Yamada Man (Rappa Garya) × Masakazu Ido: Where the Core and the World Overlap

Freestyle rap battles are currently causing a huge boom, especially among young people. In fact, this isn't the first time Japan has seen a hip-hop and rap boom. This marks the first conversation between a rapper who has been active since the early 1990s, setting himself apart with his unique worldview and rhyming skills, and a rising copywriter who, while influenced by rap, also excites audiences. As their dialogue progressed about their respective work and how they craft words, commonalities became apparent.

  The Power of Rhymes You Want to Say

Ido: I've known Rapper Garyya since my student days, so I'm truly honored to be here today. Your album ULTRA HARD, released this March, is your first in eight years. I listened intently to Yamada Man's lyrics, and I was blown away—the exchange of phrases is utterly compelling, the messages are packed in without exception, and even the jokes are spot-on. I was completely in awe of how high your skill level is!

Yamada Man: Thank you. There's something about listening to rap that gets you strangely pumped up, isn't there?

Ido: It feels like music has another competitive element added, which is thrilling. Rap combines the elements that get young people hooked—like dance or sports—with an academic edge. You can't win battles without quick thinking, and you can't have real impact without understanding society.

Yamada Man: Freestyle battles are booming lately, so people think rappers = freestylers, but originally it wasn't battle-style—it was rap contests judging live performances. Adults put their heads together to evolve it into battles, making it enjoyable for listeners of this era. Like Taika letting the audience judge at UMB (ULTIMATE MC BATTLE), or the battle format in Freestyle Dungeon constantly evolving.

Ido: It became a huge boom, didn't it?

Yamada Man: Seeing young freestylers get heated in battles really brings back memories of the rap boom in the early 2000s.

Ido: In my work, when it comes to rap-related projects, there's the drama " SR Saitama no Rapper." For its broadcast, I created the tagline "The more you get stepped on, the more rhymes you can lay down." I wanted to convey the message that even though the protagonists are down-on-their-luck, that's exactly why they can make better rap.

Yamada Man: Everyone who becomes a rapper is kind of like that, isn't it?

Ido: I think rap happens when the feelings you hold inside combine with technique. Putting what you truly feel or what actually happened onto the rhythm of rhymes gives it power. Even in MC battles, there are some incredibly skilled people, but...

Yamada Man: It's not just about being good. I love playing guitar too, but when I hear a piece praised for its crazy fast picking, I'm impressed in the moment, but it doesn't stick. A single B.B. King bend is way more powerful than any superhuman technique. Rap has that same feeling. That said, rap is still fundamentally a music about rhyming.

Ido: Your lyrics, Yamada-man, are incredibly clever with the rhymes too.

Yamada Man: Rhymes just feel good, don't they? Like when an echo bounces back from a "Yaa-hooo!" – it feels great. Repetition has this effect that goes beyond logic, making animals feel good on a cellular level.

Ido: Advertising also uses rhetorical devices that pile on pleasant-sounding sounds. Placing a message atop a crisp, satisfying sound grabs both interest and understanding, right?

Yamada Man: When I rhyme, I prioritize sound over syllable count. If I get a flash of inspiration connecting two rhymes, I'll cut the sentence midway to force it to work. Also, I avoid reusing rhymes once they've been used. I want something unexpected that really hits the senses. Like your "FF is coming."

Ido: We put up a huge ad above Hachiko Square at Shibuya Station that just said "FF is coming." Since it was the first Final Fantasy release in seven years, I wanted the copy to be something people passing through the station would see and immediately want to tell someone else.

The session-like process generates heat in the work

Yamada Man: "FF is coming." was visible from anywhere in Hachiko Square, and it was refreshingly clean—nothing else was written there.

Ido: Not even the release date (laughs). Actually, before that, we did a train car takeover ad where we talked extensively about the game. So we deliberately kept it straightforward. During the meeting, I typed "FF is coming." on the PowerPoint and showed it. It was the client's bold decision.

Yamada Man: It feels kind of like a musician's jam session. Speaking of which, the renovation company's commercial was interesting too. Were the lines scripted?

Ido: For the lines from the home-visit teacher, doctor, and mom, we had them say about 10 variations on the spot, changing their tone each time. That way, some sounded good, and some sounded mean. We'd chat with the team members, "This doesn't work, that doesn't work," and rework it live on the spot.

Yamada Man: It's similar to recording work. You play a track, rap over it, and when you listen to the take, it sounds cool. Yet you think, "It's kind of ordinary, right?" It might be a mental thing, but there's a different mindset between having experienced analog recording with open reels and only knowing DTM recording on a computer. Editing with DTM is an advantage, but there's a different kind of appeal to one-take recordings or session recordings.

Ido: In my work too, I prepare scripts, of course. But lines written purely to sell something lack that buzz. For the renovation commercial, we spent time in the studio trying different things. The result was more interesting than the original idea. Depending on the job, sometimes you can't change a script once it's set.

Yamada Man: That's the client's "this is it" decision, right?

Ido: I try to separate my proposals into "parts that shouldn't change" and "parts where we can experiment to make it more interesting." Scripts are just drafts; they change based on the cast and their mood on the day. Sometimes I'll throw out a crazy request or let them freestyle for two minutes. That can bring out unexpected ideas that end up getting used. Especially in video work, I think improvisational production methods really work well.

Yamada Man: It's like a session or a battle, that kind of feeling. You judge in that moment whether it's hot or not.

Ido: Rather than crafting copy alone, I often see people's reactions on the spot and make quick suggestions. Of course, I review it later. Sometimes, completely unexpected ideas emerge right after a meeting ends.

Yamada Man: That burst of energy doesn't just fade away. I used to work solo, but I find it way more fun to have someone to bounce ideas off of, to create and perform as a group.

If you get stuck for words, just go to sleep!

Ido: How do you write lyrics? Do you consciously collect words to use?

Yamada Man: For me, what I create is music, right? So if I start stockpiling words, it starts feeling like work. Rather than confronting words specifically for lyrics, I read novels, appreciate art, or get absorbed in my guitar or camera (laughs).

Ido: I see. I don't stockpile words either. I think copywriters are like mediums—they speak for others. So I believe it's crucial to interview people and experience things firsthand. I also constantly observe trends in the world. When do you write lyrics, Yamada-man?

Yamada Man: First, if it's nighttime, I start by having a beer. If it's morning, I start by walking near the Kanda River by my house while listening to beats on my headphones. When lyrics come to me, I immediately record them on my phone or jot them down in the small notebook I carry.

Ido: So you have something like a notebook for ideas?

Yamada Man: There was a time I didn't carry a notebook and pen, thinking I'd only forget the minor stuff and only keep the really intense, unforgettable ideas. But inspiration really needs to be written down.

Ido: I use notes and my smartphone too. Timing-wise, I often get ideas while taking my morning shower. It seems like whatever I was stuck on yesterday gets sorted out while I sleep.

Yamada Man: Yeah, for me it's definitely the Kanda River after waking up.

The essence and what the world finds interesting. Competing in the overlapping areas.

Ido: Rappa Gariya has featured numerous artists like Yamaran, Dragon Ash, and ZEEBRA. How do you approach collaborations?

Yamada Man: It varies case by case. Sometimes after recording Q's and my rap parts, we'll think, "This would be insane with that guy on it," and reach out. Other times, it clicks the moment we first hear the track.

Ido: How do you decide on the lyrics?

Yamada Man: Sometimes we finish our own parts first and then place the order. Other times, to convey the image to the other artist, we'll quickly write just the verse in the studio, hand them the recording, and ask them to write the chorus lyrics. It really depends on the artist and the timing.
※ Verse: The part of the song other than the chorus

Ido: In advertising, you sometimes feature celebrities or characters. For the "ONE PIECE 300 Million Copies Sold Campaign" newspaper ads, we featured manga characters in local papers across all 47 prefectures. We ran them daily for four weeks, moving south from Hokkaido to Okinawa.

Yamada Man: Did you come up with 47 different phrases?

Ido: First, we listed each prefecture's specialties and picked ONE PIECE characters. We treated the newspaper as a canvas unique to that region, combining manga panels with photos to create copy that blended character-specific phrasing with local flavor.

Yamada-man: That must make you look forward to your prefecture's newspaper release day.

Ido: I was surprised by the reactions—Twitter lit up at 4 AM, and people even started swapping newspapers with others from different prefectures. Seeing that wave of activity spread southward, I truly felt, "Wow, this is amazing. It feels great."

Yamada Man: Which prefecture did the protagonist appear in?

Ido: Luffy never appeared until the very end. We had him show up in the New York Times the day after the Okinawa publication, crossing the ocean. Along with a message like, "This is adventure. This is manga." It was a mix of the nationwide campaign and the later idea for overseas advertising, aimed at delivering a surprise "thank you" to the fans.

Yamada Man: That punchline is brilliant. We got hyped with our crew, like "We made something crazy here!" When we performed it live, the audience was just gaping. That moment when we shared the essence of hip-hop—believing in music and your crew—was the best.

Ido: Rap is really popular right now, and it's being featured in commercials more often, isn't it? How do you feel about it being used for advertising?

Yamada Man: I'm just happy about it. If someone finds this culture interesting enough to use it, I can walk down the Kanda River with my head held high.

Ido: When you have rappers appear, the response from the internet generation of young people is huge. We've gotten more requests like "Do a rap project," but it's a shame if the core elements aren't understood.

Yamada Man: I think the core stuff will stick around, so it's fine. Our first album was titled SUPER HARD. This eighth album is ULTRA HARD. We're evolving and passing on what everyone already knew.

Ido: Society often rejects things it doesn't recognize at all. So, the blend of what stays unchanged and what's new is crucial. I feel like we're searching for the overlap between the circle of what the world finds interesting and the circle of what we want to create.

Yamada Man: Yeah, I totally get that feeling about the overlapping circles.

Produced by: Shunsuke Kaga
Title Calligraphy: Kengo Aoki
Rapper Selection: Taika