He doesn’t have much to say about his novel position as an exclusively Japanese rapper impacting rap culture as much as he has, even going so far as to avoid the umbrella term of hip-hop entirely. Most people are comfortable talking about themselves – KOHH is the complete opposite, less from actual discomfort and more from the simple fact that he hasn’t given the past much reflection, and can’t be bothered to pretend otherwise. Yano the couch-surfer puts his cartoons on mute for his friend’s interview, but he may as well have left them on – KOHH was a man of few words when it came to reflecting on his own work. It just happened on a whim.” He doesn’t think much of it: “I’m just a rapper who likes fashion I’m not trying to do anything special.” He does, however, have a penchant for sleepwear, and has plans to collaborate with stylist Lambda Takahashi on a 100% silk, one-size-only pair of pajamas. “A week before the show, Hiromichi Ochiai hit me up asking if I wanted to walk in it. “It came on really randomly,” he says, face furled in smoke. “I’m going to eat.” His foray into fashion began with FACETASM at Paris Fashion Week, where he was originally interested in attending the show, but ended up on the runway instead. “You can start anytime,” he says, lighting his cigarette with a noncommittal flick of his wrist. This explains why he’s so hesitant to label himself as a rapper: he just likes to make things.Īfter the shoot, KOHH saunters over to his kitchen. This is the most animated he’s been so far – for KOHH, the lines between art and music don’t exist, and he’s equally passionate about both. He takes his art collection out of storage and splays them haphazardly on the couch: works from artists all over the world, photographs and his own paintings. KOHH chats easily about random things during the photoshoot: a pair of Evisu jeans he liked in passing, a specialty shop where he plans to wrap his girlfriend’s Christmas present later that day. He’s been recruited into a verse on KOHH’s upcoming album, and has been living with him for the past few months. He introduces the couch-surfer right away: his name is Yano, a rapper KOHH met on a recent trip to LA.
True to his roots, his manners are impeccable. Quiet and reserved, with his hair cropped short and significantly less blue than I anticipated, KOHH seemed almost demure in the flesh, compared to the swaggering, larger-than-life personality I’d gleaned from countless music videos and had consequently expected.
Even his neighborhood of choice is surprising – Oji, an area just outside Tokyo’s city center, whose suburban streets are somewhat at odds with the only sight which comes close to befitting such repute: a brand new white Mustang parked at a curious angle, somehow managing to look both scrupulous and insolent at the same time.įor KOHH, the lines between art and music don’t exist, and he’s equally passionate about both. Anybody could have lived in this cozy two-storey, but you would expect it least of all to be KOHH, the rapper-meets-artist-meets-model with a reputation as an aggressive lyricist reaching far beyond his home country of Japan. The only sign of vice: an ashtray resting on a spotless black stovetop. White, plain-Jane walls, two desks (for work, he offers), and a TV, in front of which was slouched a lone figure on a red leather sofa, watching cartoons. The interior of his house is more sparse than one would imagine, seeing as its owner is famous for wearing the voracious strains of ink and clothing on his body with diabolical impunity. He answered the door in a white T-shirt and black track pants, with the dragging gait and heavy-lidded look of someone who had just woken.