to some new music J and Ghostpops got coming out soon, we each share a song from an artist that we think each other would know and J gives a us freestyle verse. Tune in. like. share. subscribe. and go peep these cats on spotify, Thanks in full. @jtheprotagonist @ghostp0ps @tokyodopecity

"We sittin on fire right now!" Yo new young blood. J The Protagonist is a rapper out of the DC area and currently living in Tokyo. Hes been a long time collaborator with Ghostpops and we extra happy to finally get him to the show. Together they are a crew called Colored People Time and theyve got several tracks cooked. We share one of those but tune into part two for more. For part one we get into why the culture of hiphop is more competitive than other popular genres of music, the balance of being making music for yourself but also trying to gain a large audience, what J values in rap skils, randomly moving to Japan, being a fan of anime and run in's with the police. What i found really interesting and refreshing is the age difference between me and J. As a reluctantly self-titled "old head" its good to be reminded where the youthful energy comes from. Tune in. Subscribe. Rate us on itunes. Go peep J on Spotify and Instagram Also next week J is going to be rocking with us a guest co-host. @jthepro

Part 2 of our conversation with multi-instrumentalist beatmaker, Nair B. For the second part of our podcast we focus on sharing and discussing music. Here Nair and Ghostpop get into some of the technical aspects of Nairs production while i try to stop myself from vomiting from a sinus headache. We touch on a bunch of music made by Nair and Ghostpops, including some new J the Protagonist music. Nair Bs youth spent learning to play music in church, Beat Stars and the risk of uncleared samples, Nair getting his music stolen and reposted by a Vietnamese account, His new group Hilt, the contributions of Filipino turntablists in American hiphop and a lot more. Thanks for listening. Give us a share and tell a homie. @nair_b @ghostp0ps

Nair B is a multi-instrumentalist beatmaker from Virginia. Since he moved to Tokyo hes been making connections, collaborating and refining his sound. His new project, Jet Black Hair, is a the culmination of the last few years of work and a love letter to his Filipino heritage. We discuss how his Filipino roots inform his worldview and approach to music, not realizing how important learning music as a child would be, living next to old Japanese assholes with hammers, and a lot more. Honestly its a bit of a blur because I had a crazy sinus headache during this recording. All I remember is having a lot of fun and finding out that Nair B is my little cousin. Shout out to the live homie, Ghostpops, fka Kylo Yen (episode 55) for holding down the Co-host chair. This joint was perfect. @nair_b @ghostpOps

Part two with Stupid Kozo and special guest co-host Submerse! Go back and peep the first part where we find out who Stupid Kozo is and such. Part two of the podcast always focuses on music. Be it music made by our guests or shit we just like. We have convos! This one starts off with some convos about the rise in popularity of anime in rap and Japanese symbolism in non-japanese art. And the subsequent decline of comic book bars in popular rap despite the massive popularity of Marvel comics. We each share a track that reminds us of rainy days which leads to discussions about: the early growth of experimental instrumental hiphop-esque beats. The Roots Things Fall Apart being our favorite The Roots albums & Erykah Badu's Window Seat They also hip me to Fujimoto Tetsuro and Sauce 81. Turns out theyre amazing. Plus a lot a lot more. Thanks for listening Stupid Kozo has the best name. Pay attention. Like share subscribe. Check out Abysmal Lounge. https://m.soundcloud.com/abysmal_lounge Soundclou

Finally got stupid kozo on! Stupid Kozo is a Japanese DJ and Tokyo transplant by way of Fukuoka. Long before the covidvirus had every DJ live streaming, he was running the Absymal Lounge online radio show. He can usually be spoted at beat shows here in Tokyo but also makes his way to Okinawa a few times a year to spin as well. I first came into contact with Stupid Kozo and Submerse while playing Overwatch on PS4. Randomly teamed with them and got a win. So we spend the first several minutes talking about gaming and the new upcoming console generations. After that Kozo shares how he first became interested in non-japanese music and culture, studying abroad and using rap lyrics to learn English, how useful traveling abroad was in helping him better understand hip-hop culture. Submerse also returns to the podcast for the first time since he co-hosted the Marcus D episode. We get into a lot other random convos. Be sure to return for part two next tuesday where we talk about early beat music scene artists

Part 2! Music shares with our guy, film and television actor, stuntman, Lex Hunter! Also featuring our guest co-host, original member of the podcast, Steze. Catch up on part 1 if you haven't already. @sageofstone Lesteze.com https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4244942/ (Lex) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5225985/ (Steze)

Ayooo Today we got the multi-talented, film and television actor slash stunt double and occasional model, Alexander (Lex) Hunter. Lex has been in Japan for several years learning the language, being swole, and working within the Japanese film and television industry. Of his several accolades, recently one of his projects ,Benza English, was nominated for several awards with Seoul's Webfest and the spin-off The Benza is on Amazon Prime. We discuss a lot of his experiences acting in Japan, the good and the bad. We talk about his webshow, the Ran-Dumb Show. Also what constitutes a Black film? Joining us as guest host, is returning member of the pod, Steze! As you know Steze is a writer, actor, and film maker a well. So theres a lot of interesting perspective into the film and acting industry. Go find all of Alexanders projects, catch his insta. And go check out this short horror film directed by Steze and starring Lex. Heres that link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awqx_WTt05k&t=83s @sageofston