Jero ジェロ
Those of you in Japan currently have more than likely heard about the first ever black Enka singer, Jero. I first saw him when he made an appearance on SMAPxSMAP.
For those who haven’t heard of Jero, he is a 26 year old African-American who sings Enka, a form of Japanese music generally enjoyed by the older generations of Japan. I gave his first song 海雪（うみゆき：Umiyuki) a few listens and it is actually rather enjoyable. Prior to that I didn’t really listen to much enka (just a little Hikawa Kiyoshi, as he has also been making a big commotion in the enka world during the last few years).
There are those that hope that Jero will spread interest in enka to the younger generations of Japan. I believe it might be worth a shot as many Japanese youth are currently obsessed with African-American (in other words “hip-hop” or “urban”) culture. Either way, as long as the guy is doing what he wants to do, I’m sure he will be happy, as well as change the way people look at Japan in terms of racism and cultural diversity.
Here is the music video for Umiyuki, his first single released in February, 2008. Although the video itself is a bit stupid, the song is pretty good and it’s probably worth a few listens. I especially enjoy the chorus.
