I was recently able to visit the 052 Nagoya area on holiday. The trip gave me the opportunity to learn more about Tokona’s home first-hand and a desire to return for a longer stay some time in the future. Continue reading
Although Tokona-X was born in Kanagawa, he moved to Aichi, where he built his rap career. There are small parts of his history available online which make interesting reading, but don’t actually tell us much; especially if we’re not so familiar with Japan. In his lyrics, I understand part of the message about his hood from things I know to be true in English rap music, like Tokona talking about his hood must mean the area he grew up in. But in this case, it’s an area he moved to, so I have to question if that’s really his hood. I guess because he feels connected to that area, then that is his ‘hood’. Continue reading
It’s important for rappers to make a good first impression. Often, you’ll hear a rapper and instantly think “yeah, he’s the man” or something like that. It’s much easier to gain fans by having an instantly likeable personality than one that grows on people. Other rappers win you over with the quality of their lyrics and the best can do both at the same time. Continue reading
20th October 1978 – 22nd November 2004
I was recently reading a site that mentioned Tokona had beef with Sapporo’s finest, Boss tha Emcee. I have to wonder how a situation like this came about if it’s even true, since the two cities of Nagoya and Sapporo are so far apart. But I guess anything is possible in the world of rap music. Continue reading
I’ve discovered a treasure trove of information about Tokona-X on a social media site called Mixi. It’s like the Japanese version of Facebook and many people gather there to discuss things, plan events and meet new friends with similar interests. Continue reading
I often find I need to correct myself about Tokona. You see, the problem is, I forget that he’s dead. I always first think ‘he is’, ‘he does’, ‘his performances are’. I don’t seem to be accepting that he’s no longer with us and often think about ‘what makes him such a great performer’, rather than what made him such a great performer. Continue reading
There are three versions of events surrounding Tokona-X’s death, asking the question ‘did he die, or was he murdered?’ All versions leave us with more questions than we had to begin with.
The only true conclusion we can get from each version is that his death was untimely. It wasn’t the right time for him to die. Not in the prime of his life and at a promising stage of his career. But in each scenario, a set of factors came together and lead to his passing.
There’s a public or ‘official’ reason for Tokona’s death, a second, potentially more honest account and an a third reason involving Yakuza and murder. Continue reading
We all dream of meeting our heroes in the flesh and sometimes dreams are all we have. I recently re-discovered a few of Tokona’s live videos. I’ve seen some before, several years ago, but got interested in a few of the suggestions at the end of another Tokona-X video I was watching and decided to check them out. Continue reading
After a bit of messing about, I’ve finally finished my first translation of T-X’s work.
It’s the skit from Tokai X Teio, where Tokona calls up some of his female friends to invite them out to the club. It’s just the usual conversations one would have with friends before a night out, but presumably, Tokona has a few more calls to make than most of us would.