Jinmenusagi

An artist who refuses to be boxed into any one category (or stage name, for that matter), Riou Tomiyama is best known as a rapper under the name Jinmenusagi but has also recorded music under his real name and his alias LEEYVNG. He has also worked as a trackmaker under the name Ghost Cheek and as a singer-songwriter.

Born in 1991, he was briefly the MC of a rap-rock band before he fell in love with hip-hop culture and began refining his freestyling skills and uploading music online. He was signed with the record label LOW HIGH WHO? PRODUCTION from 2011 to 2015, which saw him shift the main focus of his music activities from internet uploads to CDs and live performances, although he has since switched back to releasing music independently.

His music draws freely from many genres, moving easily from catchy pop-tinged tunes to more aggressive and experimental tracks. This flexible approach has allowed him to appear on songs by a wide array of artists, from popular singers like DAOKO and AI to hip-hop unit Denpa Girl to punk rock band SHADOWS. Beatmaker DubbyMaple is one of his most frequent collaborators, and the two men have also worked together as a duo called #pr0st8.