Scha Dara Parr | Profile Like the Beastie Boys, their default western counterparts, Scha Dara Parr masterfully balances mass public appeal with strong credibility among kids and artists alike - a balance which has helped them to carve out a long and successful career. The group, comprising Bose (MC), Ani (MC), and Shinco (DJ), was formed in 1988 when the members were students at Kuwasawa Design Studio. After several preparatory gigs, Scha Dara Parr nabbed a special prize for it's soon to be legendary "Scha Dara Parr no Tema Pt. 1" at the March 1989 DJ Underground Contest held at the Inkstick Toshiba Factory, and were soon a crowd favorite wherever they played. Momentum continued to grow after an opening slot on the De La Soul Japan tour in November of the same year, which exposed them to hip-hop fans nationwide and helped them catch the attention of some hip-hop artists in the west. Scha Dara Daisakusen, the group's first album, appeared on the Major Force indie imprint in May 1990, followed by their major label debut album, Towering Nonsense, on Epic/Sony in October 1991. Scha Dara Para scored several minor hits over the next several years, including "Game Boys", which was used in the commercial for the game Legend of Zelda in December 1991, but only hit it big with the smash 1994 single "Konya wa Boogie Back". A collaboration with Kenji Ozawa (Flipper's Guitar, solo artist), who would become a frequent collaborator with Scha Dara Parr, "Konya wa Boogie Back" was one of Japan's first bona fide hip-hop hits, and established Scha Dara Parr, along with East End X Yuri, as pioneers of Japan's burgeoning hip-hop wave. The group jumped to major label Toshiba-EMI later that year, also touring, releasing a new album, and appearing in a television commercial for trendy department store Parco with Ozawa. In 2002, Scha Dara Parr became known to scores of Beastie Boys fans overseas when two mysterious mp3 files, one of which was named "Adrock-track_03japan_snippet.mp3", started circulating around the net. The songs were discovered to be from Scha Dara Parr, and one of them was the 2000 track "Where Ya At", featuring Adam Horovitz himself, with the indirect endorsement immediately putting the group on Beastie fans "cool list". While rarely producing hits the size of "Konya wa Boogie Back", Scha Dara Parr has ingrained itself on hip-hop culture in Japan, and on youth culture and fashion as a whole. Multiple collaborations with Ozawa and Nigo (A Bathing Ape), appearances on multiple game soundtracks and television commercials, VJ gigs, and regular touring keep the group in the spotlight - at least that of the hipster set - and they continue to remain current and vital. Scha Dara Parr teamed up with Denki Groove in early 2005 on the brilliant single "Twilight", which dominated the airwaves and thrust both groups squarely back into the spotlight. by Bill Haw
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