BAD HOP

Comprising a mixture of childhood friends and even a pair of twins, the eight-man-strong Japanese hip-hop collective BAD HOP burst out of Kawasaki, Kanagawa in 2014 with their distinctive brand of melodic, Japanese-language rap. Debuting with the free compilation BAD HOP ERA, the crew spotlighted a rotating cast of talent on each track, with individual emcees including Benjazzy, G-k.i.d and Tiji Jojo able to introduce themselves properly. Flexing slick singing abilities, varied vocal tones and multisyllabic rhyming prowess between them, the clique soon amassed a loyal following, and by September of the same year, another mixtape entitled Badhopbox had landed. Garnering critical acclaim in the following months, they received a high-profile endorsement from VICE on their eponymous 2015 debut album, broadening their reach once again. 2016 saw the release of a new mixtape, BAD HOP ALL DAY, which spawned a hit in “Lifestyle”. The same year, a prominent member of the group, T-Pablow, appeared as a team leader and ‘monster’ in the televised rap battle series Freestyle Dungeon, releasing his debut solo project Super Saiyan1 shortly thereafter. In 2017, BAD HOP reunited for their sophomore album, Mobb Life, which marked their first fully distributed effort. Accruing tens of millions of streams and spawning the hits “Asian Doll” and “Ocean View”, the LP boosted the group’s profile internationally. Maintaining their prolific output, they returned the following year with a new EP, BAD HOP HOUSE, as well as a sequel to BAD HOP ALL DAY, the latter of which was handed to supporters for free at select live shows. The group returned in 2019 with the non-album single “Born This Way”, a glacial trap number, before reemerging in 2020 with their third studio album, BAD HOP WORLD.

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