Spending an evening in 2017 with topsy-turvy rap duo chelmico felt like being inside one of their songs. I was writing a cover story about Mamiko Suzuki and Rachel Watashiga’s then-still-burgeoning music project for Metropolis magazine. Following a chat at an Aoyama cafe touching on everything from their origins to live performances to plans the pair had together at Tokyo DisneySea the next day, we went to a photo study for about an hour to capture images for the feature.
The 60 minutes that followed found the two goofing around, cracking jokes and generally approaching what many understandably would see as a necessary inconvenience as a time to enjoy. They made the ordinary feel like a blast, which has been central to what they did from their first song onwards.
In February, chelmico announced they would be going on indefinite hiatus. It marked the end of the first chapter of Suzuki and Watashiga’s artistic partnership, which started in 2014 and produced a catalog of genre-bending music that served as a bridge between Japan’s underground and mainstream. Looking back on their decade-plus together reveals an outfit often ahead of its time…and always producing great music with a playful energy guiding it forward.
In the history of J-pop, chelmico existed in the same lane as artists like RIP SLYME, Halcali, and ‘90s projects like East End X Yuri, groups that married hip-hop with pop in a way helping to make rap more accessible even if those focused on authenticity bristled at the union. That link partially stems from their own backgrounds…Suzuki and Watashiga told me they bonded over RIP SLYME…but also how they approached the style. There’s always been a pop core to what they do, without rejecting the genre foundational to their sound.
What made chelmico different, however, was the duo’s close ties to another major corner of Japanese music in the 2010s. Whereas the aforementioned projects largely emerged through big labels, chelmico came up from the underground. “Everyone of our friends are practically trackmakers already,” Watashiga told me back in 2017, with many early collaborators hailing from the country’s netlabel scene. As they gained attention with original songs, chelmico helped to bridge the space between the online and mainstream via collaborations with creators associated with the likes of Maltine Records and TREKKIE TRAX (where they released a single) among others.
The two carried the creative ethos of that space with them even as they eventually landed on unBorde, the hip sub-imprint of Warner Music Japan. Their songs could go from retro-tinged romps to melancholy hip-hop musings to Latin-inspired bangers. Featuring lyrics inspired by their everyday life, chelmico’s sound rejected predictable classification in favor of exploring a wide variety of ideas with an open mind.
This attitude made them ahead of their time in J-pop.
In a more literal way, chelmico’s biggest hit “Easy Breezy” was also just ahead of its time.
Released at the very start of 2020 and serving as the intro song for the anime series Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! The loopy nature of the number — combining zippy rap with Beck-circa-Mellow-Gold guitar texture and topped off by a frantic but fun hook — helped it spread well beyond chelmico’s established fanbase, including online.
It was a success, but one does have to wonder what would have happened if it or Eizouken arrived just a few months later, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Could it have become a foundational piece of 2020’s world-facing J-pop? Could chelmico have slotted in somewhere between YOASOBI and Atarashi Gakko! as representing a new sonic era for the country? Could they have been on The First Take?
All great hypotheticals, but chelmico do deserve to be celebrated as an example of the genre-blurring turn J-pop has taken this decade. While hip-hop was always central to what they did, chelmico always found ways to bend and play around with what a pop-rap song could be. No idea was ever off the table or too weird to play around with. Following trends wasn’t important. Having a good time while treating music like Silly Putty was much more vital.
The individual members of chelmico will almost certainly stay active. Watashiga releases solo material under the alias ohayoumadayarou and still hangs around netlabel fixtures. Suzuki has been quiet recently but also has a prolific solo rap career under her belt, having last released new music just six months ago. They’ll certainly be around.
Yet it will be different from the halcyon days of chelmico. That era captured a sense of freedom and curiosity in art that was a thrill to be swept up in at the time, and remains invigorating looking back. Plenty of others have taken that vibe up in the years since, but it was Suzuki and Watashiga who really showed what a blast it could be.
