Looking Closer at Hip-hop Artist Yoshifumi’s Single “Thank You”
- BUZZ LA
- Mar 18, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 24, 2020
Yoshifumi is an American rapper who grew up in New York but was born in Tokyo, Japan. He is not just a rapper; he is also a songwriter and the producer to his own tracks. Under a different persona (Darb), he has already released 2 albums and several singles. However, he plans to set a different pace and atmosphere with the new name “Yoshifumi”. Ever since cutting loose from his old musical past, nothing but excelled skill and great music has been displayed. Yoshifumi’s new single “Thank You” certainly reflects improved skills that he hopes to get across the music community. Pure hip-hop conditions are set when the first tone is heard in “Thank You”. The drums are playing a steady beat, and the synths are creating a cool vibe with their chordal structure.
The instrumental in “Thank You” kind of reflects something that the artist Pharrell would create when he was just starting. However, Yoshifumi’s style still steers away from sounding like everything else. This is with the characteristics of the vocal structure. In “Thank You”, Yoshifumi’s voice not only perfectly reflects his new persona but also perfectly matches the entire feeling of the song. Also, he doesn’t forget to have meaningful lyrics that can easily be translated to whoever is listening. “Thank You” is filled with heartfelt topics that connect to the listener, but don’t sound preachy at all. “Thank You” does an excellent job of exposing how Yoshifumi wants to been seen in the music community.
Listen to "Thank You" here.
Hey Yoshifumi! Welcome to BuzzMusic, our team here is more than happy to be representing you and your new single “Thank You”. As mention in your bio, you grew up in New York but were born in Japan. Everybody in New York listens to Hip-hop, so you almost had no choice but to be exposed to it. However, do you remember it being hard to get access to hip-hop or to listen to music at your house?
Thanks for having me. Hahaha, not all. Maybe unlike some other kids, I was always listening to Rap music at home. Hip Hop has been part of my life from day one.
You have mentioned before that you went to Berkley Music Online. There is always a tough balance with school and trying to start a career in music. Do you think studying music while trying to make a career for yourself helped out, or was it like double-load kind of?
Yeah. I’m from the early ‘90s, so I vibe with that type of instrumentals too. It sounds classic nowadays, but personally I liked it. But maybe I only listen to what many people are already listening to. Never thought about that...
In “Thank You”, the instrumental really reminds me of early Pharrell music. Do you draw inspiration from that era of music? Or do you have any weird genres of music that you listen to that not many people would?
Yeah. I’m from the early ‘90s, so I vibe with that type of instrumentals too. It sounds classic nowadays, but personally I liked it. But maybe I only listen to what many people are already listening to. Never thought about that...
With your new name “Yoshifumi”, you hope to cut loose from your old music from your “Darb” days. What is the main reason why you had the change, and what is the thing that you think held you back musically when you were “Darb”?
I just wanted to eliminate prejudice about me as consciousness-raising is now part of my commitment to society through music. My mentality is so different in a manner of speaking. And I thought it would be unique to use my government name to make an impact. This is YOSHIFUMI aka DARB, thun!