The Yemoto

The Yemoto (styled The 家元 in Japanese) is a band formed in 1987 by Takamitsu Muraji and his brother Hiromitsu. They are from a family of traditional Japanese musicians: Takamitsu would succeed to the family name and become Kineya Katsushiro VI in 2007. The Yemoto were signed to Victor in 1989 and make their major-label debut in 1991 with the album Olympic Matsuri. The music they make is a sort of crossover between Japanese festival music with shamisen, Japanese percussion and flute, and funk-rock, with rap vocals courtesy of Japan-based American DJ Ike Nelson.