Kensho Kuma Blog

Dank Dier

2012-02-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

I am featured on "Dank Dier" off Swiss MC Akai's Jazzabelle's album.
This is my first bilingual double time verse... to tell you the truth,
I've never heard a bilingual double time within the same verse...
NY veteran MC/educator Rabbi Darkside is also featured on the track.

Listen to it here! Dank Dier

Rymo "Backdoorz" (Official Video)

2012-01-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

SF MC Rymo's brand new video.

This is my comrade I have known since the late 90's; he
was featured on my first cassette "Spratik Combustions," that I
was selling for 5$ hand to hand back in '98.. I don't have
any copies of that cassette... would like to have one for
the archives... If you're an old-school friend and happen
to have one, I'll buy it back from you!

Benefit Fundraiser to Abolish Modern day Slavery

2012-01-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

I will be performing a set for the Benefit Show
to abolish modern slavery tonight (01/07/12)
@ the Rockit Room in San Francisco... The almighty DJ Delrocks
of the Zulu Nation will be holding down my set, and
my comrades MC Dregs1 and Vago NS will be making
special guest appearances... I'll be debuting a new song
from my upcoming EP and it's the first 2012 show... so
come rock with me for a righteous cause!!

Free Immortal Technique "the Martyr" Download

2011-12-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

Immortal Technique has a free album
"the Martyr" available for download on his website...

I unconditionally support this man and my number one 2011 Hip Hop
highlight was having the privilege of opening for him @ the Oakland New Parish back in April.

My personal favorite is "Eyes in the Sky," I'm kinda wondering
where the sample is from... tell me if you know...

OMGWTF?

2011-11-26T03:20:00.001-08:00

Yours truly will be rocking @ Brainwash on 11/26/11.
This local SF spot is a cafe, restaurant, and a laundromat...
AND they have their own dry cleaning service...
SO, get your dirty socks and flannel shirts
and come through.
My brother Mezmetic will be holding down my set.

House Kombucha Footage

2011-10-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

Here is footage of the intro part of my set @ the Inks of Truth event
@House Kombucha; DJ Delrocks of the Universal Zulu Nation
held down my set... Local favorites Gas Mask Colony, Sco Journers,
and Z-Man were also in the building and did amazing sets...
also, SF legend Equipto took the crowd through a timeline of his work...
Extremely successful show! Props to the homie Patience and
House Kombucha crew!!

Inks of Truth Site

Peto

2011-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Uploaded my most personal song from Projekt Life Force on to Youtube... I have performed Peto numerous times, but I still feel that I'm exposing too much of myself every time I rock this track...

House of Kombucha 10/14/11

2011-10-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yours truly will be performing at the Ourmerica event @ House Kombucha on 10/14/11.

Ourmerica Art Show@House Kombucha

I'm stoked that SF MC Equipto from the legendary Bored Stiff crew will also be performing... who remembers the Timeless album? I still have the cassette somewhere at mom's house.

Kemui- Deadliest Catch

2011-09-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

Kemui, a veteran Japanese MC from Tokyo, JP, will be releasing his second album in November; yours truly is featured on "原子力サラリーマン."

ベテラン東京MC Kemuiの１１月発売予定セカンドアルバム　Deadliest Catch　にフィーチャーされています。俺が結構あこがれている　MSCの漢も参加しています。　
マイメンのCloud Ni9neが３曲プロデュースしました。　サポートよろしく。

作品説明はこちら：Deadliest Catch.

Swordz Up Intro Footage

2011-09-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is a short clip which was uploaded by an amateur
videographer of Cloud Ni9ne and I. Yo boy is preaching about how
the ability to rhyme is like a passport that will get you anywhere
before we go in to the Swordz Up! Remix.
Taken @ the Premium event in Shibuya in early September.

Tokyo Shows September '11

2011-08-21T16:25:00.001-07:00

I will be doing back to back shows in Shubuya, Tokyo,
on 09/01 and 09/02.If you're in the area,
please come through!!
久しぶりに渋谷でライブします。　遊びに来てください。

０９月１日：

Premium vol.12
オープンマイクもあるからラッパー/シンガー大歓迎だよ。
This event will also serve as the Asia premier
of the "Exact Science ver2.0" video!

０９月２日：
Body Snatchers EP Release Party!＠Soft
戦友の DJ Audace と久々にロック。。。　五年ぶりぐらいかな？
Inductive Night

Both sets will be held down by my man Cloud N9ne
of 夢想プロダクション。

East Bay Express Local Licks

2011-08-13T01:57:00.000-07:00

Projekt Life Force is featured in this week's (08/10-16) Local Licks section of the East Bay Express.

Projekt Life Force Review in EBX

(Although the review was great, it left me with mixed feelings...)

"Exact Science ver2.0" Official Video

2011-08-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

"Exact Science ver2.0" is my first official video.
Directed by David Dutton and featuring rhymes in English and Japanese, this song has been the globally tested club banger for a minute... Produced by Kristo (of the Freshmen) and mixed by Todd Cooper @ Street Symphony Studios (Fremont, CA.)

Check it out!

It's already been featured on:

Thizzler on the Roof

JPRap.com

We Nod Records

MeccaGodzilla- Perfect 天

2011-05-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

My comrade MeccaGodzilla (メカゴジラ,) a veteran Brooklyn-based
MC/producer, recently released his Perfect 天　(it means 'the heavens' in Japanese) debut album; it is the first full-length album in Hip Hop history to be based on the vibes and theme of the legendary Street Fighter 2 Capcom game.

Black Ryu has received some amazing reviews, including one from the Japan Times newspaper. This album is available for sale here

Yours truly is featured on "Minasan" spitting bilingual Street Fighter bars.

I can still hold my own with Ryu, Ken, and Guile, but I never did figure out how to pull off Zangief's 360 piledriver...

Japan Fundraisers

2011-05-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

Here are upcoming Japan Fundraisers...

I am organizing the "Rap for Japan" fundraiser @
the Showdown in San Francisco on 05/27/11.

All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Japan Society of Northern California's Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Please come support.

For my People who Speak Spanish...

2011-04-26T18:31:00.001-07:00

Swordz Up! featuring and produced by MC Say of Argentina:

This is one of my most frequently performed tracks, and acknowledges all my comrades throughout the world; MC Say did a Projekt Life Force review on his site (en Espanol.) Swordz Up! can be listened to in the Music page.

Projekt Life Force Review en Espanol

Opening for Immortal Technique

2011-04-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

Recently on 04/03/11 @ the New Parish in Oakland, I had the opportunity to perform as part of the opening set with my comrades Vomito Lyriko, a Mexican crew located in Oakland, comprising of MC's Raw-G and Steelo and MC Ximbo, straight from Mexico City. I must state that Immortal Technique's Rebel Armz squad is one of the most solid crews I have personally met.

Hip Hop Against Hate

2011-04-09T19:24:00.001-07:00

I will be performing a short set @ "Hip Hop Against Hate" @ El Rio on 04/16/2011; Proceeds will benefit Horizons, a youth grassroots center in the Mission. Special shouts to MC Mikhael for hooking it up.

For more information check here.

Vago NS Mixtape "Carpe Diem"

2011-03-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Swiss MC Vago NS recently dropped his "Carpe Diem" mixtape.
SF open mic veteran MC Mars and Kensho Kuma are featured on the track "Talk to You." The song utilizes the traditional idea of writing to Hip Hop as if the culture is a human being; vocals were recorded at Sevyn Layerz Deep Studios in SF by my man Mezmetic...

Download the 'Carpe Diem' mixtape herefor free.

1st Annual International Hip Hop Fest

2011-03-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

I will be performing @ the first annual International Hip Hop Fest on 04/01 and 04/02; artists from Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Africa, and Japan, will collaborate to bring you an evening of global Hip Hop... and to prove once and for all, that this is an 'international' language. DJ DnZ of the Amazing Zoo Crew will be holding down my sets.

04/01- Sol Collective, Sacramento
04/02- La Pena, Berkeley

Orukusaki "OAK" Video

2011-03-01T23:17:00.000-08:00

My comrade MC Orukusaki recently dropped a paranormal video directed by David Dutton; this video was shot @ the Showdown on 6th Street, several blocks from the U.N. Plaza, and is a regular training ground for open-mic MC's and local DJ's. Yours truly makes a very brief cameo appearance. Other amazing works by David Dutton can be checked out here.

Oakland Lyricist Lounge Show- March

2011-02-21T23:38:00.000-08:00

Kensho Kuma & DJ DnZ will be rocking the Oakland Lyricist Lounge show on 03/17/11
@ La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley (3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley CA 94705.)

This venue was one of the first ones that I ever rocked circa '99-ish; I claimed to have had mastery in bilingual lyricism back then, but in retrospect I wasn't even close to comprehending the science involved.

This event will be the first in a string of shows I will be doing in the Bay Area; more dates and locations will be announced soon.

Bay Area legends Conscious Daughters will be headlining this event.

12/25/2010 PLF- Official Release

2010-12-18T01:27:00.000-08:00

Projekt Life Force Dropping 12/25/2010　from We Nod Label (Tokyo, Japan.)

プロジェクト　ライフ　フォース　
１２月２５日２０１０年　ウィーノッドレコードより発売されます。

Available throughout Japan@ HMV/ Tower Records

タワレコ/ Tower Records Japan

HMV

アマゾン/ Amazon Japan

Projekt Life Force Pre-orders

2010-11-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

My bilingual second album, Projekt Life Force, will be released 12/22/10 from We Nod Records in Tokyo, Japan. The album will be distributed nationally throughout Japan.　

俺の二ヶ国語セカンドアルバムプロジェクト　ライフフォース　が東京のウィーノッドレコードより１２月２２日に発売されます。　
予約受付中です、サポートお願いします！

Please support your favorite underdog by submitting a pre-order:
Projekt Life Force pre-order

This is an advertisement featured in the distributor's catalog.
流通会社の新商品紹介カタログからの一ページです。

Oakland Lyricist Lounge

2010-09-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

I will be performing a bilingual set on 09/16 @ the Oakland Lyricist Lounge Event; there will be an open mic, all MC's and singers are welcome to rock with your boy!

二ヶ国語のセットを０９・１６日にオークランドリリシストラウンジでやらしてもらいます。　オープンマイクもあるので、エムシーやシンガーの皆さん大歓迎です！

09/16/2010
Oakland Conservatory of Music
1616 Franklin St. Oakland CA 94612

Since I already know that there's going to be artists spitting in various non-English languages, I will most definitely be performing "Swordz Up!," my global street banger!

Projekt Life Force

2010-07-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

Projekt Life Force

Bilingual Second Album, dropping very soon.

Artwork by: Marcus Murray

Japanese Freestyle Battle

2010-07-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

In the last several years the written battle format has seen tremendous success, gaining national attention, obtaining corporate sponsors, and spotlighting artists whom may have remained unknown otherwise. And I wholeheartedly support and am thoroughly entertained by the written battle format; I infer that the so-called purists who criticize premeditated battles for their absence of impromptu rhymes are disgruntled mediocre MC’s who never fully reached their pinnacle.

However, there is something magical about the traditional freestyle battle format; this may sound overly romanticized, but anyone who has studied MCing can respect a skilled lyricist really reaching that level he can’t routinely reach through rehearsal or practice. The second MC to rhyme on the right hand side, 環Roy (pronounced Tamaki Roy) epitomizes an MC zoning out and… fuck this, this is beginning to sound way too 8 mile.

Just watch, you’ll see…

BOTY China Soundtrack

2010-06-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Battle of the Year is an international B-Boying competition, and is commonly referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying;" having its humble beginnings in Germany in 1990, the tournament culminated into the premier breakdancing event, with hundreds of thousands of supporters worldwide.

Battle of the Year Website

My comrade DJ DSK, a British DJ now stationed in Kunming, China, has been masterminding the BOTY-China soundtrack for several years now; fortunately, one of my best bilingual tracks, "Exact Science ver2.0" was selected as one of the tracks featured on the BOTY-China 2010 Soundtrack. I alternate languages every four bars on "Exact Science ver2.0," and ingenious Japanese MC/ producer, Kemui, spits a sixteen. The soundtrack was released through DSK's Unity recordings.

The soundtrack is available here on iTunes, please support!

Heiweh

2010-05-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

I am featured on the brand new Akai&Zeps "Querschnitt LP."

Akai is a half-Japanese MC from Lucerne, Switzerland and spits in German; Zeps is a producer from Brooklyn and resides in Switzerland as well. Switzerland has four national languages, and according to Akai, each respective state has their own dialect. The song I am featured on is 'Heiweh,' and it means 'homesickness' in Swiss-German; there are three languages featured on this song, spat by two Japanese MC's living outside of the motherland. Even though I don't comprehend a word of Swiss-German, I can infer through his rhyme patterns and technical syllable placements that the guy is a disciplined writer, just like me.

I believe they have their download link on their site:
www.myspace.com/akaihiphop

Here is a short video collage which features traditional and contemporary images of Japan, set to a snippet of 'Heiweh.'

Meteor- 2nd Saturdays @ the Space Gallery

2010-02-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

Meteor is a monthly event which celebrated its inception last month; Meteor happens every second Saturday @ the Space Gallery in SF (1141 Polk st, SF, CA 94109,) and I would describe it as the most accurate intersection where urban live painting and independent Hip Hop meet. The event is masterminded by San Francisco artist Noa, (www.noa-ark.com) and here is a brief coverage of the January event.

01/09/2010 - Meteor

Meteor from KeepitSoiled on Vimeo.

Please come out to support the second Meteor on 02/13/10. My producer Mezmetic's group, Kings of 8-bit, MC Leader 1, Monolyth, and yours truly will be holding it down. Also, Lavit Sea, the ingenious illustrator behind the Life Force Promo Panda, will be in the house!

それでえーんや

2009-12-26T18:12:00.000-08:00

それでえーんや

New Track featuring English and Japanese lyrics. 'それでえーんや’　translates to 'it's fine the way it is' in kansai-ben (関西弁,) a dialect which is used in and around Osaka. The beat was produced by Kemui, a Japanese artist based in Tokyo, whom I highly admire and respect; I first heard him on the Libra Records compilation few years back, and reached out to him via Myspace, and have completed 2 tracks with him so far.

The mixing was done by Sohch @ Graffiti Studios in Shinjuku (新宿.) He is a professionally chiseled engineer/ talented lyricist, and recently released his first album, Who Changed my Life. I used to regularly perform with him when I lived in Tokyo back in '06, and wholeheartedly admire his work ethic and positive outlook on music.

Sohch Blog:

The intro audio was extracted off of my camcorder and features local emcees I was hanging out with in front of the Elbo Room. I feel that integrating random real life vocal snippets adds a level of humanity that professional mixing can't attain.

I feel that それでえーんや accurately represents what high calibur 英語/日本語 English/ Japanese lyricism is and the track is scheduled to be the second track on Projekt Life Force.

October '09 Show

2009-09-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

I will be performing a bilingual set @ the Elbo Room, SF (647 Valencia St.) on 10/21/09.

This event has been organized by the Asiatic Empire, who specialize in showcasing Asian American talent, and are building a strong national following. 10/21 will mark the beginning of their 2009 North America, for artist information and tour dates please check: www.asiaticempire.org

Please come out and support if you are in the Bay Area!!