Awich: Full Profile — From Naha to Queendom and the RZA-Produced Okinawan Wuman
Awich (born Akiko Urasaki) is a rapper born in Naha, Okinawa, in 1986. The name comes from “Asian Wish Child.”
After the 2006 EP Inner Research she moved to the United States, releasing her first album while living in Atlanta. In 2011 her husband was shot and killed, and she stopped making music. That loss — and the rebirth after it — has been the core of her lyrics ever since.
Profile
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Awich |
| Also known as | Akiko Urasaki (浦崎亜希子), Asian Wish Child |
| Hometown | Naha, Okinawa |
| Born | December 16, 1986 |
| Labels / crews | YENTOWN, Universal J / Universal Music Japan, CIPHER CITY, YAO |
| Social | X / Instagram / YouTube |
Where Awich Stands Now
Meeting producer Chaki Zulu brought her into Tokyo crew YENTOWN as its only female member in 2017, and she made her major debut in 2020. “GILA GILA” swept streaming in 2021; Queendom and a first Nippon Budokan show followed in 2022, then 18,000 people at K-Arena Yokohama in 2023 — again and again resetting the scale a woman in Japanese rap could reach.
But the point was never the numbers. Moving freely between Japanese, English, and Uchinaaguchi (the Okinawan language), carrying Okinawa’s history on stage, and pulling up NENE, LANA, and MaRI through open sisterhood, she pushed Japanese female rap from “the exception” to “the center.”
Coachella in 2024, the inaugural Okinawa Global Ambassador post the same year, and the 2025 RZA-produced Okinawan Wuman plugged her into the US mainline as well.
Signature Songs & Works
- “GILA GILA feat. JP THE WAVY, YZERR” (2021) — Produced by Chaki Zulu, released July 30, 2021. Her first entry on the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 (peak No. 92), and the anthem that made her a national name
- “Queendom” (2022) — Title track of her major-label debut album: an autobiographical narrative from Okinawa to Atlanta to Japan’s queen
- “Sennou feat. NENE, LANA, MaRI” (洗脳) (2022) — A generational relay of Japanese female rap compressed into one song
- “Bad Bitch Bigaku Remix feat. NENE, LANA, MaRI, AI, Yuriyan Retriever” (Bad Bitch 美学) (2023) — The remix that punched into the mainstream by pulling in other genres and generations
- “Wax On Wax Off feat. A$AP Ferg, Lupe Fiasco” (2025) — From the RZA-produced Okinawan Wuman. Sampling Meiko Kaji’s “Jeans Blues,” it wires an East Asian aesthetic into the DNA of New York hip-hop
- “Golden Horizon” (黄金の彼方, Awich × ALI) (2025) — Opening theme for the final season of the Golden Kamuy TV anime. Released digitally October 8, 2025, and on CD March 18, 2026 — her broadest mainstream reach yet, via an anime tie-up
Collaborations & Network
Confirmed collaborators include JP THE WAVY, YZERR (BAD HOP), Chaki Zulu, NENE, LANA, MaRI, kZm, Tsubaki (唾奇), OZworld, and CHICO CARLITO.
Labels and groups she has been closely tied to: YENTOWN (crew, 2017–), Universal J / Universal Music Japan (label, 2020–), CIPHER CITY (label, late 2010s–; an Okinawa-based production company and label), YAO (group, 2026–).
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| December 16, 1986 | Born in Naha, Okinawa. Real name Akiko Urasaki; the artist name Awich derives from “Asian Wish Child” |
| 2006 | Releases the EP Inner Research and begins her career in Okinawa; later moves to Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2007 | Records and releases her first album Asia Wish Child while living in Atlanta |
| 2011 | Her American husband is shot and killed. Left with their daughter, she steps away from music for a long period. The loss and rebirth become the core of her lyrics |
| 2017 | Meets producer Chaki Zulu and joins Tokyo crew YENTOWN as its only female member, returning to the scene in earnest |
| July 2020 | Signs with Universal J under Universal Music and makes her major debut with the EP Partition |
| July 30, 2021 | Releases “GILA GILA feat. JP THE WAVY, YZERR” (prod. Chaki Zulu). Her first entry on the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 (peak No. 92), spreading explosively on streaming |
| December 4, 2021 | Announces her first Nippon Budokan solo show, Welcome to the Queendom at Nippon Budokan |
| March 4, 2022 | Releases her major-label first album Queendom, led by Chaki Zulu’s production and fronting pride as a woman and Okinawan identity |
| March 14, 2022 | Holds the Budokan show. ANARCHY, KEIJU, JP THE WAVY, YZERR, kZm, MONYPETZJNKMN, Chinza DOPENESS, CHICO CARLITO, OZworld, NENE, ¥ellow Bucks, and her daughter Toyomi Jah appear; streamed free on ABEMA |
| October 25, 2023 | Releases the album THE UNION digitally, with ralph, GADORO, BIM, KM, STUTS and others — a banner raised for a scene-wide “union” |
| November 5, 2023 | Holds her first arena show, Queendom -THE UNION- at K-Arena Yokohama, drawing 18,000 with a set of about 29 songs, and declares an overseas push for the following year |
| April 14, 2024 | Performs on 88rising’s “Futures” stage (Mojave Stage) at Coachella, standing on the world stage alongside YOASOBI, ATARASHII GAKKO!, Number_i, Tiger JK, and Yoonmirae |
| April 2024 | Holds her career-largest national tour, THE UNION TOUR 2024; YENTOWN assembles for the finale |
| June 10, 2024 | Named the first “Okinawa Global Ambassador” by the Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau (OCVB); the inauguration is held at Shikinaen Garden in Naha, for a two-year term |
| May 22, 2025 | Performs at the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025 grand ceremony (ROHM Theatre Kyoto), sharing the stage with AI, NENE, and MaRI |
| October 8, 2025 | Releases her first ALI collaboration, “Golden Horizon” (黄金の彼方) — theme for the theatrical Golden Kamuy release, later the opening theme of the TV anime’s final season |
| November 21, 2025 | Releases Okinawan Wuman, fully produced by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA — the first time RZA has fully produced a Japanese rapper’s album. Joey Bada$$, A$AP Ferg, Lupe Fiasco, Westside Gunn, MIKE, C.O.S.A., and Chinza DOPENESS appear |
| March 18, 2026 | Releases the Awich × ALI single Golden Horizon on CD (limited edition with CD+Blu-ray) |
| July 1, 2026 | After sharing a dome stage with ONE OK ROCK, announces YAO, a new project with CHICO CARLITO, ONE OK ROCK, and Paledusk — a step into cross-genre collaboration |
(The timeline lists only events with confirmed sources.)
Key Interviews & Primary Sources (Japanese)
- Rapper Awich: her late husband’s words were the light — “Your poems are good. Keep writing” — Ryukyu Shimpo (2020)
- Interview: Awich — building a “Queendom” at the March 14 Budokan show — EYESCREAM (2022)
- Awich on her father’s words that pulled her out of rock bottom after losing her husband; her 14-year-old daughter on their “role-reversed” relationship — ORICON NEWS (2022)
- Awich announces her first arena show “Queendom -THE UNION- at K-Arena Yokohama” for November 5 (interview) — HYPEBEAST JP (2023)
- Awich: “Sharing Okinawa’s values and philosophy to bring the world together” — named Global Ambassador for Okinawa tourism — Okinawa Times (2024)
Main References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awich
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queendom_(Awich_album)
- https://awich098.com/
- https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/440424/
- https://natalie.mu/music/artist/108402
- https://natalie.mu/music/news/467474
- https://natalie.mu/music/news/545099
- https://natalie.mu/music/news/548050
- https://natalie.mu/music/news/575520
- https://natalie.mu/music/news/624479
