DJ Hasebe | Profile

Less famous internationally than, say, DJ Krush or Ken Ishii, DJ Hasebe is nonetheless one of the Japanese club scene’s most popular DJs. Although his music is firmly rooted in “old-school” ’80s hip-hop, Hasebe is a musical magpie who draws on a wide variety of sounds to create a richly diverse sonic palette. Hasebe was born in Kisarazu, Chiba prefecture, in June 1971. He played guitar in a high-school band and listened to J-pop and foreign artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna. But in 1998 Hasebe started getting into black music – especially hip-hop – and his future musical direction immediately became clear. He bought a turntable and mixer and started to make his own music after deciding that hip-hop offered all sorts of creative possibilities – certainly more than the golf-course management office where he’d been working since finishing high school. At age 19 Hasebe moved to Tokyo and started working as a DJ at various clubs, soon developing a reputation as one of Tokyo’s best platter-spinners In 1993, Hasebe organized and presented a hip-hop party called “Fat Rat” at then-trendy Tokyo club Gold, which established his scenemeister credentials and helped boost the popularity of hardcore hip-hop in Japan. After the “Fat Rat” event, Hasebe made his recording debut with a cassette tape of his mixes which was simply called DJ Hasebe #1, which sold well through specialty record stores. Hasebe’s big break came in 1996, when he released his... Read More

Less famous internationally than, say, DJ Krush or Ken Ishii, DJ Hasebe is nonetheless one of the Japanese club scene’s most popular DJs. Although his music is firmly rooted in “old-school” ’80s hip-hop, Hasebe is a musical magpie who draws on a wide variety of sounds to create a richly diverse sonic palette. Hasebe was born in Kisarazu, Chiba prefecture, in June 1971. He played guitar in a high-school band and listened to J-pop and foreign artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna. But in 1998 Hasebe started getting into black music – especially hip-hop – and his future musical direction immediately became clear. He bought a turntable and mixer and started to make his own music after deciding that hip-hop offered all sorts of creative possibilities – certainly more than the golf-course management office where he’d been working since finishing high school. At age 19 Hasebe moved to Tokyo and started working as a DJ at various clubs, soon developing a reputation as one of Tokyo’s best platter-spinners In 1993, Hasebe organized and presented a hip-hop party called “Fat Rat” at then-trendy Tokyo club Gold, which established his scenemeister credentials and helped boost the popularity of hardcore hip-hop in Japan. After the “Fat Rat” event, Hasebe made his recording debut with a cassette tape of his mixes which was simply called DJ Hasebe #1, which sold well through specialty record stores. Hasebe’s big break came in 1996, when he released his first vinyl single (and his first original composition), “Ice Pick,” which featured Japanese rappers Zeebra and Mummy-D. It was a hit with club-music fans and was soon released as a CD as well. In 1996 Hasebe began a long and fruitful collaboration with vocalist Aiko, better known as Sugar Soul. He started accompanying Sugar Soul during her live shows on a temporary basis, but soon became a regular part of the Sugar Soul “unit,” both on stage and as a collaborator on her recordings, starting with the track "Ima Sugu Hoshii,” which he produced. In 2000 Hasebe released his first full-length album, the appropriately titled Hey World, which featured guest artists such as Speech, Ronny Jordan, Doug E Fresh, Beenie Man, Les Nubians and Sugar Soul. Since then DJ Hasebe has been releasing his own solo recordings, working with other artists on their recording projects and playing a DJ set once a week at Club Yellow in Tokyo’s trendy Nishi-Azabu district. His most recent album is an extended remix set called Studio 69 Vol. 2 – Finish Ya School Megamix ’89-’91, which was released in February 2005. Collapse