Moment Joon

Born and raised in South Korea's capital Seoul but currently based in Osaka, Moment Joon describes himself as an “immigrant” rapper, his counter to the exclusionary feel of the label "gaijin" (meaning "foreigner"). He originally moved to Japan in 2010 to study at Osaka University, but returned to Korea in 2012 for his mandatory military service, which kept him occupied until 2014. Later that year, he headed back to Japan and started to make a name for himself in the rap scene with the provocative track Fight Club. In recent years, he has been featured on tracks by well-known Japanese artists like SKY-HI and KEN THE 390, exposing his music to a broader audience.

Moment raps primarily in Japanese, but he also shifts seamlessly into his mother tongue and fluent English, sometimes for a few words or lines at a time and sometimes even for full songs. His songs can range from aggressive, emotional tracks about his views on Japanese culture and social issues to more lighthearted and laidback tunes about love and everyday life.