THE RAMPAGE’s Kazuma Kawamura on His Solo Debut as L.E.I.: Interview

Kazuma Kawamura, a member of the 16-piece Japanese dance and vocal group THE RAMPAGE, has now made his solo debut as L.E.I. with the double A-side single “Delete/Enter.”

While he’s done some rapping on THE RAMPAGE songs and in live shows, with L.E.I., rap is at the very heart of his art. In an interview with Billboard JAPAN, he discussed the background behind this solo debut. “From the very start, when THE RAMPAGE was formed, our concept always included elements of hip-hop. We’d just assembled as a group, and everyone had different musical tastes, so we made hip-hop one of the cores of the group. That got me interested in hip-hop, and our leader, LIKIYA, knew a lot about U.S. hip-hop and R&B, so I learned a lot from him. Yamasho (Shogo Yamamoto) had been talking about the movie 8 Mile, so I watched it, and it also had a huge impact on me. So I discovered the world of hip-hop a bit at a time, and the more I explored it, the more I got hooked.”

“But it’s not like I’m super-knowledgeable about hip-hop music or artists. I’m still learning. I’ve been really influenced by the culture and philosophy of hip-hop, but not the so-called rapper lifestyle. Drink, drugs, women, partying, violence—those aren’t appealing to me. I’m not interested in bragging about how bad I am or boasting about violence. Instead, I’m interested in the philosophy of hip-hop that’s focused on changing the world. Making it better.”

“Of course, there have been a lot of rappers who’ve influenced me. Busta Rhymes influenced me with his fast rapping style, while A$AP Rocky has just been an overall huge presence for me. And my long-time favorite, who I still find amazing, is Kendrick Lamar. Needless to say, of the four elements of hip-hop, dance has also had a big impact on me. For example, the krumping of Tommy the Clown and Tight Eyez, who was influenced by Tommy, just reached out and grabbed a hold of my heart. It was like it was saying, ‘Don’t just stand there, get moving!’”

On “Delete,” one of the songs on the single, L.E.I. expresses his frustration and anger with society and the state of things through serious, fiery rap verses, set to a dark trap beat. It has a distinctive structure, challenging the listener about their own beliefs and pushing them to tackle these problems together. “It’s my first song as L.E.I., so I didn’t want to make any compromises. Putting rap front and center, I knew I needed to make something that caused a stir. ‘Delete’ is a powerful representation of that idea. There’s a lot I want to communicate, but the first was a feeling of release from what’s got you trapped, which is why I wrote this song.”

“It’s easy to just shout ‘No!’ But if you want to convince listeners, if you want to convey an effective message, I think you need to raise issues. To get people who listen to the song to think and be more aware, you need to ask questions. I don’t just want to stroke my own ego by spouting things off. And I think the society we live in is one that stops thinking. That’s dangerous. But I didn’t just want to say ‘No!’ or ‘Think!’ Instead, I wanted to reach out to the listener, saying ‘I think this situation is messed up, what about you?’”

The rapping in “Enter,” the theme song of the anime I Left My A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths!, has a lot of variety in its flow. “I tried to change up the flow. I think people will have more opportunities to hear this song, such as through the anime, so I wanted to surprise people, like ‘All these different rap parts are being done by one guy?!’ By changing my approach in each part of the song, I was able to achieve a wider range of artistic expression. It’s like the entire repertoire of my flow as a rapper, all in one song. I did it simply because it’s fun to have a song made up of all these different kinds of rap.”

It’s an anime-themed song, but L.E.I. put his true thoughts into the lyrics. “Sure, there are dark aspects of me, like in ‘Delete,’ but the anime theme brought out the sunnier parts of my personality. I think ‘Enter’ represents my bright side, and the lyrics are all heart-felt. I have a lot of respect for the anime, and I linked keywords that inspired me with my own feelings to create the lyrics. In that sense, as well, I also want to write positive songs that fill you with optimism.”

On inspirations behind his work, he notes, “I’m not the best speaker, but I read a lot of books and manga, more than the average person, and also read a lot through games and anime. So there’s a lot of input, both in the sense of vocabulary and of the beauty of language, and I bring those out in the lyrics. The foundation of the song consists of my own feelings, and then I sift through my vocabulary to come up with ways to express those feelings through rap. When I do that, I think really deeply about what the lyrics will sound like when I rap them. I might write a line a certain way because in that part I’m more focused on conveying my message directly than in the sounds of the words, while in another part I might focus more on the vibe of the sounds.”

Kawamura’s vision is to continue as both a member of THE RAMPAGE and as a solo artist. “Right now, Kazuma Kawamura, member of THE RAMPAGE, is linked to L.E.I., but they may move away from each other over time. I’m also curious and excited to see what form this will eventually take. But as Kazuma Kawamura or as L.E.I., one thing that won’t change is that I’ll always be 100% direct with the people hearing my lyrics. If there’s anyone out there for which L.E.I.’s approach resonates—anyone who I can help through my music—then I want to share my music with them, first. Reaching a wider audience can come later. I want to be an artist that is, first and foremost, a person capable of expressing his own values. I feel like if I can truly accomplish that, then I’ll be unparalleled. I’m striving to be a true rapper with a true message.”

—This interview by TAKAGI “JET” Shinichiro first appeared on Billboard Japan