"Japanese Tendencies" by Young Braised

At this point in the rap game it’s hard to say whether Vancouver-based rapper Young Braised’s beginnings are unlikely or not. Jaymes Bowman (as he is known IRL) initially got into rap through bands that sometimes rapped their lyrics like P.O.D after being raised in a Christian home. He learnt shortly after that this was called rapping and started listening to Christian rap until accidentally downloading a DMX song on Kazaa. Jadakiss soon became a favourite artist and Nas quickly found his way into the family Kia Magentis by way of his brother’s (and sometimes-collaborator Strawberry Jacuzzi) home made “clean edits”.

These days Braised is part cloud-rap, part colour-flow goof off, linking with Japanese producer Terio for this cassette. Though most of his collabs so far have been Internet-based (ie. recent tracks with Karmelloz, Neu Balance etc), Japanese Tendencies is also linked with Vancouver house/dance collective Mood Hut. These track were recorded in the downtown eastside Mood Hut itself, where he frequently performs live amongst DJs in Vancouver’s scruffy house and techno nights.

Young Braised Partially indebted to the new sincerest hip-hop of Friendzone, Clams Casino, Main Attrakionz and the net realms of GuMMy†Be▲R, but a loveable bombast ala Antwon or Lil Ugly Mane is also present.

He started on the tape in Spring, which (hilariously to him) is around the time he read his first Murakami. Those type of references to contemporary Japonism are ultra tongue-in-cheek and spliced with raps on snack food, James Gandolfini, girls, the Pacific Northwest and of course its abundance of weed.

“Japanese Tendencies” is named after a Lupe Fiasco line (from “Gold Watch”), but also reflects on his own innane particularties and process. Instead of obsessing over Japanese culture but only actually engaging with it’s commercialized entities (denim, design etc) like many of the Manga-avatared soundclouds out there, the main tendency Braised drew from his modest knowledge of Japanese culture is “simply a more thoughtful existence”.

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