Hip-hop first landed in Japan in the 1980s, and a decade later the original rappers, breakers and DJs had shaped the new art form into a culture that was uniquely Japanese. It was a time defined by park cyphers, underground jams and acidic battle-rap bars. Between the kinetic breakbeats that underscored classic tracks by Yokohama crew RHYMESTER and the tight punchlines of pioneering Tokyo rappers Zeebra and ECD, these tracks encapsulate the explosive energy that kick-started Japan’s hip-hop movement.