Kenayeboi on Yokonori, Dirty Kansai and the Road to BOARD BREAKER RING [Exclusive Interview]

LucieAugust 19, 2026Updated August 20, 2026Exclusive Interviews29 min read

Kenayeboi interview about yokonori, trap and BOARD BREAKER RING — Kenayeboi exclusive interview — original English-edition artwork by HIPHOPCs.

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Translation and timing note: This English edition was translated and edited from HIPHOPCs’ Japanese interview published on May 15, 2026. The order of the questions and each speaker’s first-person meaning are preserved. Private conversations, relationships and scene assessments remain attributed to the person who voiced them.

Post-interview update, checked August 19, 2026: In the conversation below, Kenayeboi describes postponing a release announced for May 16. The project subsequently arrived on May 24 as BOARD BREAKER RING, a ten-track collaborative album by Kenayeboi and Yenyenbeats. Its official TuneCore page credits Kenayeboi on vocals and lyrics, Yenyen on composition and production, and LIL G on mixing and mastering. The interview remains in its original time frame; this note records what happened next.

Hip-hop carries different values, aesthetics and histories from place to place. In Japan, regional scenes and smaller communities have become increasingly visible beyond Tokyo. Artists now cross those local lines routinely, even while each community keeps its own sense of style.

Kenayeboi has moved through that landscape with what he calls yokonori: literally “riding sideways,” the stance and wider culture of skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing. Raised in Kobe and active around Osaka, the rapper and skater has built links from Kansai to Tokyo, Yokohama, Akita and Fukuoka.

His 2019 EP Trap Spot featured Jin Dogg and Young Coco. In 2020, he and Elle Teresa released Slime Island. Trap Spot 2 followed in 2021 and Trap Spot 3 in 2022. Across the series, guests included JNKMN, SANTAWORLDVIEW, Lunv Loyal and Playsson, who previously used the name Pedro the GodSon. In 2025, Kenayeboi and Yvngboi P issued the five-track EP WANA.

HIPHOPCs writer Lucie met Kenayeboi with YTG Sam present. They discussed his father’s influence, Freshdude skate culture, Dirty Kansai, friendships across Japan and the release plan that became BOARD BREAKER RING.

Table of Contents

Kenayeboi: a skater crossing the boundaries between east and west

Lucie: I have heard your name and seen you around many times, but let’s begin with an introduction.

Kenayeboi: I’m Kenayeboi. I’m from Kobe, and these days I am active mainly around Osaka. I run a skate crew.

Lucie: That is Freshdude skateboards, formerly Fresh Dude Crew. It has been going for a long time. The last interview I could find with you was from 2019, so I did not know what everyone was doing now.

Kenayeboi: We have a skate shop now. In the end, we opened one.

Lucie: That is so cool. So everyone ultimately came back to skateboarding. I am genuinely glad to hear it. Where did the name Kenayeboi come from?

Kenayeboi: It comes from my real name. I only added “boi.” A rapper friend came up with it for me, and that became the starting point.

What does “yokonori” mean?

Lucie: A friend gave you the name. Skateboarding also feels inseparable from your image. How did hip-hop enter your life?

Kenayeboi: Completely through my dad. He was into yokonori, so I was a yokonori kid born from an original yokonori guy. He loved street culture, and the music came with it automatically.

Lucie: Your father was the influence. I have also wondered about a word that appeared constantly in your earlier interview: what is the difference between yokonori and tatenori, or “riding vertically”?

Kenayeboi: On a skateboard you stand sideways as you move, right? That is why it is called yokonori.

YTG Sam and Lucie: Now it makes sense! [Laughs.]

Kenayeboi: Skiing and inline skating go forward, so I guess those are tatenori.

Lucie: That finally clicks. It sounds as though skateboarding and hip-hop arrived together for you. I have never skated, so what is its appeal?

Kenayeboi: There are so many tricks. Before trying one, you imagine everything that could go wrong: “What will happen if I do this? Will I break a bone if I fall?”

Lucie: Exactly. I watch people do it and wonder how they can face something that frightening.

Kenayeboi: It is terrifying. I feel like I pick up at least one injury every day. But when you get past the risk and land a trick for the first time, there is nothing comparable. Ordinary life does not give you many moments where you can say, “I got through that fear and made it.” I think I became addicted to that feeling.

Lucie: So you are drawn to the dangerous point where you have to accept the risk. Does that experience affect your rap?

Kenayeboi: I think it probably does, at least a little.

Lucie: Choosing to become a rapper is risky too. Skateboarding must build a serious tolerance for fear.

Dirty Kansai and the evolution of his sound

Lucie: Your father introduced you to hip-hop. Which artists influenced you most?

Kenayeboi: If I started naming every song I love, it would never end. The people closest to me probably have the strongest influence: Jin Dogg and Young Coco, for example. I listen to legends like 2Pac and Biggie too, but the people around me ultimately affect me most.

Lucie: With artists like that around you, it is easy to imagine how stimulating the environment must be. You began moving in earnest around 2019, and your first widely available EP was Trap Spot. It carries some of the feeling of the trap era at its peak, and Jin Dogg and Young Coco appear on it.

Kenayeboi: Right, they are both on it.

Lucie: More recently, I hear a rougher texture that reminds me of Baton Rouge or Jacksonville. How has your style changed from the beginning until now?

Kenayeboi: I am not sure it has. I have just kept making trap.

Lucie: So you are following what you want to do, and from the outside that natural movement looks like a change.

Kenayeboi: That may be it.

His definition of trap, and old and new skate culture

Lucie: The word “trap” appears throughout your projects. I tend to think of it as the name of a musical genre, but it also carries a cultural meaning. What does trap mean to you?

Kenayeboi: To me, it means a hard culture. Money, women and alcohol—although I do not know if that is the perfect answer. [Laughs.] I work within what I see as the proper image of trap. Those elements are definitely there. I make sure it is trap.

Editorial boundary: This is Kenayeboi’s personal shorthand, not a universal definition of trap music or culture.

Lucie: Because you come from skate culture, I also sense a strong classic B-boy side in you. This may be my own stereotype, but skateboarding can evoke the 1990s, and artists with that B-boy feeling seem less common now.

Kenayeboi: That may be true. Skateboarding once carried the image of an old-school, “this is hip-hop” culture. But around the time I started to love it, Supreme skaters were coming up and skating to trap music. Things gradually began to change.

Lucie: Do you remember when that shift happened?

Kenayeboi: Maybe about ten years ago. Some skaters began using tracks from trap’s peak era, and that inspired us to form our skate crew. We may have been relatively new skate kids from the moment when the generation was changing.

Younger skaters now may be influenced by Yuto Horigome. More people seem to start skating because they like hip-hop or trap. Of course, there are still people who love the classic culture too.

Lucie: That history is fascinating.

“Maybe the delay was a good thing”: the plan behind the next project

Lucie: I heard a rumor that you were preparing a new project. Can you tell us about it?

Kenayeboi: I was planning to put it out. I even announced on Instagram Stories that it would arrive on May 16. But then we found a more interesting way to release it, and it looks as though it will become a bigger move. I want people to look forward to it. At this point, maybe the delay was a good thing. [Laughs.]

Lucie: Saying the delay was good only makes me more curious. Can you at least give us a sense of the project?

Kenayeboi: I run a brand called Board Breaker. My first EP also used that name. I made it with the beatmaker Yen Yen Beats.

Lucie: That EP is no longer available, right? I do not remember seeing it.

Kenayeboi: Right, it is not available now. So I thought I might put out Board Breaker again.

But when I played this project for Yen Yen Beats, he came back with a plan: “There is a more interesting way to release this. What do you think?” I am thinking of going along with it.

YTG Sam: Going along for the ride—just like yokonori. [Laughs.]

Kenayeboi: Exactly. I may just ride with the plan. [Laughs.]

Lucie: Now I am even more curious. What I really want to know is who will appear. You probably cannot name anyone, but is it weighted toward eastern or western Japan, or does it mix both?

Kenayeboi: That is still a secret. [Laughs.]

Lucie: Then we have to wait. Why did this feel like the right time?

Kenayeboi: I had not released it for a long time, and I wanted to spread the Board Breaker name again. More than anything, I had built up too many good songs. [Laughs.] I needed to let them out.

Lucie: Too many good songs—I want to hear them already.

What happened next: The official release uses the title BOARD BREAKER RING and the collaborator styling “Yenyenbeats.” It arrived nine days after the Japanese interview was published. The text above retains the names and future tense used in the May conversation.

Watching Dirty Kansai spread

Lucie: You have worked alongside the artists associated with OMG and “Dirty Kansai” since around 2019. Nearly seven years have passed, and Japanese hip-hop has grown enormously. What have the people around you become within that expansion?

Kenayeboi: People like Jake and Coco feel almost like originators now.

Lucie: Originators? They certainly feel close to legendary figures.

Kenayeboi: That is how it feels. Many people around me have become examples for others. They have all kept to their own styles. I hear new music and think, “Maybe this artist carries a little of Jake’s essence,” or, “This person probably loves Coco.” I hear that kind of influence often now.

Lucie: They have become a source. When I first heard everyone’s music in high school, it felt directed inward, toward Japan. Over time the influence spread, and from “Team Tomodachi” onward the perspective seemed to turn outward toward the world.

Kenayeboi: Absolutely. It has become possible to go out into the world.

Lucie: Has your own perspective on the world changed?

Kenayeboi: It has changed a great deal. When I go to Tokyo, I hang out with Sam. Chiba-san has also invited me to the studio often recently, and I sometimes stay there for several days. He is incredible. The level feels global—like, “This is how high the level is?” It is seriously overwhelming.

Private-account boundary: The studio invitations and stays are Kenayeboi’s firsthand recollection. They do not by themselves announce a recording, credit or release.

Lucie: So being around Chiba-san is also turning your own direction outward?

Kenayeboi: Of course. But I also think there is much more we can still do in Japan.

Yuki Chiba, OMG, PGS and communities across Japan

Lucie: Your network seems to reach many different communities. What is your relationship with Chiba-san and the people around OMG?

Kenayeboi: I am not actually a member of OMG. I was always in a separate crew alongside them. Even when OMG was still called HYBRID, everyone treated me like one of the HYBRID people. They still treat me as OMG family now, so the relationship has not changed.

It is not that we move as one pack. Everyone has kept working independently.

Lucie: That is a great relationship. More recently, you released the EP WANA with Yvngboi P. It also feels as though your connection to PGS has deepened.

Kenayeboi: We are simply close friends. If you asked where I am closest to outside Osaka, I would probably say Fukuoka.

A few years ago, P was in Osaka early in the morning and went live on Instagram saying he could not withdraw money and was in trouble. I happened to see it and told him to come to my place.

At the time I lived in a picture-perfect trap house. P came over, and that is how “TRAP HOUSE” happened. There is a line about being in the trap house next to Kenayeboi.

Lucie: So that is the story behind the song.

Kenayeboi: We became close from there, and then I became close with everyone in PGS. Outside my local area, Fukuoka may be where I perform most often.

Lucie: The breadth of your connections is remarkable. You were also present for McGuffin’s interview with YOU THUG. Your guest lists include JNKMN, Leon Fanourakis, SANTAWORLDVIEW and Lunv Loyal, among many others.

Even with the internet, it can be hard for someone who has just started rapping or making music to build real connections with other rappers. What is the secret?

Kenayeboi: I honestly have no idea. I do not know why it happened for me. [Laughs.]

Lucie: Seriously?

YTG Sam: Can I answer this one?

Kenayeboi and Lucie: Go ahead.

YTG Sam: The music has to be good—that is the foundation. He makes great music. But beyond that, Kenaye is genuinely a good person, so everybody ends up liking him. [Laughs.]

Lucie: I already suspected that. It really does feel that way.

YTG Sam: There is no strategy behind it. People simply like him. That is all. [Laughs.]

Kenayeboi: I appreciate you saying that. [Laughs.]

Lucie: How does somebody become that kind of person? What kind of life do you have to live?

Kenayeboi: I put a lot of work into keeping myself in a good mood. I play as much as I want, then I go out feeling good. Maybe you have to live by doing only what you truly love. Or maybe you just need to ride sideways.

Artists Kenayeboi recommends

Lucie: Japanese hip-hop is extremely active now. Which rappers or artists stand out to you?

Kenayeboi: It may sound predictable, but the people around me: Jake, Coco, P and YOU THUG. More recently, BABYWOODROSE is great too. We hang out from time to time.

Lucie: BABYWOODROSE has been getting a lot of attention. Of course you are connected there too.

Becoming an entry point into trap music

Lucie: How do you see the current Japanese hip-hop scene?

Kenayeboi: There are many more exciting artists now. So many people are making great music.

Lucie: This is only my personal view, but it can feel as though there are two scenes—underground and mainstream—and that they are drifting apart. How does that look from a player’s perspective?

Kenayeboi: I am not sure whether this is right, but I think the audience for the hard kind of trap we make is still relatively small within the whole picture.

Even so, people around me—Chiba-san, Jake, Coco, YOU THUG and P—are definitely spreading trap in Japan. I want to become that kind of presence too and help make it bigger with them.

Lucie: Finally, where do you want the music to take you?

Kenayeboi: Many people still do not know me. I want to make a bigger impact in Japan and become a doorway: a reason for somebody to fall in love with hip-hop or an entry point into trap music. A bridge.

I think the next album can become that bridge, so I want people to look forward to it.

Lucie: I cannot wait to hear what the album becomes. Thank you for speaking with us.

After the interview: an attraction that resists explanation

The question running through the interview was simple: why do people gather around Kenayeboi? YTG Sam answered from his own experience. The music matters, he said, but so does the person making it.

Kenayeboi has watched Japanese hip-hop change at close range while moving between communities that do not always share the same history or aesthetic. Skateboarding gives him more than a theme. Yokonori becomes a way to describe his movement: sideways across scenes, without losing the independent crew and local relationships that shaped him.

At the time of the interview, the album and the “more interesting plan” remained secret. We now know the title, collaborators and release date. BOARD BREAKER RING does not erase the suspense in his answers; it completes their chronology.

Verified releases, official links and further reading

Interview: Lucie / HIPHOPCs
Interview support: YTG Sam
Japanese-edition materials: credited in the source post as supplied by Kenayeboi; not reproduced here because attachment-level English reuse terms were not recorded
English-edition artwork: original typography-led HIPHOPCs editorial design