Turning Japanese

By RORY VAN LOON

One may wonder what a blonde-haired blue-eyed American has to say about Japan, let alone Japanese hip-hop.

The truth is that the 25-year-old Fresno State graduate may just surprise everyone.

Patrick Montgomery, aka DJ Trik, has a radio show on Fresno State’s radio station KFSR.

His show promotes Japanese underground hip-hop. Japanese Street Beat (J.S.B.), the name of the show, is on every Friday from midnight to 5 a.m.

Some might question how Montgomery is able to perceive his show as popular, or even successful, when it is in a time slot that seems unpopular.

The truth is that J.S.B. has the longest time slot of any show on the station. BecauseKFSR began to broadcast online in Fall 2003, the show was able to take on a mass audience.

With the help of broadcast servers and loyal fans, the show is able to reach 55,000 to 56,000 people online.

“The server is full 15 minutes before the show even hits the air,” Montgomery said.

It also helps that he has a faithful fan base in Japan, where his show airs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., making it a prime time slot for his fans to listen.

“Hip-hop at its core is very personal and self-expressive; it takes from the poet, or MC, and pours forth through rhyme, rhythm, allegory and metaphor,” said Montgomery, who speaks Japanese, German and English.

Montgomery said one of the problems with American hip-hop and mainstream Japanese hip-hop is the materialistic nature of the produced music.

He feels the songs and the artists do not stand for anything; the artists are just putting out what is hot at the moment so they can attain fortune and fame.

Montgomery said mainstream Japanese culture emulates anything American. The society is so busy worshipping MTV and BET, it is not taking the time to realize the potential of Japanese hip-hop, he said.

Montgomery is also passionate about the struggles of the Japanese artist.

Noting that issues and experiences in the United States and Japan are not the same, he is sincere about letting the Japanese hip-hop artists be heard.

“Japan is very homogenous; the issues of many of the hip-hop artists have to deal with the idea of conformity,” Montgomery said. “Hip-hop encourages the artist to be frank and to confront society.”

With his show, he hopes to introduce people to the beauty of hip-hop.

Montgomery is aware that most viewers will not be able to understand the words, but he feels that they will still be able to appreciate the music.

Montgomery lived in Asia for about five years, during which time he was able to travel and absorb the culture.

At first, he was not able to understand the language and often times was left frustrated and confused.

For him, music gave him an outlet; he was able to soothe himself with the music of Japan. Though he was not able to comprehend the lyrics, he did have a great appreciation for its beauty.

Toward the end of his stay, he decided to engage in one last shopping spree over at Tower Records in Japan. Once there, he picked up two CDs that turned out to be the two most quintessential, classic examples of Japanese underground hip-hop.

These two CDs were Buddha Brand’s “Yameru Mugen No Buddha No Sekai” and Nitro Microphone Underground’s self-titled album.

At this point, he was able to understand the lyrics. He appreciated the genuine sincerity of the music.

This undiscovered form of hip-hop reminded Montgomery of the original American hip-hop; it was untouched, untapped and untainted by the mainstream.

Montgomery notes that many of the MCs in Japan are highly educated. He knows an MC in Japan that received a master’s degree in molecular biology, Monthomery said.

“For him, as well as many other Japanese DJs, education is for their own personal benefits, hip-hop is for the people.”

Montgomery finds that true in many ways.

Graduating from Fresno State with a degree in archeology, as well as linguistics, he devotes pretty much all of his time to his Japanese Street Beats.

It takes him 40 to 60 hours each week to create his weekly show. He personally handles every request or comment letter; these letters amount to approximately 500 per week.

He considers his job to be hard work but very satisfying.

“This is no Mickey Mouse type of job and unfortunately I don’t get paid but it’s worth it,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery said on a recent trip to the Tower District, one of the stores was airing a segment of his radio program.

He said it was motivating and gratifying to him as he looked around and found the listeners liking what they heard. That experience alone is enough for him; he lives for those random occurrences.

Montgomery warns people, however, to be cautious about Japanese hip-hop.

If they find themselves not understanding the music yet becoming very drawn to it, they may next find themselves working at a college radio station promoting that very music.

To hear a broadcast of the show or to listen to one of the compilation CDs that Montgomery has made of Japanese hip-hop artists, log on to www.sound.jp/j-st_beat/.

For more information on Japanese Street Beats and Montgomery (DJ Trik) e- mail him at [email protected] or tune in on Fridays from midnight to 5 a.m. on KFSR 90.7.