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MASTERKEY began his legendary career in New York during the Golden Age of hip-hop. Working at such clubs as the infamous “MARS†and “TUNNEL†two of the biggest clubs in the US at the time he soon became well recognized among those in the hip hop scene. It was his love for music that drove him to form a rap group called “BUDDHA BRAND†with DEV LARGE, CQ, and NIPPS. They had the honor of playing at Lyricist Lounge and other highly ranked rap events. Not only did BUDDHA BRAND take on the U.S. scene they moved back to Japan in 1995 and proved they could rock both continents.
It was at this time that Masterkey became not only Japan’s number one hip hop DJ but also released his 1st single with BUDDHA BRAND which went on to make record breaking sales in the music industry. It was a huge awakening to the Japanese music scene. After this first big hit, he constantly released CDs and made amazing sales each time. In 1997, a track entitled “TENUN WARE NI ARI†was used for a TV commercial, bringing MASTERKEY nation-wide recognition.
While working with his group MASTERKEY began hosting an event entitled “DADDY’S HOUSE†which brought over 1000 people together, and instantly became the biggest event in Japan. It was with this legendary event he changed and became known as JAPAN’S NO. 1 PARTY DJ. This event and his work with his group led him to become a sought over producer. He began producing for other hip-hop acts as well as top acts such as MISIA.
Not wanting to forget his roots as a DJ, MASTERKEY continued to release a number of mix CDs. In the year 2000, he became the first Japanese artist to be released from the world’s most distinguished hip-hop label - Def Jam. He produced the label’s official mix compilation album “DEF JAM 2000 – THE X DAY†and became known not only in Japan, but also worldwide as one of the top hip-hop DJs.
Inspired by Def Jam, MASTERKEY in 2001 established his own label THE LIFE ENTERTAINMENT and released his first self-produced album “ONE LIFE (WON LIGHT)†under his own name, soon following with “DADDY’s HOUSE vol. 1†later on that year. MASTERKEY made exceptional domestic sales and became a renowned leader of hip-hop in Japan. He has continued today to make legendary moves in the hip hop scene from starting his own clothing line ROCKSMITH to signing and producing for artists on his record label proving that the one and only MASTERKEY is unstoppable!!
