Hime (rapper)

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Hime (姫, Hime^? literally, "princess") born 1979 is a Japanese hip hop artist. She released her debut solo album Hime hajime in October 2003 and is part of DJ Honda's[1] studio. ^[1] Her works are notable for their use of Japanese cultural themes, including tanka metre and sampling of kabuki and bunraku narrations. Her works also often touch on themes of female empowerment; she describes herself as the voice of the "Japanese doll".^[2] One example of the incorporation of traditional Japanese poetry and contemporary hip-hop can be heard in the song Tateba shakuyaku or If the Peony Stands.

"this sound,
giri and ninjo
the spirit of harmony
will the suprise attack
come from the peony"

In the chorus of the song, as seen above, Hime writes in a thirty-one-syllable tanka.^[3] Yet she also uses rhyme, something imported, since Japanese does not have much of a structure for rhyming.

At the same time that she is embracing aspects of Japanese culture into her hip hop, we also see how Hime presents herself. Often in her videos she is dressed in ways that are clearly taken from American, and specifically hip hop, culture. Whether she is in a purple fur and a fedora hat reminiscent of Alicia Keyes, or wearing a diamond nose stud and long acrylic nails like Lil' Kim, we see how influential American hip hop style has been on Hime's look. ^[4].

[edit] Discography

• Hime hajime (姫始, Hime hajime^? literally, "Hime's first"); released 8 October 2003
• Ukina (浮き名, Ukina^? literally, "Scandal"); released 10 November 2004
• Hitogoyomi (一暦, Hitogoyomi^?); released 12 April 2006

[edit] See also

• Japanese hip hop
• Hime's MySpace Page [2]

[edit] References