Tag Archives: arts

DJ June Club Chart – October 15, 2012

Posted on October 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Ke$ha- Die Young

DJ June Club Chart – October 15, 2012

もう一年前に出た曲ですが毎回かける度に絶対盛り上がるありがたい曲。トルコ人でelectro界ではTiest達と並ぶ大人気DJ/Producer、Tungが彼の一番のヒット曲。

The Turkish electro artist/DJ/producer Tung’s big progressive house hit. This song is almost one year old but still a big party banger.

2.Die Young – Ke$ha

白人の女の子達(特にクラブに来ている)が大好きで、彼女らのファッション・リーダー的存在のKe$ha新曲。私的にはずっと彼女の歌い方があまり好きじゃなかったのですが、この曲は素直にいい歌だなって思えました。これからクラブでヘビー・ローテーション候補曲。ラジオでもとてもよく流れています。

Ke$ha’s brand-new song. I wasn’t crazy about her but this one is kind of nice. It’s getting a lot of radio play.

3. Sweet Nothing – Calvin Harris f/ Florence Welch

RihannaのWe Found Loveが大ヒットしたCalvin Harrisの新曲ですが、こっちはもう少しElectroが好きな人向け。でも綺麗な歌もの。
Rihanna’s big hit “We Found Love” was a turning point in new comer Calvin Harris. His new electro song is featuring Florence Welch. Very pretty.

DJ June This Week’s Events

October 16 (Tue)                 @Sutra Lounge Toca Tues with Tony Touch-Guest Kid Capri 10pm-
October 18 (Thu)                 @Bob (235 Eldridge street) 10pm-
October 19 (Fri)                  @Providence AC in the Tropicana Hotel 11pm-
October 20 (Sat)                  @Providence AC in the Tropicana Hotel 10pm-

Nippon Hip Hop Nation – 1 日本ヒップホップ・ネイション Miss Hitoe from SPEED – 1

Posted on October 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

SPEED

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日本ヒップホップ・ネイション Miss Hitoe from SPEED – 1

スピードのメンバー、仁絵(Hitoe)さん

日本人の有名人の人たちのなかにもNYが好きな人、R＆Bやヒップホップが大好きな人たちがいます。私の知っている人でも何人か日本の芸能界で活躍しているヒップホップ・ファンがいます。H2Nではあらたに「日本ヒップホップ・ネイション」のコーナーを設け日本人で活躍しているアーティストのインタビューを掲載していきたいと思います。

初回はアイドル・グループ、「SPEED」で活躍していたダンサーの仁絵さんです。彼女のNY好きはよく知られていて、「SPEED」が解散した後は2年間NY留学をしたほどだそうです。

ブラック・カルチャーが大好きで、アフロ・ヘアやブレイズ・ヘアでヒップホップ・ダンスを踊ったりして注目された仁絵さん。彼女のファンキーで自由奔放な自己表現は日本のお茶の間のみなさんにもすんなり受け入れられました。仁絵さんのラヴリーなキャラのおかげで、ブラック・カルチャーが一般大衆にまで広まりました。自分のパフォーマンスに「ソウル」を散りばめてお茶の間のみなさんにお届けする、そんな彼女の功績はとても素晴らしいと私は思います。ハーレム2ニッポンではブラック・カルチャーと日本の文化を結ぶ「架け橋」が目標なのですが、それをいとも簡単に実現してしまったのが仁絵さんではないでしょうか。

ニューヨークで絵画を勉強したりヨガを習って資格を取得したり、つねに新しいチャレンジをしている仁絵さんの姿はあまりに神々しくて眩しくさえ感じられます。

その仁絵さんと最近会う機会があり、あらためて彼女のブラック・カルチャーを愛する姿勢に感動しました。SPEED 再結成、11月14日にニュー・アルバム、「 4 colors」をリリースするそうです。仁絵さんのアーティストとしての歩みを振り返ってみましょう。

1995年「夜もヒッパレ」に当時すでに大スターだった安室奈美恵の妹分として出演。

1996年 SPEED結成。新垣仁絵15歳でトイズ・ファクトリーとレーベル契約、芸能界デビュー。目標はアメリカのヒップホップ・ガール・グループ、TLC。

スタジオ・アルバム

1997年、ファースト・アルバム、「Starting Over」をリリース。

1998年、2枚目アルバム、「Rise」リリース。

1999年、「Carry On My Way」アルバム・リリース。

2003年、「Bridge」リリース。

その他、ライヴ・アルバムなど作品多数。1999年には仁絵さんの初ソロ・シングル「祈り」を発売、いきなりオリコン2位という快挙を遂げています。

仁絵さんのインタビューは次回、Part 1 とPart 2 の2回に分けてお届けしますのでお楽しみに！

伊藤弥住子

Nippon Hip Hop Nation – 1 Miss Hitoe from SPEED

Posted on October 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

SPEED

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Nippon Hip Hop Nation – 1

Miss Hitoe from SPEED

The first guest for our new feature “Nippon Hip Hop Nation” Special Interview series is a good friend of mine, Miss Hitoe of SPEED.

Hitoe Arakaki ,is the oldest member of the Japanese pop girl group SPEED, which disbanded in 2000 and reformed in 2009. Their first album since their reunion, 4 Colors, will be released on November 14, 2012.

Arakaki was born in Okinawa, Japan, and is also known by her first name, Hitoe. Her trademarks are her enthusiastic dancing as well as her wild and eccentric hairstyles.

Speed made their major label debut on August 5, 1996 and became an immediate success. Their debut album Starting Over became their first number one album on Japan’s Oricon weekly charts. They would eventually become the most successful girl group in Asia with sales of over 20 million singles and albums in just three years and eight months. The members disbanded on March 31, 2000 to pursue solo careers and to study.

Speed – Ashita No Sora

In 1999, Hitoe released her first solo single, “Inori”, which reached number two on the Oricon charts. On December 2002, she released her second single “I Got You” and the album I’ll Do It My Way. Besides “Inori,” she co-wrote all the tracks on the album. In February 2003, she released her third single, “I’ll Do It My Way”.

Hitoe is also an accomplished graphic artist, and following Speed’s breakup, she moved to New York City to attend art school. She is known for her distinctive graffiti styled paintings often depicting African-American life style. She has published an art book called “Vibe Art” and has held private exhibitions in Tokyo and New York. Her work has also been featured on the covers of various American Hip Hop compilation CDs.

Hitoe also became active in yoga and is a licensed yoga instructor in Japan. In June 2007, she published a book and DVD of yoga lessons. Hitoe is currently teaching yoga in Shibuya, Japan’s Star Light Studio.

SPEED Discography

Studio Albums

1997 Starting Over

1998 Rise

1999 Carry On My Way

2003 Bridge

Other Albums

1998 Moment

2000 SPEED The Memorial best 1335 Days Dear Friends 1

2000 SPEED The Memorial best 1335 Days Dear Friends 2

2001 SPEED Memorial Live “One More Dream” + Remix

2004 Best Hits Live: Save The Children SPEED Live 2003

2009 SPEEDland: The Premium Best Re Tracks

Hitoe’s interview coming soon!

Yasuko Ito

Gordon Parks Photo Exhibition until December 1, 2012

Posted on September 27, 2012 | 1 comment

Kathleen Neal Cleaver & Eldridge Cleaver – Black Panther

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Gordon Parks Photo Exhibition at Schomburg Center in Harlem until December 1, 2012

Gordon Parks was born 100 years ago this year (he died in 2006). In honor of this milestone, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is exhibiting 100 photographs.

Gordon Parks: 100 Moments celebrates a photographer who transformed the visual story of America with his ever-questioning lens, highlighting—in particular—the significance of Parks’s photographs from the early 1940s. 100 Moments focuses on Parks’s photographic practice of documenting African Americans in Harlem and Washington, D.C., during a pivotal time in U.S. history. These photographs were taken when both cities were going through significant changes—arising from post-WW II urban migration, the expansion of the black press, concern for children’s education, and entrenched segregation and economic discrimination.

Colored Water Fountain, Mobile, Alabama

Gordon Parks’ photos from the 1940s captured all aspects of what it was like to be an African-American at the time, including the struggle for dignity against the sting of racism while acknowledging regular aspects of life such as kids playing. The photos serve as a stunning documentation and are emblematic of the everyday joys and sorrows of people in the 1940s. He captured what it was like to be an everyday citizen.

Exhibition hours: Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.
@ Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) at 135^th Street MAP
New York, NY 10037-1801
Phone: (212) 491-2200