generasia:Featured article for 2010 week 2

Hilcrhyme

Hilcrhyme (ヒルクライム) is a Japanese hip-hop duo composed of TOC and DJ KATSU. DJ KATSU came up with the idea of a hip-hop group in 2001, but it wasn't until 2004 when he formed Hilcrhyme with TOC. They released a demo album, Nettaiya, in March 2007, which sold a total of 2,000 copies. Following the success of their demo album, they focused on performing live, attracting hundreds of people. On July 23, 2008, Hilcrhyme released their debut independent single, "Mou Bye Bye". The single reached #4 on the Oricon indie chart, and the music video was accessed 100,000 times on YouTube, leading them to a major debut offer.

In 2009, Hilcrhyme signed with Universal Music Japan and made their major debut in July with the single, "Jun'ya to Manami". The following September, they released their second single, "Shunkashuutou", which became a great success by staying several weeks in the Oricon weekly top ten. Hilcrhyme will release their debut album, Recital, on January 13, 2010.