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Jero brings coolness to 'enka'
The hottest enka Japanese ballad singer in Japan is Jero.
Jero is the first African American enka singer. Jero is the singer's stage name. He is Jerome White, Jr.
Sporting baggy pants and a baseball cap, Jero looks pure hip-hop. As he begins to sing, listeners are often stunned by his polite, near-perfect Japanese and his soulful enka renditions.
On February 20, 120 fans and 70 members of the press were present at his "official" debut held at Shibuya HMV music store in Tokyo.
See UmiYuki on YouTube. Umiyuki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEmeVeQe56U
The Black American Enka Singer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ybry2btOmg&feature=related
Jero grew up listening to enka with his Japanese grandmother, Takiko, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She'd married an American sailor stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base right after World War II.
Jero studied hip-hop dance in high school and joined a dance club at Kansai Gaidai to continue his studies.See also Wikipedia on Enka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enka
posted by Message from Japan on Saturday, April 12, 2008
