Enko Enko Aneh: Can traditional Japanese singing be Hip-hop?

BY Trixie Cordova, February 12, 2010

Some think Hip-hop is merely a genre of music. For those in the know, it’s much more than that. Hip-hop is music, it’s an attitude, it’s art and a lifestyle.  It’s a bridge between other cultures, more than it is a singular culture in itself. In the past, artists have dubbed themselves “Hip-hop” because they dress in accordance with certain cliches, and sound however the industry decides hip-hop should. But who really determines who or what hip-hop is today, or where it’s headed next?

As you mull over the best way to answer that question, allow me to complicate things for you even further:

Meet Jero.

Jerome Charles White, Jr. or “Jero” for short, is a 28-year-old singer from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He studied information technology at Pitt, but decided to pursue a career as a professional musician. After a chance encounter during a karaoke competition in Japan, Jero was officially signed on to become the next big Enka singer.

Not “hip-hop.” Enka.

Enka is one of the oldest, most traditional genres of music in Japan. It gained popularity in the 1950’s, and has had a fairly consistent fan base ever since. Enjoyed by a small, mostly over 50, population, Enka is traditionally sung by older Japanese men and women dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. Here’s a sample of Jero’s Enka:

In 2008, Jero made his worldwide debut as the first African American Enka singer, thrusting the genre back into mainstream spotlight, and bringing with him a newer and younger generation of Enka enthusiasts. And as you can see in the video, he didn’t exactly follow the rules.

What does Jero have to do with the question about Hip-hop? Well, to answer that you’d have to know who determines what we call hip-hop. Does Jero represent hip-hop in his clothing choices or dance moves? Or does he, as an Enka singer, have nothing to do with it at all?

Go ahead and call his look a gimmick – the boy can sing. And if Hip-hop was meant to bridge cultures and generational gaps, then Jero at least deserves some credit for his persistence in sporting baseball caps and baggy jeans, all while sharing the stage with some of the oldest (and I mean oldest) performers in Japan. If that’s not Hip-hop, then what is?

Photo Credits (www.japanprobe.com | www.japan-zone.com)

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