Explore about the Famous Japanese hip-hop artist Zeebra, who was born in Japan on April 2, 1971. Analyze Zeebra’s net worth, age, bio, birthday, dating, height-weight, wiki. Investigate who is Zeebra dating now? Look into this article to know how old is Zeebra?
Zeebra Birthday Countdown
Zeebra Biography
Zeebra (ジブラ , Jibura, born April 2, 1971) , real name Hideyuki Yokoi (横井英之 ) , is a Japanese hip hop recording artist and DJ who made his first appearance in 1995. Zeebra is a former member of the hip-hop group King Giddra, which also included DJ Oasis and K Dub Shine, and the older brother of fellow hip hop recording artist SPHERE of INFLUENCE. He went on to pursue a solo career shortly after in 1997, and signed with the Future Shock record label.
He is the grandson of businessman Hideki Yokoi, former president of the Hotel New Japan. The hotel’s flagship property in central Tokyo caught fire in 1982, disgracing Hideki Yokoi and causing Zeebra to be bullied by his classmates. Zeebra eventually dropped out of high school during his first year.
Zeebra began his hip hop career in 1993, joining the rap group King Giddra. Zeebra, along with his group King Giddra, played an important role in the development of the Japanese hip hop scene. In the mid 1990s, King Giddra, then an underground rap group, began addressing social issues of the time. King Giddra’s 1995 album “The Power from the Sky” discussed contemporary issues, particularly the economic recession and the inability of many Japanese college graduates to find employment. Zeebra addressed this issue of working towards a good education and being unable to find employment in his song “Bullet of Truth”. Through their music, Zeebra and King Giddra “challenged youth not only to recognize the difficulties faced by Japanese society but also to speak up about them.”
King Giddra’s popularity grew in Japan. In 1996, he recorded his first solo track “Untouchable” produced by Gang Starr producer DJ Premier. By 1997 Zeebra left King Gridda to start a solo career, appearing frequently in trendy hip hop and street culture magazines and TV shows about hip hop. In 1999 he released the single “Mr. Dynamite”, which became the first hip-hop single to make it into the top 50 on the Japanese Oricon pop charts. Through his early and newer work, Zeebra became one of the most popular and influential, yet controversial, Japanese hip hop artists.
In 1998 Zeebra undertook his first solo tour. He became recognized as an individual rapper for the first time, making hip-hop more familiar to Japanese listeners. In the same year he started the first hip-hop TV program in Japan, titled Beats to the Rhyme. One of Zeebra’s songs was used in a Nike promotion video for NBA Japan games. The following year Zeebra released the single “Mr. Dynamite”, the first hip-hop single to break into the top 50 on the Japanese pop charts. In June 2000, he released his new album Based on a True Story, which sold 250,000 copies. At the end of that year Zeebra started his first Japan tour, the first hip-hop event to sell out. In 2001 Zeebra released the single “Never Enuff”, the theme song for a Japanese movie called Brother, directed by Takeshi Kitano and starring Claude Maki. In 2002 he temporarily rejoined King Giddra, but has been doing solo work since 2003 and has released many songs. At present, he is producing songs not only for rap artists, but also for pop stars like Namie Amuro.
In 2008, after the MTV Video Music Awards Japan Ceremony, an unhappy Zeebra went onto YouTube and published a video criticizing the MTV Japan for not appreciating musicians.
He married around the age of 20 and fathered two sons, Kento and Ren Yokoi, before divorcing his first wife. Ren is a DJ who plays a mixture of House and Techno, where he is also a main MC for Tokyo Scene; Tokyo’s radio show by Inter FM 89.7. He kept custody of both sons, and later remarried to Miwa Nakabayashi and fathered two daughters, Kanon and Rima Yokoi (横井りま). Rima is a JYP trainee who is currently taking part in the survival show the Nizi Project, which plans to debut a Japanese-speaking global girl group.
What's Zeebra Net Worth 2024
Net Worth (2024) | $1 Million (Approx.) |
Net Worth (2023) | Under Review |
Net Worth (2022) | Under Review |
Net Worth (2021) | Under Review |
Net Worth (2020) | Under Review |
Zeebra Family
Father's Name | Not Available |
Mother's Name | Not Available |
Siblings | Not Available |
Spouse | Not Available |
Childrens | Not Available |