Akiko Urasaki (浦崎 亜希子, born December 16, 1986), known professionally as Awich (エイウィッチ, Eiwitchi), is a Japanese hip hop artist. She made her major label debut with Universal Music Japan in 2020. Her stage name is short for "Asian wish child," which is the literal meaning of the Japanese characters in her given name.
Early life and education
Awich was born in Naha, Okinawa on December 16, 1986. Because Okinawa is home to many U.S. military bases, Awich was exposed to American culture at an early age.[1] As a young girl, she idolized Tupac and credits Tupac songs with helping her learn English.[1] She wrote her first lyrics at age 13, and gave her first public hip hop performance at age 14.[2] At age 19, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she met and married an American husband and gave birth to a daughter. She also earned a bachelor's degree in business and marketing from the University of Indianapolis in 2011.[2] However, her husband was incarcerated and later was murdered after his release from prison, at which point Awich returned to Japan with her daughter.[3]
Career
Awich made her musical debut in Japan prior to her move to the United States. In 2006, she independently released an album titled Asian Wish Child.
Following her return to Japan from the United States, Awich initially focused on building up her self-founded branding company Cypher City, which works to market Okinawan products overseas.[1] However, she soon returned to the world of hip hop music.
In 2017, Awich joined the Japanese hip hop collective Yentown as its only female member, and began building her mainstream career.[3] With the label, she released two studio albums, 8 and Peacock, as well as two extended plays, Beat and Heart. In 2020, Awich signed with Universal Music Japan sublabel Universal J. Her first release under the label was Partition, her fifth extended play. Two promotional singles, "Shook Shook" and "Bad Bad" were released from the EP. Later that year, she released a cover of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and an original song titled "Present". In 2021, Awich released two singles, "Gila Gila" and "Kuchi ni Dashite". Her 2007 debut album was re-released digitally by LD&K Inc in September. In March 2022, her major label debut album, Queendom was released. In May, Awich released the single "Tsubasa" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to Japanese sovereignty in 1972. The song features vocals from her daughter, Yomi.[4]
Awich headlined at Budokan in 2022 after the release of her fourth studio album.[5] With five studio albums (produced primarily by music producer Chaki Zulu [ja]),[citation needed] Awich also performed at Fuji Rock Festival in 2022.[6] Her aim has been to become the "Queen of Japanese hiphop":
Before I knew I had the potential to be big and famous, but I didn’t have the guts to be at the center of everything. Now, I’m aiming to be the queen of Japan. Period. With that comes responsibility. It’s about owning your own words and not being afraid to be bashed for them.[5]
^Sources for chart positions: Partition,[12] United Queens[13]
^Beat did not enter the Oricon Albums chart, but peaked at number 14 on the Oricon Digital Albums chart.[14]
^Heart did not enter the Oricon Albums chart, but peaked at number 17 on the Oricon Digital Albums chart.[14]
^United Queens did not enter the Oricon Albums chart, but peaked at number 25 on the Oricon Digital Albums chart.[14]
^Sources for chart positions are as follows: "Gila Gila",[15] "Longiness Remix",[16] "Bad Bitch Bigaku"[17]
^"Kuchini Dashite" did not enter Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 4 on Billboard Japan Heatseekers songs chart.[18]
^"Doreni Shiyokana (I Got Options)" did not enter Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, but peaked at number 6 on Billboard Japan Heatseekers songs chart.[18]
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