Heartsdales feat. SOUL'd OUT -- Candy Pop

 

Happy Mother's Day! I hope that all mothers out there are enjoying the special Sunday. We took Mom out for an early breakfast at a local diner that we hadn't entered in over two years, so it was great to have those pancakes, sausages and eggs once more. Plus, the owner recognized us on sight which was very reassuring.

It's not even noon yet and already my pop culture stomach has been getting as full as my real one is right now. Some of my family will be catching "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" later today (and I'll be catching it pretty soon myself), the fourteenth Doctor Who has just finally been announced (my congratulations to Ncuti Gatwa...I've never heard of him but then again, I hadn't heard of Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant or Matt Smith before they got the job as Time Lord), and the currently running Season 3 of "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" basically lit their corner of YouTube on fire due to a rap sequence with a couple of the main characters in Episode 5. Had no idea that Chika could swear like a sailor!

Ah, rap. It's not a genre that I know particularly well but on seeing Miyuki and Chika rapping away in the park there had me thinking back to the early 2000s when rap and hip-hop were really making their presence known in Japan. So, in the KKP backlog, I noticed that there was a video involving a couple of acts that I used to hear about when I was living there at the turn of the century, but hadn't realized that the two of them had worked together.

But in September 2003, out came a single "Candy Pop" by Japanese-American hip-pop sister duo Heartsdales with help from hip-hop group SOUL'd OUT who I've remembered all these years because of Diggy-MO's distinct voice. Listening to the song, I have definitely received a lot of those m-flo vibes and sure enough, according to the JASRAC database, Verbal from that group was helping out on the lyrics along with SOUL'd OUT and Jewels, one-half of Heartsdales. SOUL'd OUT took care of the composing work.

I can't even say that I'm a hip-pop fan although I ought to give some of Namie Amuro's（安室奈美恵）post-2000 songs a chance. However, "Candy Pop" is pretty darn catchy; the title says it right there, it's got a lot more on the pop side despite the rap patter, and happily enough, it fits the lovely weather outside: sunny and refreshingly cool.

Heartsdales -- So Tell Me

Nope, I'm not really a rap or hip-hop fan although there are a few songs here and there that I have enjoyed such as "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (and please...save your comments concerning geriatrics). And frankly even with that classic, when I first heard the intro, I thought it was the beginning of a new Yellow Magic Orchestra tune that I had yet to hear. Basically, my love for R&B is geared more towards the old-time soul, disco and Quiet Storm (I love Anita Baker).

And so it goes with J-R&B. Folks like bird and Misia will be more along the lines of that soul, disco and Quiet Storm. However, there is m-flo which does go into the hip-hop/rap area (or maybe purists might say it's more hip-pop), and it was during the turn of the century when VERBAL and company were starting to take a fairly big role in the R&B that was sweeping through Japan.

One of those acts was a sister act called Heartsdales. That name was enough to peak my interest but there was also their catchy debut song "So Tell Me" which came out in December 2001. I still remember the music video (it got lots of airplay on the music channels when I was back there) which was apparently filmed on some sort of military vessel perhaps. And of course, there was no way that VERBAL was going to be left out from being in front of the camera and the recording booth although he also helped write the lyrics with the Heartsdales sisters themselves. The m-flo impresario also took care of the music along with R&B producer T. Kura and his wife, singer and music producer Michico.

"So Tell Me" simply stood out for me for that whirlwind mixture of English and Japanese, the delivery of the lyrics by Rum (Yumi Sugiyama...杉山ユミ) and Jewels (Emi Sugiyama...杉山エミ) especially the "Hearts-da-L-E-S" and "So tell me what you want...", and that shift between the rap and the musical refrain. However, I'm kinda wondering whether VERBAL's grunts on yet another song were starting to get a bit wearying for some listeners.

As I mentioned, the name Heartsdales rather intrigued me as a name for a hip-hop duo. Apparently, Rum and Jewels had spent their formative years in Yonkers, New York and decided to adopt the name from another small district in the state called Hartsdale. Another thing that I hadn't known was that the Sugiyamas had gotten their big break through the TV Tokyo Sunday night audition program "ASAYAN" which then I would cheekily state that they could be "cousins" of Morning Musume and Chemistry.

"So Tell Me" went all the way up to No. 8 on Oricon and became the 96th-ranked single for 2002. With sales of over 100,000 copies, it was their biggest hit. Heartsdales itself lasted from 2001 to 2006 with 14 singles and 4 albums. According to Wikipedia, the sisters are now living apart with Emi in Tokyo and Yumi in New York City taking care of her own studio and a little son.

(Sorry but the video has been taken down)

January 19 2017: I was watching "Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai"（マツコの知らない世界...The Worlds Matsuko Doesn't Know） tonight which is that popular TBS variety show featuring tarento Matsuko Deluxe（マツコ・デラックス）. Apparently back in late 2015, Emi 'Jewels' Sugiyama appeared on the program (with only the smallest blurb stating that she is a former rapper) as an expert on nuts. The above is a product that she introduced known as Mr. Honey... a jar of assorted nuts preserved in honey. Dang, that does look tasty and apparently it works quite well as a topping on ice cream. Too bad I couldn't find any footage of Jewels on the show, though.