WAQ WAQ KINGDOM
(Japan)

CONCEPT

Dainamaito Bushi (Dynamite Song)

  was sung during the Liberty and Civil Right Movement of the Meiji period (1868-1912).

At a time when the human rights of the common people were virtually non-existent before the will of the government, making a political statement was literally a life-threatening risk. Therefore, they used Enka (Enka: Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically), a performance disguised as a song and music, to deceive the eyes of the government officials, and at the same time as spreading the idea of civil rights, they worked to recruit new comrades. Unlike printed records, Enka was an advantageous political tool in that it was difficult to leave behind evidence of an arrest because the words (sung voice) would disappear on the spot.

 Oppekeppe Bushi (Oppekeppe Song)

 Is the oldest recorded Japanese song by Otojiro Kawakami and perhaps it is the oldest rap song and protest song recorded during The Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris. Otojiro was a newspaper journalist with a civil rights ideology who entered prison 180 times, in the Meiji era (1868-1912), when any expression of political opinion was immediately suppressed. 

He was a quick-witted man by nature, and thought about how he could make his point without being arrested, and as a result he came up with the idea of "using his art", which is to rap along to a funny beat, introducing  catchy hooklines, like "Oppekeppe!"

Oppekeppe does not have meaning but it has a funny sound, used to mock the privileged and upper classes, such as bureaucrats, and people in such positions.

 Both songs are sung with such a spirit, showing that they were prepared to risk their lives for overthrowing corrupt authorities and even enter prison or be executed in order to save the future of Japan.

Incidentally, the slogan of Dainamaito Bushi's "national interest and national welfare" advocated the enhancement of national power by improving the welfare of the common people, and called for first nurturing of power of the civil people and then strengthening civil rights to create a solid foundation to support national power.

WaqWaq Kingdom used 5 verses from Dainamaito Bushi and mixed the catchy hook line of Oppekeppe from Oppekeppe Bushi.

 For this song Shigeru cooked with ingredients like Indonesian electronic dance music called Funkot, jungle, gabber mixed with Japanese Matsuri style and traditional Japanese music Enka. It’s a bubbling hot pot of dance music with heavy political lyrics and a rebellious spirit, calling from more than 120 years ago.

Through these two songs, we must not forget that there was a struggle for a Japan where everyone could speak out freely in society and seek a better direction through free and open discussion. The songs also remind us that it is an opportunity to take a fresh look at the current unfairness and environmental destruction caused by capitalist society, which continues to this day.

Lyric 01

Lyric 02