I picked this CD up on a trip to Japan a while back after seeing a couple of their videos in the Sony store in Tokyo. If you're wondering what the state of rap in Japan is, think old school. Most of the songs on this disk would have been very much at home here in the US around 15 years ago. The tunes and beats are very simple (think early Janet Jackson).The rapping itself is excellent. I should add that I have no idea what they are rapping about without the liner notes (complete with translation in my copy), but this helps to break down rap into its most basic form: using the human voice as a rhythmic instrument instead of a melodic one.I would have enjoyed this disk more if more of the songs had been more energetic. They are around 1/3 upbeat lively tunes and 2/3 mellow. For a first step into rap from an asian country, this is not a bad one to take.