Charlu caught my attention with her standout verses on the “gals remix” of Yuki Chiba’s hit song “Team Tomodachi” in April, and I haven’t stopped listening to her since. Digging deep into her repertoire — the 30-year-old has been rapping for a decade — draws up songs ranging from boasting strength and resilience to others revealing the rapper’s vulnerabilities.
Charlu cut her teeth in her teens. As the youngest member of a rap crew in Shibuya, she was bossed into holding the speaker for older performers as they battled in the street near Yoyogi Park. Fast-forward — past her debut album in 2020, which featured tracks like “Kanekaese” and “Wet Blanket” — and Charlu is now rolling with the major labels.
In a strikingly male-dominated industry, many of Charlu’s lyrics are decidedly feminine. She addresses issues that women face head-on, rapping, for instance, about her experience being a mother — which is ironic considering she chose her stage name because of its close resemblance to a man’s name (she initially went by the moniker “Charles”).
With her fast flow and attack-style vocals, it’s no wonder the rapper made it to the finals of Japan’s premier rap battle, Abema TV’s Rapstar. Particularly memorable moments of her time on the show include a journey around her hometown, which concluded with a hard-hitting rap, and the final round, which saw her pitted against rapper ID. Commanding the stage, Charlu threw back ID’s disses concerning the absent father of her children, speed-rapping how proud she is to be succeeding as a single parent.
In the months following her runner-up accolade, she released tracks like “Giri” and “Perfect Night.” Here, she picks her top five favorite recent albums.
The Angel You Don’t Know by Amaarae
I always loved Amaarae’s emotional voice and melodies, but here she samples a lot of old Japanese sounds, which makes me like her even more. I was super surprised and inspired when I heard the theme song from the old NHK show Jams the Housnail in “Hellz Angels.” It reminds me of my childhood, and I think it’s great that it’s used for such a major track.
COI by Coi Leray
I really like the flow of the first few tracks on COI, as she samples tracks she rates like “Pump Up the Jam” and “The Message,” that I lke too. Songs like “Make My Day” and “Players” are especially nostalgic. Including sounds that we grew up with and adding in her own personality make this into a fab piece of work by introducing teens and hip-hop fans in their 20s to these old sounds and expressing herself.
SOS by SZA
Even though “Snooze” is my favorite track, this album is one to listen to from start to finish. Even if you speak a different language, you can understand. It motivated me to want to do that myself and release an album of varied songs to make one piece of work that expresses the things I feel.
Planet Her by Doja Cat
I feel like this album has different sounds fighting each other! From “Kiss Me More,” which is a song that the pop girlies can enjoy, to “Get Into It (Yuh)!” which has her spitting, this work has a lot of elements of Doja in it.
Colour Vision by Max
Before I knew it, I became addicted to Colour Vision, thanks to Max’s lyrics and the melodies he makes. Even the visual conveys “pop”; the songs are catchy yet also have a certain depth. The lyrics talk a lot about life, but he reminds us to show our fun aspects and our brightness, too.
