SPAIN PROJECT

How I, who thought about quitting rap, reclaimed my life through travel...

Nice to meet you. I'm Gokuzy, a traveling rapper.

I encountered rap at 16 and as an early member of Umeda Cypher, I honed my rap skills on the streets of Umeda, Osaka alongside renowned rappers like R-Shitei (Creepy Nuts), Take M, and Funk.

When I first started, I was just reckless, truly believing that "I can change the world with my rap."

I performed live repeatedly in Osaka and released many songs. But as time passed, a small anxiety sprouted in my chest.

"Even if I continue like this... I won't make it, will I?"

My peers appeared on TV, stood on big stages, and kept moving forward. Compared to them, I hadn't become anyone. My songs got almost no response. Feeling like I wasn't needed by anyone, a heavy shadow gradually fell over my heart.

Then one day in my late twenties, a voice in my heart whispered.

"Maybe I should quit rap..."

I ended up in the Goto Islands in Nagasaki, as if running away. On this quiet island surrounded by sea and mountains with no acquaintances, I started a life unrelated to music, working as an after-school teacher.

There I met straightforward, honest children. "Teacher, you can rap, right? Do it!"

The children naturally saw me, who had always thought of myself as a "social misfit," as a "rapper." Those words pierced my heart, and when I rapped in front of people for the first time in a while, the children laughed and applauded.

"Ah, I can still deliver something to someone."

From that day, the stopped time began to move little by little. Inspired by that experience, I produced an album summarizing my life in Goto. I named it "G.O.T.O." and released it.

One day, when I participated in a rapper acquaintance's shoot, I met a Black Canadian rapper. He loved making music with artists from places he traveled to. He said this:

"Bro, you should rap while traveling too. It'll definitely be interesting."

That one sentence ignited the spark in my heart.

"Rapping while traveling. That way, I might be able to touch more people and cultures..."

That one sentence ignited the spark in my heart.

Being a travel lover originally, I couldn't sit still, so I immediately packed my bags and set out on a journey. My first destination was America. There, an experience beyond imagination awaited me.

Language and borders don't matter; music connects people. Collaborating with local rappers, I could feel their lives and culture firsthand. "Myself who can only rap," which was embarrassing in Japan, transformed into pride as "myself who can rap" overseas.

From Goto to overseas. Through travel, music became a "place that affirms myself" again. From there, my journey of "music × travel" began.

America, South Africa, Russia, Korea... I collaborated with local rappers in various countries, and shared those records through albums, manga, and short videos. The short videos have been viewed over 10 million times in total, and many people have experienced my journey and music.

And the journey continues.

And now, to Spain.

The stage for this journey is Spain.

The goal is to create a completely new work that fuses Japanese and Spanish music.

Spain is home not only to Spaniards, but also to many immigrants from Spanish-speaking Latin America. Flamenco, reggaeton, Latin... Spain has the soil where diverse rhythms mix and new music is born.

In such Spain, I want to fuse Japanese hip-hop with the sensibilities of local artists.

I will record this process as a music album and share it with the world.

Finally

I, who thought about quitting rap, encountered travel, was saved by music, and now create works with artists from around the world.

Music has the power to reclaim life. It has the power to transcend cultural barriers. And it has the power to illuminate someone's heart.

Through this challenge in Spain, I want to prove that power to the world once again. That's what I believe.

GOKUZY