Hip-hop instrumentals were just backing tracks in search of a rapper until DJ Krush and his Mo¡¯ Wax label mate DJ Shadow showed how much you could do when you ditched the vocals and focused on the breaks. Although Shadow¡¯s 1996 ¡°Endtroducing.....¡± is the album most people remember now, it was Krush¡¯s ¡°Strictly Turntablized,¡± released two years earlier, that carved a space for instrumental hip-hop as a distinct genre.
Krush ¡ª real name Hideaki Ishi ¡ª was already a well-known figure on the Japanese hip-hop scene when he launched his solo career in the early 1990s, following the dissolution of the short-lived but influential Krush Posse. While he has retained a lingering affection for old-school boom-bap and continues to use turntables as his principal instrument, his productions have grown increasingly refined over the years, and not always in a good way.
A video released last year of Krush performing from the steps of Tokyo¡¯s Zojoji Temple was typical of his more recent exploits: tasteful, meticulously composed, and indistinguishable from the kind of music you¡¯d expect to hear in an upmarket yoga studio.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.