500 Females Emcees: Meet Lecca from Japan

One of Japan’s most popular artists is Lecca. She’s half Latina-half Japanese Jamaican inspired, reggae, hip hop, dance hall singer, songwriter. She’s considered a major ambassador for reggae inspired music in Japan.

She cut her teeth and got what she described as ‘warrior’ training in 2002 when she graduated from college and decided to spend close to a year living in New York and Toronto so she could attend open mics, work with local artists and be a part of showcases. The experience was invaluable.

When she returned to Japan in 2003 she joined she joined a Hip Hop group Legnis. A year later she left and hooked up with popular reggae performer Pang where she found her groove and calling.It wasn’t long before Lecca went solo and the rest they say is history.

Her indie debut, Recca (2005), featuring guest appearance by Pang, was delivered in 2005; it was acclaimed as one of the best reggae/ska releases of the year, allowing Lecca to play festivals along with the greats like Gregory Issacs and Marcia Griffiths and bringing her a contract with Cutting Edge, where she debuted in 2006 with the EP Dreamer, followed by Urban Pirates (2006), which charted at number 57.

Her most recent album ‘Zoolander‘ came out in 2012 and is still making noise all over the world. Stand out songs include ‘Golden Lion‘ and ‘Clown Love‘

Lecca ‘Sky is the Limit’ w/ Rhymester

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jtnpBgKc1Y