In today’s world, ruled by social media, enigmas are slowly going extinct, and, well, it’s easy to see why. Having an online presence is important for marketing yourself, getting your name out there and gaining popularity through followers and virality. With the oversaturation of all these new online personalities and creatives, there’s something to be said about mysterious and secretive characters in the industry.
Take some of the coolest people who’ve taken that approach like Martin Margiela and Frank Ocean, dodging public appearances and press coverage which, in turn, leaves their fans feigning for more. That’s where UntilJapan (or Japan, as his fans call him) comes in, the talk of the town in the underground rap scene and an artist that, according to his extremely loyal fan base, has had his cadence and flow stolen by countless other rappers.
From Clayton Country in Georgia, Atlanta, the rapper is still extremely young - with many fans saying that he’s 21 or 22 years old. There’s almost no information on Japan online because he doesn’t do any interviews or post much on social media (he only follows four people). He even cleared out his Soundcloud account several times so we don’t know, for sure, when he started making music but fans on his subreddit speculate that it was sometime in 2019.
He started emerging as a promising talent in early 2023 with the release of his collective Dark Outside’s album DARK OUTSIDE, Vol.1 which featured standouts like "UNDERSTOOD." Later that year, in September, UntilJapan would go on to release his first solo album SAFE TRAVELS had his biggest song "KISS N TELL," produced by Clams Casino. The momentum wouldn’t stop there, with mentions on Kai Cenat and Plaqueboy Max’s streams that sent over a whole new slurry of fans his way.
UntilJapan’s music is infectious, with impeccable beat selection and addicting flows that give him so much range in his tracks. His mix of the cloud rap and trap genre gives his songs a dreamlike yet energetic quality that’s nothing groundbreaking, by any means, but is given so much more substance with his delivery, vocal inflexions and constant cadence change.
He’s uploaded a lot of his discography onto streaming services now and you can find countless leaks and snippets on YouTube, as well as his burner account “lord_piero” on SoundCloud. But whilst we wait for his upcoming album Trompe-l’oeil that UntilJapan announced back in February, make sure you listen to his discography and get to know - it’s only a matter of time before he goes mainstream.
Featured image via @untiljapan ©
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