Getting Funky In Shizuoka (Recap)

It’s been just under a month since my return home from my 5 week long Japan tour and I’m still feeling the love of being in the country that’s been like a second home to me. The last stop of the tour was making the short Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Shizuoka to play the 4theculture party which was absolutely amazing. Held at the dance and night club Freakyshow which was fully packed out with music and culture lovers that came to hear the great DJ lineup, live funk band, dance performances and witness live art. The crowd was absolutely vibrant and one of the most fun that I’ve played which consisted all types of people that were into different scenes but all under one roof and enjoying 4theculture. One of my favorite things at the event was the shop that was set up by RA who had an entire booth of Blaxploitation memorabilia for sale which absolutely made me happy to see. The love of Black culture was truly being represented at the event.

This had been the first time that I had been to Shizuoka in probably 10 years and the previous visit I really didn’t have time to explore the city so the first order of business after arriving was to walk around and explore the neighborhoods while stopping at a few local record shops to get a dig in then of course enjoying the most amazing sashimi since Shizuoka is known for some of the best fish in Japan. Although way to short of a visit, I fit in a days worth in a few short hours and got a full scope of the great city and it’s people. Definitely looking forward to making a return trip during the next tour.

To cap off the weekend before heading back to Tokyo, we made a breakfast pitstop to Hitomi’s hair braiding salon “Diggin’ Me” and met up with the good brother Vernon for coffee and danishes while reminiscing and geeking out over convos of old movies, growing up in the 70’s and 80’s and discussing all things culture.

Until then, thank Hitomi for inviting me to play the event. You have something very special going on in Shizuoka and have helped to build a great scene with creative people that share the love of culture!