Tsunku R&B
So, somewhere some videogame nerd thinks that this is the essence of rap...
Japanese versions:
They sound deceptively simple and a bit lampooning of rap in general, but it's really a send-up with all affection for the genre. One could point at other R&B and hip hop music Tsunku and company have produced beyond Rhythm Heaven, (later) but the best proof is in the songs themselves. Don't take them lightly; both Love Raps are generally considered to be the hardest levels of the game. Read the comments on any Love Rap video, both gameplay and OST, and you'll see many a player bemoaning their difficulties with it. Even tapping out a sub-division of the beat, I had trouble predicting every follow-up the player was supposed to hit, especially the polyrhythm sequences. Try it yourself!
Don't forget to laugh at the gameplay mistakes: 1, 2
The Love Rap gameplay mechanics are also used in two of the remixes that compile levels. Makes for a slightly humorous look into how the pseudo-rap becomes simply another rhythm in video-game-pop: Remix 6, Remix 9 (Personally prefer the Japanese vocals for Remix 9, but here's the English version for complete comparison's sake)
I can't find a list of song-by-song arrangement/composition credits for Rhythm Heaven, other than the full-out pop songs by TNX artists used in-game, (like Remix 9) but I do recognize the majority of the arrangers from the credits from their work on H!P songs.
Clearly this is a great reason to post some of my favorite H!P R&B.
The biggest contributor to H!P R&B, AKIRA is part of my personal-opinion group of great Jpop producers. (AKIRA, Hyadain, Bounceback, Sty/Hiro) His resume speaks for itself, working with many artists outside of H!P, including BoA and DBSK. It's clear that some of the other R&B songs in H!P were instructed to follow AKIRA's example. AKIRA can do much much more than R&B, (can get quite quirky doing it, too) but I'm including only those kinds of arrangements here because they're the exception in H!P.
C\C (Cinderella\Complex)
Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai, AKA "shisus who is that creepy old man in the back vocals overpowering everyone" AKA "the only two members ready for this song were Risako and Miyabi, the kids with the dyed hair" AKA "their live perfs with better vocals are seriously marred by horrendous outfits and a dance that has not aged well at all"
INDIGO BLUE LOVE: bit of a crapshoot on which to link, you get all three choices: studio version has less shaky vocals and less cheesy dancing and horrid outfits, but the concert version has slightly better emotional inflection in the vocals and dat freeze during the pre-chorus, which must be done in all karaoke and DDR perfs, and subs for best comprehension of the song and appreciation for how well they fit the composition, but with lower quality sound.
SHALL WE LOVE? by Gomattou, the H!P soloist supergroup with the studio version unfortunately featuring some of Goto Maki's squeakiest vocals, but was a revelation in the H!P landscape at the time, as R&B had fallen to the wayside since T&C Bomber had tanked. In both song and dance, this was a HUGE departure from the bubblegum, and thus has become a H!P classic worthy of consideration in context of 2002. Oh yeah, and the MV is a lesbian threesome seduction story.
Nakidasu Kamo Shirenai yo, suffering from some composition problems from Tsunku's end for the cheesy chorus
Okubo Kaoru and Tanaka Nao are the "new" generation of H!P arrangers (not Daichi/Yuichi/Hirata) They tend towards the AKIRA-type of arrangements, but often having a harder time covering for Tsunku's compositional failings, or sometimes having a mismatch in composition to arrangement style.
Okubo:
Ano Hi ni Modoritai
Nanchatte Renai, and I apologize in advance for Koharu. And the faux-rap.
Silver no Udedokei: Leaving this one here for sheer entertainment purposes, because oh man, what the fuck is this shit. Also, heh that "don't cry, dry your eyes" line half a year before Sistar did it.
Tanaka:
Take off is now!
Is this reggaeton?
DESTINY LOVE
Ai no Honoo
Daichi: All three of these songs are some of H!P's best, imo. I really should embed all three of them.
First Kiss, by H!P Kids unit Aa! in 2003, when center Suzuki Airi (older than f(x)'s Krystal) was only 9.
Do it! Now, one of the times where the faux-rap actually works quite well, especially with the specific cinematography used in the MV during that portion.
Kowarenai Ai ga Hoshii no
Hirata:
Suki ni Naccha Ikenai Hito, three years after First Kiss, swapping out Miyabi for Megumi Murakami.
Dokusenyoku I am sincerely sorry for the faux-rap here.
Early H!P, before the Daichi/Yuichi/Hirata triumvirate dominated with bubblegum, had a different set of arrangers, often with a strong emphasis on vocals. Here's two of them as a sample:
Everyday Everywhere, arranged by Murayama Shinichirou
Taiyou to Ciscomoon AKA T&C Bomber were explicitly H!P's R&B and oldschool disco group, with four vocalists explicitly chosen for their vocal abilities. This MV might be the most dated thing, though, with all of the most embarrassing things about older MVs. Don't discount the group, for it, though, their music has so many interesting songs with full Jpop let's-fuck-with-the-genre experimenting going on, once you get past how seriously they're taking everything.
Akai Nikkichou, arranged by Konishi Takao
Ah yes, stupid english monologue at the beginning needs explanation. H!P had a Hawaii group at one point. This song was a shuffled combination of members across H!P groups, and at that point the Hawaiian, Danielle, was yet not fluent in Japanese, so she gets the english monologue for cool points and then little else to sing. The focus is on Miss Squeaky because Goto Maki was still Morning Musume's face and public darling at that time. The MV is the way it is becauase then H!P's appeal was in how escapist it was, both in music and visuals, so they would purposefully go over-the-top, cheesy, and cheap in MVs.
Memory Seishun no Hikari, arranged by Maejima Yasuaki
This was before H!P went all escapist. (before Goto Maki, basically) Keep expecting saxophone to show up, hah.
Click to viewJapanese versions:
They sound deceptively simple and a bit lampooning of rap in general, but it's really a send-up with all affection for the genre. One could point at other R&B and hip hop music Tsunku and company have produced beyond Rhythm Heaven, (later) but the best proof is in the songs themselves. Don't take them lightly; both Love Raps are generally considered to be the hardest levels of the game. Read the comments on any Love Rap video, both gameplay and OST, and you'll see many a player bemoaning their difficulties with it. Even tapping out a sub-division of the beat, I had trouble predicting every follow-up the player was supposed to hit, especially the polyrhythm sequences. Try it yourself!
Don't forget to laugh at the gameplay mistakes: 1, 2
The Love Rap gameplay mechanics are also used in two of the remixes that compile levels. Makes for a slightly humorous look into how the pseudo-rap becomes simply another rhythm in video-game-pop: Remix 6, Remix 9 (Personally prefer the Japanese vocals for Remix 9, but here's the English version for complete comparison's sake)
I can't find a list of song-by-song arrangement/composition credits for Rhythm Heaven, other than the full-out pop songs by TNX artists used in-game, (like Remix 9) but I do recognize the majority of the arrangers from the credits from their work on H!P songs.
Clearly this is a great reason to post some of my favorite H!P R&B.
The biggest contributor to H!P R&B, AKIRA is part of my personal-opinion group of great Jpop producers. (AKIRA, Hyadain, Bounceback, Sty/Hiro) His resume speaks for itself, working with many artists outside of H!P, including BoA and DBSK. It's clear that some of the other R&B songs in H!P were instructed to follow AKIRA's example. AKIRA can do much much more than R&B, (can get quite quirky doing it, too) but I'm including only those kinds of arrangements here because they're the exception in H!P.
C\C (Cinderella\Complex)
Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai, AKA "shisus who is that creepy old man in the back vocals overpowering everyone" AKA "the only two members ready for this song were Risako and Miyabi, the kids with the dyed hair" AKA "their live perfs with better vocals are seriously marred by horrendous outfits and a dance that has not aged well at all"
INDIGO BLUE LOVE: bit of a crapshoot on which to link, you get all three choices: studio version has less shaky vocals and less cheesy dancing and horrid outfits, but the concert version has slightly better emotional inflection in the vocals and dat freeze during the pre-chorus, which must be done in all karaoke and DDR perfs, and subs for best comprehension of the song and appreciation for how well they fit the composition, but with lower quality sound.
SHALL WE LOVE? by Gomattou, the H!P soloist supergroup with the studio version unfortunately featuring some of Goto Maki's squeakiest vocals, but was a revelation in the H!P landscape at the time, as R&B had fallen to the wayside since T&C Bomber had tanked. In both song and dance, this was a HUGE departure from the bubblegum, and thus has become a H!P classic worthy of consideration in context of 2002. Oh yeah, and the MV is a lesbian threesome seduction story.
Nakidasu Kamo Shirenai yo, suffering from some composition problems from Tsunku's end for the cheesy chorus
Okubo Kaoru and Tanaka Nao are the "new" generation of H!P arrangers (not Daichi/Yuichi/Hirata) They tend towards the AKIRA-type of arrangements, but often having a harder time covering for Tsunku's compositional failings, or sometimes having a mismatch in composition to arrangement style.
Okubo:
Ano Hi ni Modoritai
Nanchatte Renai, and I apologize in advance for Koharu. And the faux-rap.
Silver no Udedokei: Leaving this one here for sheer entertainment purposes, because oh man, what the fuck is this shit. Also, heh that "don't cry, dry your eyes" line half a year before Sistar did it.
Tanaka:
Take off is now!
Is this reggaeton?
DESTINY LOVE
Ai no Honoo
Daichi: All three of these songs are some of H!P's best, imo. I really should embed all three of them.
First Kiss, by H!P Kids unit Aa! in 2003, when center Suzuki Airi (older than f(x)'s Krystal) was only 9.
Do it! Now, one of the times where the faux-rap actually works quite well, especially with the specific cinematography used in the MV during that portion.
Kowarenai Ai ga Hoshii no
Hirata:
Suki ni Naccha Ikenai Hito, three years after First Kiss, swapping out Miyabi for Megumi Murakami.
Dokusenyoku I am sincerely sorry for the faux-rap here.
Early H!P, before the Daichi/Yuichi/Hirata triumvirate dominated with bubblegum, had a different set of arrangers, often with a strong emphasis on vocals. Here's two of them as a sample:
Everyday Everywhere, arranged by Murayama Shinichirou
Taiyou to Ciscomoon AKA T&C Bomber were explicitly H!P's R&B and oldschool disco group, with four vocalists explicitly chosen for their vocal abilities. This MV might be the most dated thing, though, with all of the most embarrassing things about older MVs. Don't discount the group, for it, though, their music has so many interesting songs with full Jpop let's-fuck-with-the-genre experimenting going on, once you get past how seriously they're taking everything.
Akai Nikkichou, arranged by Konishi Takao
Ah yes, stupid english monologue at the beginning needs explanation. H!P had a Hawaii group at one point. This song was a shuffled combination of members across H!P groups, and at that point the Hawaiian, Danielle, was yet not fluent in Japanese, so she gets the english monologue for cool points and then little else to sing. The focus is on Miss Squeaky because Goto Maki was still Morning Musume's face and public darling at that time. The MV is the way it is becauase then H!P's appeal was in how escapist it was, both in music and visuals, so they would purposefully go over-the-top, cheesy, and cheap in MVs.
Memory Seishun no Hikari, arranged by Maejima Yasuaki
This was before H!P went all escapist. (before Goto Maki, basically) Keep expecting saxophone to show up, hah.