COMA-CHI's new album
RED NAKED is causing a stir! In this article, she tells us the inspiration and meaning behind each song. On her
YouTube channel you can listen to a few tracks from the album.
Intro
A track presented by
Mr. DJJIN (RHYMESTER) to
COMA-CHI.
Mr. DJJIN is one of the musicians with a long-standing career in the hip-hop scene and he is
COMA-CHI's "Nuff-Respect," someone whom
COMA-CHI routinely contacts and has connections with. When
COMA-CHI heard the introduction part, which is often called, "JINtro," it occurred to her that she could make this song the prologue of this rap album. The verse "I used to raise my mid finger, but now I raise my index finger with it, so let's peace out" is symbolic of the flow of this album.
Secret
In this song,
COMA-CHI gives her feelings and stance toward the world. In addition to her explicit message that although there is much truth hidden behind things that we can already see, she tells us to look for the truth by ourselves! She also encloses her implicit message in the song that she hopes listeners of this album will open many the doors hidden in her songs with their own hands. The track was done by
TETTORY BLK, a unit consisting of
MASAYA FANTASISTA and grooveman,
Spot, both core members of
JAZZY SPORT, who made most of the tracks in this album.
name tag (C-O-M-A-C-H-I)
As the title of the song "name tag" suggests, this song is something like a name tag for
COMA-CHI. She keeps on rapping from the beginning to the end with extremely tight rhymes in a "self-boasting" style; the basic rap stance that would silence anyone completely. The song already has a reputation as one of the classics. The song had been released in an analog version only, but it was given a new life by
DJ MITSU THE BEATS and reborn as a new, cool song. While
Secret is a ringing gong that declares the start of the album, this song describes who
COMA-CHI is - her anti-social attitude and street influence. Lyrics that border on obscene pack a powerful punch that would silence even a crying child.
girls! girls!
A song with a new approach that represents the weekend lives of girls using an autotune voice. In this song,
COMA-CHI raps about
COMA-CHI as a girl, rather than
COMA-CHI as a rapper. She says that she wanted to rap about girls' daily lives so that ordinary girls could sympathize with the song. She pretends to be cute, and then says tough things like "underneath my rough clothes I wear knickers for the game," "life is so easy because I can make cruising guys pay for me" and "with a hot guy, I don’t mind doing winey dance," which completely knocks out men. Sound-wise, the song is an ideally-balanced mixture of electro and hip hop, which is another new approach.
me & my kicks
COMA-CHI rhymes about "kicks" (sneakers), which are a B-BOY's (break dancing boy's) favorite, turning a deaf ear on girls' stilettos. The sound is an extremely 'phat' track which goes on and on with a hip hop beat from the 80's (as represented by
KOOL KIDS), which is a very hot thing to do. Girls have few opportunities to wear sneakers, or they cannot find the right size even if they find a pair that they think looks cool! So, the situation is rather difficult for girls. She had great fun writing this song with a close friend her own age,
K-MOON (AFRA’S INCREDIBLE BEAT BOX BAND), trying to say that girls too want to wear a cool pair of sneakers.
material world
COMA-CHI sang about cosmetics and shoes in
me and my kicks and
girls! girls!. While it is true that she has desire for these things inside her, it is also true that she has a different side. In this song, she reflects on everyday life and looks at the fact that people now are controlled by "materials." Sound-wise, she is singing comfortably on the 4/4 dance beat, which actually is her favorite beat, while she earns her fame in the hip hop scene.
COMA-CHI says that the flow of this album is a chronology of her state of mind, in a way. The dark parts of her mind, such as "hesitation" and "insecurity" start to appear in this song.
illterlude
A prelude for
jishosho girl don’t cry. She plays a Fender Rose guitar by herself, and expresses the dark parts of her mind.
jishosho girl don’t cry
COMA-CHI sings about the period from the time she felt depressed until the time she found some hope. She confesses her own emotional conflicts honestly in this song. It is very difficult to come out of the feeling that we are trapped at the very bottom of our lives. After going through so many emotional conflicts, she realized that she must look ahead and live, believing that there is always the future! By telling how she feels,
COMA-CHI hopes to give courage and hope to those who face the similar problems that she faced at that time.
COMA-CHI says that she always wanted to write a song on this theme. Her desire came true when she met the delicate, strike-a-chord track by
DJ MITSU THE BEATS.
perfect angel
This is a song of joy. Because she experienced and overcame a difficult time, it became possible for her to see wonderful scenery and feel an invisible, mighty power and warmth. It was a new kind of challenge that she tried to rap about this kind of topic with this kind of melody line. She wrote lyrics in which she compared a great love to romance.
COMA-CHI says that her first experience of recording with live strings was one of the things that made her feel her potential for self expression has been widened.
beautiful day
A big tune that expresses the delight of finding a great love and seeing everything starting to shine. The message "it's OK to be ourselves" and her thoughts about peace have been integrated with the wonderful track done by
DJ MITSU THE BEATS. The chorus is by
Mika Arisaka, creating an even more magnificent scene. Also the piano playing by
Takumi Kaneko adds finesse to this song.
doowutchyalike
COMA-CHI sings the positive lyrics saying that she will love herself and do what she wants to do first with her sharp and rapid rapping on a double-speed beat. This was blended with a beautiful melody and harmony that created her unique interpretation of the world. She did an amazing job in that she rattles on with her skillful rap, and then sings with a beautiful sonorous voice in the latter part of the song.
Tokyo Hiko Shojo
The analog version of this song released some time ago was sold out immediately. This song is a back-in-the-day song which describes
COMA-CHI's history as a rapper. She tells of her life as a junior high school student realistically, with "Mac in Shinjuku in front of Alta MYCITY with nowhere to go until dark except walk around" and then reveals her naked high school life when she got wrapped up with hip hop through
NITRO and
THA BLUE HERB. The phat but mellow track which blends nicely with the scenery of Tokyo is done by
DJ WATARAI. (The song on the first album to give a shock to
COMA-CHI in her early days,
NITRO, was also done by him.)
Kansha
What
COMA-CHI could see at the end when she looked back at her past, in which she experienced the many sorts of feelings that she overcame and was "thankful" to all people who had supported her. The song was done on a magnificent-scale and produced by Goro Kumai, who is from
COMA-CHI's generation, and puts an end to
COMA-CHI's naked autobiography. She repeats the word "thank you" again and again as if it is never enough, and devotes her thankfulness to all people who picked up this album.
Bonus Track
B-GIRLism
A bonus track after the main tracks,
B-GIRLism, is a remake of
RYMESTER's
B-BOYism.
B-BOYism is a classic J-urban song even recognized by
DABO, the king of the Japanese urban scene. This is an answer to the original song from a female, ten years later.
COMA-CHI raps about the B-BOY's basic stance, which is to be proud of oneself, from the standpoint of a female rapper. Her skill to use the flows of both
Utamaru and
Mummy-D distinctively is overwhelming.
