Category Archives: Life of Tokona

The attributes, character and constitution of Tokona-X. By exploring the caliber of the man through learning about his life, nature, soul and spirit, we can get closer to the reality of who he was.

From Old Hood to New Hood

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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 →

Tokona-X Fans on Mixi

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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 →

The Unofficial Murder of Tokona-X

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Tokona-X-cutting-somethingThere 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 →

Small Body of Work

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Perhaps one of the problems with talking about T-X and proclaiming him as one of the best Japanese rappers, is his relatively small body of (solo) work. When ranking the greatest rappers, you must think about not only their ability, but also the amount of times and how consistently they show that ability. Continue reading →

9 Years Ago Today

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Tokona-X was born on 20/10/78. He died on 22/11/04. For me, those two dates are very important. Not as important as they are to his friends and family. The love and joy felt by his parents when he was born. The pain and anguish felt by everyone close to him when he died. Continue reading →