Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Jero - Japan's first black Enka singer

Photobucket

JAPAN PROBE

Believe it or not, this 26-year-old American in hip hop clothing is actually about to become a professional enka singer in Japan!

According to the biographical information on his JVC Music site, Jero's Japanese grandmother exposed him to enka music, building a great love in him for traditional Japanese music. Jero hadn’t planned on becoming a musician, and had actually graduated from the University of Pittsburg as a computer engineer, but a chance runner-up victory in a karaoke contest led JVC Music to scout him. He’s been in Japan for two years for vocal training and he will be releasing his first CD later this month.


I'm impressed! He's quite good, though he doesn't seem to have that LILT that regular Enka singers do (not that it's a terrible thing). Represent America, buddy, and good luck! :)

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