Tokyo’s Revenge
By: Cameron Gurgainus
Geffen Records’ up and coming artist, Tokyo’s Revenge has gained popularity on TikTok from his breakout single “GOODMORNINGTOKYO!” The track also topped Spotify’s Global Viral 50 and reached #2 on Rolling Stone’s Trending 25 chart.
Most often compared to Tyler the Creator, Eminem, and Jay-Z, the musician’s sound can be described as a mix of screamo, heavy metal, and rap.
Tokyo’s Revenge explained during our closed Zoom press conference that he keeps his personal information to himself, hoping his fans focus solely on the artistic content he produces.
“I kinda like the idea of no one really knowing anything about me. It forces them to try to figure me out by listening to my music as opposed to looking for clues about my personality or what I’m like based on social media posts,” he said. “I want them to be more interested in my art and the stuff that I create, cause that is the thing I’m focused on getting to them.”
The artist is heavily influenced by Japanese culture and even likes to describe his life as if it were a comic book or anime-styled story. He explained how he wants listeners to feel this through his rap.
“I want people who are trying to get into my music to feel the same way, cause I know that feeling when you get into a new anime or a new comic book,” he said. “All of the little details artistically are what keep you attached.”
Tokyo’s story is filled with a lot of interesting ‘little details,’ one of which is his introduction to the music scene.
“Both my parents are Haitian and to assimilate into American culture when they were younger, they listened to a lot of like, Jimmy Buffett, Fleetwood Mac and all types of different stuff,” he said. “I grew up listening to stuff like that before I got into hip hop. Old Tyler the Creator, Eminem, a lot of Jay-Z. It all is a kind of mosh posh that led me to where I am now.”
From there, the artist stumbled into his musical talent as a means to fit in with peers at school.
“I freestyled in a lot of stuff in high school, but that was kinda trying to fit into certain friend groups,” he said. “They were constantly making music but didn’t know how to engineer it. Over a span of a week, I learned how to mix. From them I got the inspiration to start rapping and actually posting on SoundCloud.”
Tokyo’s start on SoundCloud didn’t bring immediate success, and after graduating high school the artist was homeless and spent some time couch-hopping at friend's houses.
This experience was a major driving force behind Tokyo’s musical career.
“It kinda just taught me to never get comfortable cause being homeless gave me this huge hunger to never stop doing something. I always wanted to do something bigger and better than just couch crashing,” Tokyo said. “All of the sudden I just felt like ‘I have music.’ Those two things together brought me here.”
Now, he looks back at this time as a valuable life lesson.
“Keep on worrying,” he said. “Worrying has been one of the driving factors in helping me do what I do best. Back then, I would get into little slumps where I would lose my mental edge. Like something is chasing you; keep running and running and don’t stop.”
Currently, Tokyo focuses on making music for all and wants his sound to be something everyone can relate to.
“I get up and record because I’m equally as inspired by the people who listen to my music as people are inspired by my music. I’m not a perfect artist; I’m not one of those machines that can just bang it out, bang it out.”
The artist doesn’t want to be anything other than true to himself. When discussing how he hopes to maintain a long-term relevance, he explains he doesn’t feel any stress from the industry.
“By doing whatever I feel like, I’m not striving to have fans or a following based on trends. I’m striving for a following of people who support me in this community through any medium that I choose,” he said.
Tokyo’s Revenge airs away from the mainstream musician. Tokyo wants to utilize his voice and the platform he now has to explore other artistic avenues.
No matter what he comes up with, the artist promises to keep his focus on producing music worth sharing.
“We’re overexposed to everything; everything’s turned up to ten. People are more focused on what their Instagram engagement looks like as opposed to what their music is, or how well they convey what they are trying to get across through their music. I put the music first.
Listen to Tokyo’s Revenge’s newest release, “GOTHAM” available now on all musical platforms.
Follow: @kyotosrevenge
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