an article that mentions Ayu
 

click here if you want to read the whole thing
http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tok...nt/feature.asp

Although such figures pale in comparison to those of J-Pop star Ayumi Hamasaki, who according to a recent report in Forbes magazine has sold a whopping 16 million albums, changes are already being felt as corporate backers, unconcerned with hip-hop's confrontational style, seek out stars who have credibility with Japan's consumerist youth.

thanx for the news :)

but i don't realli get the article...

..pretty interesting, thanks! :P

i guess its sayin hip-hop is getting more famous in japan..
if they sold 20,000 now they sell 200,000 .. then they compare it with ayu sales of 16million... i guess what they tryin to say japan is changin..that kids no longer think rock is kool...

i'm with you... aslong it doesnt affect j-pop i dont care ^_^...
and aslong there is artist like ayumi in the jpop biss it wont go down... not with out a fight ^_+

Thx for the article.

That article is so disturbing. Thanks for sharing though. It was interesting, even if it's scary. :thumbsup

ooh.. thanx for clearing that up. now i understna (i think)
to me it doesn't matter if hip-hop is gaining popularity... ayu will always be the most popular to me!

aslong as she keeps making great music i care less what dumb news like this one says ^_^

Interesting... In our hearts, Ayu will stay at the top forever! :shimmy

A lot of you are talking about hip-hop like it's some sort of disease Jpop can catch. :blink I don't think there's anything wrong with Japanese people getting more into a different style of music. There is nothing wrong with hip-hop. I'm not the type of person that only considers one type of music superior to others. Sure, hip-hop can be silly and pointless sometimes, but then again Jpop isn't exactly the most "deep" music out there, is it? Maybe you all are just listening to the wrong hip-hop artists. If Country Musume were the first Jpop group I ever listened to, I might boycot Jpop for life. Maybe some of you should open yourselves to other hip-hop artists. Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Whatever the hell he goes by these days, does not represent hip-hop.

Just give ALL music a chance.

i'll die if ayu starts rapping... :(

no one here.. is sayin hip hop sucks... but in my opinion hip-hop got me bored .. its all the same thing... as you can see i know cause i live in new york city.. and has live in the bronx b4 where it all started.. 96% of it is the same crap... i may point out theres some good songs.. but that dont happen here much...i'm not tryin to say j-pop is perfect cuz its not.. but it has better things to offer that american hip-hop... note this is my opinion

good articles indeed, but.....

It shouldn't be a shock that hip-hop is becoming more and more prominent in Japan. At the recent award shows, there are always all these Japanese guys going "Yo yo yo, what up" and wearing clothing that black ppl inspired. Plus, there are more and more rappers popping up there. I mean, even Ayumi herself has kind of given in to that trend by wearing certain items of clothing that are very hip-hop inspired.

your rite .. i have seen that...on ayu