Bennie K

Born from a fortunate encounter between singer Yukiko “Yuki” Yamamoto and rapper Chieko “Cico” Yamamoto in the late 90s, Bennie K was a pioneering hip-hop and R&B outfit and one of the first urban contemporary acts to break into the Japanese mainstream. The pair met by chance in Los Angeles in 1999 and teamed up with DJ Hi-Kick upon their return to Japan for their 2001 debut singles “Melody” and “School Girl,” both of which were included in their 2002 studio debut, Cube. Despite the album’s poor commercial performance, Bennie K managed to insert themselves in the country’s thriving hip-hop scene, landing features with artists such as Soul’d Out and Def Tech. Essence (2003) met a similar fate and they wouldn’t enter the Oricon Top Ten until 2004 with the release of the standalone single “Sunrise.” The track’s success paved the way for Synchronicity (2004), which hit Number 5 in their native Japan. But Bennie K had bigger things in store for them and their big breakthrough moment finally arrived in 2005 as their single “Dreamland” peaked at Number 2 on the Japanese Singles Chart thanks to its inclusion in a Coca-Cola commercial. The single also pushed fourth album Japana-rhythm (2005) to the top of the charts, awarding them with the first Number 1 record of their career. In the following years, Bennie K dropped the Top 5 LP The World (2007) before revamping their career as the BK Project with Bennie Becca (2010), recorded in collaboration with American singer-songwriter Becca.

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