Teriyaki Boyz

With cosigns from the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:5K4W6rqBFWDnAN6FQUkS6x">Kanye West</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2RdwBSPQiwcmiDo9kixcl8">Pharrell</a>, Japanese rap supergroup Teriyaki Boyz were intended to be ambassadors of the country's hip-hop scene to the world music arena in the 2000s. Releasing their star-studded debut album, Beef or Chicken, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Def+Jam%22">Def Jam</a> in 2005, they also garnered mainstream attention for "Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious)" from the 2006 movie of the same name. In 2009 they released the Delicious Japanese mixtape and sophomore LP Serious Japanese. Absent from the scene for over a decade, they made a surprise return on group member <a href="spotify:artist:2rAnv6brcXaglLZBB4XXEn">Nigo</a>'s 2022 album I Know NIGO!

Their formation facilitated by Japanese trendsetter, entrepreneur, DJ, and producer <a href="spotify:artist:2rAnv6brcXaglLZBB4XXEn">Nigo</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:2rAnv6brcXaglLZBB4XXEn">Tomoaki Nagao</a>) of A Bathing Ape, the crew also includes MCs Ilmari (Keisuke Ogihara) and Ryo-Z (Ryouji Narita) from <a href="spotify:artist:5kgH3qVSSDPPmKnQfrkblH">Rip Slyme</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0r371dCcixw9isainQEkD6">Verbal</a> of hip-hop/club duo <a href="spotify:artist:4UhiMIdxKqQxmzdE9nYe6O">m-flo</a>, and solo act <a href="spotify:artist:4Cy9pQmJi70JdCI0Pa8v7v">Wise</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:4Cy9pQmJi70JdCI0Pa8v7v">Kameyama Seiji</a>). <a href="spotify:artist:2rAnv6brcXaglLZBB4XXEn">Nigo</a> debuted the Teriyaki Boyz on his 2004 compilation Nigo Presents: (B)Ape Sounds, adding the <a href="spotify:artist:5CE2IfdYZEQGIDsfiRm8SI">DJ Shadow</a>-produced "Kamikaze 108." For the group's debut album, <a href="spotify:artist:2rAnv6brcXaglLZBB4XXEn">Nigo</a> assembled an all-star cast of producers, hand-picked from the U.S. hip-hop underground and pop mainstream, including <a href="spotify:artist:2gpPCu8rjzdobGqDZJpHiR">Just Blaze</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4743DlrFCsAlAV4N26Kdgh">Cut Chemist</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0KuF7reCTOZwV7YJnHQqgr">the Neptunes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">DJ Premier</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Dan the Automator</a>.

After the Teriyaki Boyz inked a deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Def+Jam%22">Def Jam</a>, the tongue-in-cheek Beef or Chicken first arrived in Japan in 2005 with "Heartbreaker," produced by <a href="spotify:artist:4tZwfgrHOc3mvqYlEYSvVi">Daft Punk</a>, as its lead single. The Japanese troupe dispelled doubts of being a one-off collaboration by contributing two songs to the soundtrack of the 2006 movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and issuing a new single, the <a href="spotify:artist:5K4W6rqBFWDnAN6FQUkS6x">Kanye West</a>-produced "I Still Love H.E.R.," the following year. That track landed on their 2009 sophomore effort, Serious Japanese, which featured contributions from <a href="spotify:artist:5FLbE1s9bnHwJhmngtVXpD">Towa Tei</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6nfYGe7IIuuP5bMY1jkJP6">Jermaine Dupri</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0c173mlxpT3dSFRgMO8XPh">Big Sean</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2vJObElaIZWYDLpiXiJMo9">Cornelius</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3hv9jJF3adDNsBSIQDqcjp">Mark Ronson</a>, Ad-Rock, and many more.

While the project was inactive for over a decade, the individual members continued with their primary projects: <a href="spotify:artist:5kgH3qVSSDPPmKnQfrkblH">Rip Slyme</a> issued a trio of albums in the 2010s before disbanding in 2018; <a href="spotify:artist:4UhiMIdxKqQxmzdE9nYe6O">m-flo</a> released four full-lengths; <a href="spotify:artist:4Cy9pQmJi70JdCI0Pa8v7v">Wise</a> remained a solo artist; and <a href="spotify:artist:2rAnv6brcXaglLZBB4XXEn">Nigo</a> continued his work in the fashion world, both with A Bathing Ape and Kenzo. In 2022, <a href="spotify:artist:2rAnv6brcXaglLZBB4XXEn">Nigo</a> released his album I Know NIGO!, which charted in the Top 15 on the Billboard 200. The effort included a surprise reunion with Teriyaki Boyz, "Morë Tonight." ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Cyril Cordor