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If you haven’t listened to rising star TOKYO’S REVENGE yet, his new tune ‘GOTHAM’ is the perfect starting point––and proves that the rapper is moving beyond just TikTok hits. The music video, having been released earlier this month, exemplifies this creative vision quite literally: in keeping with the song’s title, the video shows a slew of self-directed superheroes facing off in a game of high-stakes dodgeball, complete with powers and a very theatrical referee (and...sound effects from Discord?) If this seems unconventional, it’s because the artist has had a somewhat unconventional rise to fame; from being homeless after high school and playing around making beats while crashing with a friend, to racking up over 130 million listens to one song alone in little over a year, the rapper has the kind of ascent that would send most peoples’ heads reeling. His answer? To do him.
One of Tokyo’s biggest claims to fame is his anonymity, something that he acknowledges is rare but necessary for his creative process. Sitting down on a call with the artist (ah, the future of media) at his home, he talks about separating that sometimes-thin boundary between artistry and social media presence. “We have people who are trying to be musicians, and social media influencers, brand deals, sponsored people...I kind of skip out on that. I’ve gone months without posting. Just focusing on getting my head right.” Case in point: Tokyo said he attended a Tiktok party “for like nine minutes…then just dipped.” These moments where he doesn’t worry too much about what everyone else is doing are crucial for music-making, he notes. The ‘GOTHAM’ video seems to fit well with this vibe; while the song definitely goes hard, there is an air of lighthearted breeziness in the video that keeps the tone fun.
“All of this growth in my life in general has allowed me to get to the point where I’m comfortable enough to like...sit down with people that at one point I’d be intimidated by,” the rapper also notes, touching on what a lot of young creatives can feel when wanting to collaborate with peers. “But I’ve been breaking out of that shell.” Thankfully for us, this means we can find collaborations with artists like The Kid LAROI, Sueco the Child, and Jasiah, all helping create a powerful sound that marks a new wave of artists taking over the scene. Listening to his SoundCloud, it’s easy to tell that Tokyo’s sound is constantly evolving and reflecting a changing new style.
His response to all this current craziness? Something that everyone can immediately relate to:
“We live in 2020...this is the most ridiculous year I’ve been alive.”