Release Date: November 15, 2017
Track Listing
- Chotto Yatte Mita Dake
- TOKYO Chewing GumM
- because of you
- Fly High
- Bring It On Down
- fun! fun! FUNFAIR
- Atari Mae no Nichijou
- Inkaryoku
- RHYME ON BEATS
- GA-MAN
- 1+
- MIRRORBALL
- we believe
Review
Series 1 is the second album from idol rap group Rhymeberry. Arriving two years after their self-titled debut it features three singles. 2015’s Mirrorball, 2016’s Bring It On Down and 2017’s Tokyo Chewing Gum.
Much like their last album this release comes in midst of change for the group. In the summer of 2017 two new members were added. (MC Yuika and DJ Omochi) Second generation member MC Misaki left the group in August of 2017. Even though she is no longer part of the group her contributions to Rhymberry’s songs can still be heard on this album.
Series 1 picks up where their self-titled debut left off giving listeners a blend of hip-hop and dance music in a 13-song package. 10 of these songs are new while 3 (Mirrorball, Ingaryoku and Fly High) are carried over from their first album.
Chotto Yatte Mita Dake starts this album off with a sparse, old school Rock/Hip-Hop beat and each member speed rapping through the 3 and half minute song.
In the case of Rhymeberry the word “speed” is not exactly as one would expect. They are not going at the tongue twisting pace of say Twista or members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony if that is what comes to mind.
Yet they do display an ability to ramp up their flow and not trip over their verses. So kudos go to the members for going all out. When it comes to pushing their limits, that is about it and the rest of the album has Rhymeberry going at a much slower pace.
For those who want more of the hip-hop experience you can also check out the Heartsdales sound-a-like Atari Mae no Nichijou, the album ender we believe and the previously released Tokyo Chewing Gum.
The remaining new songs tend to favor a dance/pop kind of sound with the exception of Bring It On Down. That has more of a darker, drum and bass influenced feel making it sound more like something they would have released along side Mirrorball in 2015. Of the batch of the remaining tracks GA-MAN and 1+ tend to leave the most lasting impact with the latter probably being the one that matches the quality of the single releases.
Has Rhymeberry shown some growth in the 2 years since their debut album dropped? Well that is hard to say given that their membership seems to be in a constant state of change outside of MC MIRI. Based on what is presented here then yes, there are some new developments in their sound. Not all of the pop sounding tracks work as well as they should, but they are not terrible.
Rhymberry’s strength still lives in the MC’s abilities to rock a solid beat. Be it hip-hop, dance or pop. (Although they should probably start heading more towards a more pure hip-hop sound since they seem to sound more comfortable on those types of tracks.) There are enough of those kinds of songs on Series 1 to at least recommend giving this a quick listen if you are one who has an interest in Japanese idol rap.
