The Longlasting Impact of Samurai Champloo’s opening theme “Battlecry”
Rap/hip-hop music and movies have an interesting history since the genre’s rise in the 80s. From the countless money grabs that appropriated parts of the culture (I am looking at you, Electric Boogaloo! ) to underground and oft-overlooked independently made documentaries that give viewers a boots-on-the-ground view of the dynamics of the culture(Scratch, Wildstyle et al). On the other hand, Rap music and animation follow a slightly different trajectory with the majority of the music composed by the artist the animation is based on. This was in the late 80s and early 90s when the genre was growing in popularity and mainstream acts like MC Hammer had their cartoon series.
As a kid, I was only privy to certain things and was highly influenced by my older peers so I just soaked in whatever they brought my way and one of them was MC Hammer. Besides his cartoon, I remember he contributed a song to the legendary 1990 TMNT movie and as far as rap soundtracks go, I thought “Turtle Power” by Partners In Khryme was the greatest thing ever. My siblings and I were so enamoured by it that we sat down to write out the lyrics to the song by rewinding the end of the TMNT movie till we got everything on paper. Over the years, rap became mainstream and the number 1 selling genre in the world and by that time, things had changed drastically. The divide between the mainstream and underground rap scenes was wider than a broken levee and I was always searching for that other and then came Samurai Champloo.
Samurai Champloo is a short anime series that came out in 2004, a time when I was neck-deep in underground hip-hop while developing and fine-tuning my production skills. The series itself is a Japanese period piece around a ronin (Jin), an outlaw (Mugen) and a young lady (Fuu) in search of a samurai who smells like sunflower seeds. The semi-serious storyline and animation were top notch but what set it apart from anything was how they incorporated elements of rap music into the series. From scratching, used in the animation and transitions to breakdancing, where Mugen performs lots of acrobatic power moves to fight off his adversaries. To add to it, the theme music “Battlecry” by rapper Shing02 and the late producer Nujabes was a masterclass in theme music. The adage, less is more cannot be overstated here as I was hooked from the first time I heard it. The production by Nujabes is choppy, and dusty and has elements of the golden era of hip-hop plus it was a precursor to what folks now all lofi rap. Furthermore, emcee Shing02 rapped in English, which is a rarity and it fit the bill. He doesn’t try to outbar or rap over our heads and pretty much gives us a synopsis of what the show’s characters are about with a refreshing directness with lyrics like “A freelancer/A battle cry of a hawk make a dove fly and a tear dry/Wonder why a lone wolf don’t run with a clan/Only trust your instincts and be one with the plan”.
This song and the rest of the soundtrack show the thoughtfulness of the show’s creators who sought to bridge a fictionalized Edo period Japan with anachronistic elements like hip-hop. On paper, it sounds cool but if executed poorly, will rub many the wrong way so kudos to Shinichirō Watanabe and his team for the effort.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq6EYcpWB_c
Lastly, I think Asheru’s “Judo Flip” from The Boondocks and to some degree Samurai Jack’s theme by Will.i.am are brilliant as well.
Let me know what you think.
