LGYankees

Overview

LGYankees is a Japanese hip-hop unit formed in 2000 by MC HIRO and MC RYO, working across J-pop, J-rap and J-R&B. They are managed by No Doubt Tracks and signed to Nippon Crown under its CROWN VenuS label. Their former name and abbreviation is LGY, and their official fan club is "LGYankees OFFICIAL FAN CLUB."

Career

In 2000, HIRO, a dancer who worked as a sushi chef, and RYO, a member of the Self-Defense Forces, met through dance and formed LGY. For a long time they performed mainly on the club scene.

Their first album, JOINTED 2 HOMIES, was released on January 31, 2006, and became a long seller. It ranked second in the hip-hop category of the 2006 Oricon indie album chart (behind Def Tech) and second again the following year (behind Kyushu Danji; 14th among all indie releases). In July 2006 they opened as Japan's representative for T.I.'s Japan show at Ebisu Liquidroom.

In 2007 they changed their name from LGY to LGYankees, and HIRO founded the label No Doubt Tracks Inc., where he still serves as president.

In April 2008, DJ No.2, who had supported the group as a DJ and provided songs since the year after its formation, officially joined. They made their major debut on May 9 with the single "Dear Mama feat. Kazumasa Oda / Eternal." The album NO DOUBT!!! -NO LIMIT-, released September 17, debuted at No. 8 on the Oricon chart, their first top-10 entry. After the June 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku Earthquake they ran fundraising and charity concerts, and on the album's release date they distributed an orchestral version of "Dear Mama" with part of the proceeds donated to Kurihara, Miyagi.

On December 8, 2009, RYO's departure was announced on the group's blog, ending the two-MC lineup. Their first nationwide tour was imminent, but it went ahead as scheduled without RYO. The album MADE IN LGYankees appeared in 2009, and DJ No.2's solo work 2番の美学 followed in 2010.

On September 20, 2011, it was announced that they, together with labelmates Noa, SO-TA, GIO and PURPLE REVEL, would move from Hudson Music Entertainment to King Records' dance label Venus-B. Albums followed: BARI BARI LGYankees (2011), GO! GO! LGYankees!!! (February 15, 2012) and DOKI DOKI LGYankees!!!!!! (January 16, 2013). They also guested on many releases by Noa, SO-TA, PURPLE REVEL, GIO and others.

DJ No.2's solo album 音と言葉の作り人 came out on March 20, 2013. On November 27, 2013, they released the best-of YAPPARI LGYankees BEST?, celebrating 13 years of activity; a free web comic, "LGYankees HIRO Story," drawn by manga artist Jin Tojo, depicted HIRO's life.

DJ No.2 left on October 31, 2014, and that year the group moved from Venus-B to CROWN VenuS. They then released LGYankees with Friends (February 10, 2016), GIN GIN LGYankees!!!!!!! (February 15, 2017) and the single "Dear Mama" (October 1, 2019).

RYO began a solo career in 2018 under the old name LGY and released the solo album RE-VENGE in 2019. In 2023 he resumed activity with HIRO after 15 years, and "Because... (15th Anniversary)" was released on November 29, 2023. In 2025 the duo released "Rain (feat. Noa)" on June 18 and "North East No.1 M.I.C" on July 30.

Musical Style

The group began with a West Coast and gangsta-influenced sound, but as they grew popular their style shifted toward melodic, pop-friendly hip-hop. HIRO has said Japanese listeners like melodic songs and that he wanted to make music for Japanese people rather than a watered-down copy of American hip-hop, so he adopted the approachable feel of J-pop. Their work blends rap with R&B and pop, and collaborations are a hallmark.

Trivia

HIRO practiced judo as a child and got into hip-hop after his mother gave him a ticket to a hip-hop concert when he was in junior high. The name LGY derives from "luxury" and is still used as a nickname. During the LGY era the group founded the West Coast CREW (disbanded 2007), which they led.