Interview with Charisma.com

Having just recently released their latest mini-album Aidoro C in early March, rap unit Charisma.com takes the time to answer JaME's questions about their music and more.

Hello Charisma.com! As this is our first interview with you, please introduce yourselves to our readers.

MC Itsuka: I am MC Itsuka. I am in charge of the imagination and creativity of Charisma.com.
DJ Gonchi: We are a rap unit consisting of two female office workers. MC Itsuka recently described us as a unit of borderline female office workers.

How did the both of you come together to form Charisma.com?

MC Itsuka: We were classmates in junior and high schools. We formed Charisma.com after our graduation like it was the natural flow of our lives.
DJ Gonchi: At first, we were classmates in junior and high schools. MC Itsuka started her band activities in her college, and she later decided to form a rap group. It was at such a time that she invited me to her project because she knew I was bored.

Hip-hop is still a minor genre in Japan. What influenced you to make this music?

MC Itsuka: Charisma.com does not belong to the category of hip-hop. I listened to Japanese rap music when I wanted to improve my rapping. That was how I initially discovered hip-hop music. I do not know which musical genre our style actually fits into.

DJ Gonchi, where did you pick up your DJ skills from? Why did you decide to be a DJ?

DJ Gonchi: I started to learn about DJ-ing since MC Itsuka invited me to Charisma.com. I do not have sound techniques even now, but I perform my best by learning from people around me.

Why did you decide on the theme of love for your latest mini-album Aidoro C?

MC Itsuka: Our previous work featured a stressed-out lady in her workplace. This time, we created a song about her personal life. Is her soap opera-like relationship actually love? What does it mean to love oneself? We created a song based on such themes.

Can you please explain in detail what the song Sapuriminal Diet is about?

MC Itsuka: The theme is about Japanese society that is too obsessed with people’s looks and physical shapes. Another theme is about how the society we live in is all talk.
DJ Gonchi: The theme is about dieting itself. The lyrics are about a person who is always talking about dieting without actually working out. There are quite a lot of people like that, including myself.

MC Itsuka, you are seen dancing with a group of dancers in the PV for Sapuriminal Diet. Did you have to rehearse the dance many times or was it very easy for you?

MC Itsuka: I had so much muscle pain that made me think I am no longer a dancer myself.

On December 8th last year, you did a live stream of your performance on YouTube. Can we expect more of such live streams?

MC Itsuka: Do not expect anything. I am good at betraying expectations!
DJ Gonchi: I would like to do it again because live streaming creates opportunities for people worldwide to actually watch our performance!

If you could perform overseas, which country would you like to go to?

MC Itsuka: Los Angeles.
DJ Gonchi: I would like to have shows in the United States. The nation consists of various cultures, musical styles, and people. I am interested in discovering how people think of our music and performance.

To conclude our interview, please say a few words to our readers.

MC Itsuka: You can dance to Charisma.com’s music best if you use your knees and waist.
DJ Gonchi: The lyrics of the songs of Charisma.com are written with sharp points of views. Although there might be a language barrier, I hope music conveys emotions through words. We have a lot of party songs, and I would be glad if you could enjoy dancing to our music.

JaME would like to thank PROMIC and Charisma.com for this interview opportunity.

Find out more about Charisma.com in the video below.