RIP SLYME

Overview

RIP SLYME is a Japanese hip hop group made up of four MCs (RYO-Z, ILMARI, PES and SU) and DJ FUMIYA, signed to Warner Music Japan. Their 2002 album TOKYO CLASSIC became the first million-selling hip hop album in Japan.

Career

The group formed in August 1994 as a 3MC+2DJ outfit of RYO-Z, ILMARI, PES, DJ SHOJI and DJ Shige. The name combines the initials of the three founding MCs with a respelling of SLIME, a popular toy at the time, and also puns on "lips' rhyme." In December 1994 they won the Young MCs In Town rapper contest.

They debuted in 1995 with the album Lip's Rhyme. DJ SHOJI and DJ Shige left in 1996, DJ FUMIYA joined in 1997, and in 1998 SU joined around the recording of Talkin' Cheap, creating the 4MC+1DJ lineup. In 1999 they took part in Dragon Ash's TMC tour.

They made their major debut on March 22, 2001 with the single "STEPPER'S DELIGHT," followed that year by their first major album FIVE. TOKYO CLASSIC (July 24, 2002) gave them their first No. 1 on Oricon, and they became the first Japanese hip hop act to play the Nippon Budokan. That year they also won Best Newcomer and Best Hip-hop Group at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan. In 2003 they released TIME TO GO and staged the 50,000-person outdoor show SUMMER MADNESS '03 at Showa Kinen Park. MASTERPIECE (2004) was accompanied by their first arena tour, and their first best-of, Good Job!, arrived in 2005. In 2006 they collaborated on singles with Tomoyasu Hotei and Quruli. FUNFAIR (2007), JOURNEY (2009) and the best-of GOOD TIMES plus BAD TIMES (2010) followed, and from 2009 they performed the ending theme for the Japanese dub of SpongeBob SquarePants.

PES quietly left in November 2017 (revealed in October 2021), and the group suspended activities on October 30, 2018. On April 15, 2022 RYO-Z, ILMARI and DJ FUMIYA resumed as a trio with the single "Human Nature," with WISE and Emi Okamoto supporting live. Releases such as "Gentleman" (2022) and "ネオンライツ" (2024) followed. In April 2025 PES and SU rejoined for a five-member run until March 22, 2026, the 25th anniversary of their major debut, and the album GREATEST FIVE and the "One - From THE FIRST TAKE" single came out in 2025. Activities are on hold after March 22, 2026.

Musical style

Their sound draws on old-school hip hop and Western acts such as The Pharcyde, De La Soul, Public Enemy, Jurassic 5 and the Beastie Boys. FUMIYA composes most of the music, while each MC writes his own lyrics.