Noah Ezra Interview: Harlem, Yuki Chiba and the “HAR7EM” Story

Translation and verification note: This English edition was translated and edited from HIPHOPCs’ Japanese interview published on December 13, 2025. Noah Ezra answered in English during the original conversation, with YTG Sam assisting the interviewer in places; however, this page is an English reconstruction from the published Japanese text, not a verbatim transcript recovered from the original English audio. The question order and each speaker’s substantive meaning have been preserved, while repeated conversational fillers have been tightened.

Statements about family background, neighborhood violence, private conversations, friendships, an unnamed childhood television project, past production work and an automobile crash remain the named speakers’ recollections. They are not recast here as independently verified facts about third parties.

Time-frame note, checked August 20, 2026: The EP references to “by the end of the year” and “the following year” belong to the interview’s 2025 planning frame. One answer dates the “Team Tomodachi” shoot to “around May or June this year”; because the official Duke Deuce and Yuki Chiba video was published on May 2, 2024, that relative date conflicts with the 2025 publication context and remains unresolved. At the time this edition was prepared, Noah Ezra’s official YouTube channel listed “HAR7EM” as its sole upload, and the video description still described a first EP as being in progress. That channel check does not prove that no other music or private work exists elsewhere; it only defines what HIPHOPCs could verify publicly.

Harlem is not merely a backdrop to this conversation. The neighborhood helped shape the cultural movement now known as the Harlem Renaissance, while the Apollo’s own history records how its 125th Street stage became central to generations of Black music. Noah Ezra places his own story within that geography: a Japanese artist born and raised in Harlem, with family roots in western Tokyo and creative ties that reach into both New York and Japan.

What Noah described as his first rap release, “HAR7EM,” went live on his official channel at 7:00 p.m. PDT on October 6, 2025—October 7 in Japan. The Japanese edition reported cameo appearances by Yuki Chiba and the artist it spells A$AP 12vyy, immediately raising questions about who Noah was. HIPHOPCs spoke with him and YTG Sam about Harlem, Oji, the idea of answering violence with love, his work as Noa24k, BSTA, Japan’s underground, and the EP he was then planning.

Interview: Lucie / HIPHOPCs. Interpretation support and source materials: YTG Sam.

Born and raised in Harlem, with Japanese family roots

Lucie: I spent a long time researching before this interview, but there was very little public information about you. At the same time, the description attached to “HAR7EM” contained an extraordinary amount of information. Major names appeared without warning, and people online began asking who you were. Did you know about that speculation?

YTG Sam: Did you know?

Noah Ezra: Nah, bro.

Lucie: Everybody seemed curious. Let us begin with a simple introduction.

Noah: Noah. Noah Ezra.

Lucie: Please tell us about your background in your own words.

Noah: I was born and raised in Harlem. Both of my parents are Japanese, so I am Japanese. My grandparents are from western Tokyo, which makes that another home for me. But the lifestyle at the center of my life is New York—Harlem.

Sam: It is not that he is trying to claim every place. Harlem, western Tokyo and Oji are the places he treats as home.

Noah: Yeah, type shit. Harlem is still my main territory.

Lucie: What did Harlem feel like to you growing up?

Noah: People called it “Little Africa.” There were almost no Asian people around me, let alone Japanese people. It felt like 98 percent of the neighborhood was African American and the remaining two percent was what people around me called Spanish. It was completely different from Japan. Simply living there involved risk.

Lucie: I cannot pretend to imagine that environment. The video description also mentions shootings. What can you say about that experience?

Noah: In Harlem, it did not feel exceptional. Somebody was being shot every week. That was normal to us. Harlem contains different territories, and some kind of problem was usually happening somewhere.

Demographic and violence boundary: Noah’s “98 percent” figure is preserved as a description of how his immediate surroundings felt to him; it is not a census statistic. New York City’s published community data show a substantially more diverse Central Harlem than that literal ratio. His comments about shootings are also personal recollections, not a verified incident count or a characterization of every Harlem resident.

A$AP 12vyy, Yuki Chiba and a meeting through “Team Tomodachi”

Lucie: Let us talk about the connections seen in the video. It opens with an A$AP emblem, and the Japanese introduction described A$AP 12vyy as an older-brother figure. How did you connect with that circle?

Noah: On my route to middle school, Rocky and other A$AP people would just be hanging around. At the time, we knew each other by sight and would say hello.

Then, around May or June last year, 12vyy came to Japan and we became closer. When I went back home, I visited his studio. He was one of the people telling me that I should definitely make music.

Lucie: So moving together as an older and younger pair was relatively recent?

Noah: Recent, yeah. He is older than me, but some local circumstances brought us much closer. I cannot talk about those circumstances. Where I am from, I do not really think about it as “big brother” and “little brother.” He is really my brother. I cannot thank him enough.

Lucie: What did Harlem teach you?

Noah: That lesson did not come specifically from 12vyy or A$AP. It came from older people in my neighborhood. Some came from poverty and had nothing; later I saw them in Ferraris and wearing Rolexes. Watching that lifestyle from childhood motivated me.

Naming note: The Japanese transcript spells the name “A$AP 12vyy,” while the official “HAR7EM” description uses “A$AP 12vy.” This edition preserves the transcript’s spelling in the conversation and records the discrepancy rather than silently treating a private relationship as independently verified.

Lucie: Turning to Japan, how did you meet Yuki Chiba, Sam, Team Oji and the people around HIBRID ENTERTAINMENT?

Noah: That was around May or June this year. I happened to be at the shoot for Duke Deuce’s “Team Tomodachi,” and I met Team Oji there.

It was not only 12vyy. Chiba, Sam and everybody in Team Oji encouraged me to make songs. I began taking artist activity more seriously than before. Without them, I might not have started.

Lucie: That sounds like a chain of chance meetings.

Sam: Exactly. As Noah said, we first met at the Duke Deuce “Team Tomodachi” shoot. My first thought was, “Who is this guy?” He barely spoke, wore a striking chain, a mask and a hat, arrived in a Maybach, and gave us no information. I knew only that his name was Noah.

I think the next time we met was in Okinawa, where we talked a little. After he returned to Tokyo, Noah sent me a message thanking me for Okinawa. I thought he seemed like a good person. I was going to Chiba’s studio that same day, wondered whether Noah was free, and invited him. From then on, he was always around Team Oji.

Verification and chronology note: The embedded video is the official upload titled “Duke Deuce & Yuki Chiba — TEAM TOMODACHI REMIX,” published on May 2, 2024. The relative phrase “this year” is preserved from the Japanese source, but it cannot safely be converted to May or June 2025 because that would conflict with the public release chronology. Noah’s and Sam’s accounts of who was present, when they first spoke and what happened privately remain their recollections. For more context on Chiba’s later U.S.-facing work, read HIPHOPCs’ English report on Yuki Chiba, BABYWOODROSE and ChaseTheMoney.

“Kill with love”: a lesson Noah says he took from Chiba

Lucie: What did you learn while moving with Chiba?

Noah: Everything. I receive everything from him.

Lucie: What was it like watching him work in the studio?

Noah: I was there to learn. Chiba is a genius, so simply watching him record taught me things.

Sam: What surprised me was that Noah would also tell Chiba, “Maybe you should do it this way.” Almost nobody could advise Chiba, and even if somebody did, he rarely accepted it. That made the exchange feel new.

Lucie: The fact that he listened is striking.

Sam: He would say, “Yeah, that is good,” and take Noah’s suggestion. When I saw that, I thought, “This guy is not ordinary.” Noah does not decorate himself. He is simply Noah. He does not open up without respect, which may be something he shares with Chiba.

Lucie: It sounds as if each of you stimulates the other.

Noah: I am not giving him anything. I am the one receiving inspiration in many ways.

He has influenced my mindset too. The words that hit me hardest were, “Kill with love.”

Lucie: That is powerful.

Noah: Yeah. That is what Chiba’s idea of Team Tomodachi means to me. Older people in Harlem did not teach me that, and I did not have that mentality before meeting him. But I have seen many people die. Beef in America and beef in Japan are different. People die in America, right? I do not want to see somebody die. I want to surround people with love instead of violence.

Lucie: Do you want to carry that mindset back to New York?

Noah: Yeah, of course. I tell younger people in my neighborhood about that mindset too. Shout out to Captain Chiba.

Sam: Noah says he gives Chiba nothing, but I hear Chiba talk about him. When they went to New York together, Chiba said Noah was incredible. People around them said they could not have spent such a comfortable time in New York without him. I think they influence each other.

Noah: When he was in my neighborhood, nobody was going to touch Chiba.

Lucie: You were doing more than security.

Noah: Yeah. I moved with him more like security than an artist. [Laughs]

Sensitive-claim boundary: “Kill with love” is a direct translation of the phrase quoted in the Japanese edition. Noah’s account of witnessing deaths and Sam’s account of Chiba’s private comments are attributed testimony. “Nobody was going to touch Chiba” is preserved in conversational context; it is not presented as an allegation of a specific threat or incident.

Before rapping: Noa24k, BSTA and an unnamed television project

Lucie: What were you doing before appearing publicly as a rapper?

Noah: When I was a child, an unnamed television company had a project about twenty-five young Japanese people training in New York. The adults involved were apparently looking for somebody from New York. I was told that signing an artist contract could let me work as a rapper. I was a kid, so I signed. But the actual activity felt more like being an idol, and I left.

Lucie: Does any work from that period remain?

Noah: If you dig deeply enough, you can find it. I worked on sound and beat production under the name Noa24k.

Lucie: Another online claim described you as a former BSTA member. Is that accurate?

Noah: They are like brothers to me. I knew them long before meeting Team Oji—BLAISE, S TILL I DIE, JIRO and the others. I made beats for some early BSTA work. You can hear the producer tag “$X¥.” That is me. It means turning dollars into yen.

Lucie: So you were producing, but you were not moving publicly as a rapper.

Noah: Type shit. I did it for fun. During the BSTA period, I was not trying to become an artist. It felt like hanging out with friends.

Sam: It was above the level of casual fun, though. [Laughs]

Noah: I also made music with kiLLa.

Sam: BSTA members later came to one of our shows too. The relationships extend beyond a credit list.

Credit boundary: HIPHOPCs has preserved Noah’s answer rather than labeling him a “former BSTA member,” a title he did not adopt in the interview. The unnamed broadcaster, contract, Noa24k credits, “$X¥” tag and kiLLa sessions are first-person claims. Public credit documentation supplied with the Japanese article was not sufficient to verify each work independently. For a later view of JIRO’s own work, read the English JIRO interview on “No Debt,” Asia and UTA.

Why Noah believes Yokosuka and western Tokyo will rise

Lucie: Your Instagram also shows connections with artists in Japan’s underground, including Brrsos. How do those relationships fit into your story?

Noah: They are friends too. People from Yokosuka and western Tokyo are all brothers to me—CFN Malik and Jerryy, also known as yabashi, for example.

Lucie: How strong do you think Japan’s underground is?

Noah: The artists from Yokosuka are all dope. They will definitely move aboveground. I like the western Tokyo rappers too—Jahxncho and Xameleon. They are all dope, and they are family. They understand it.

Context: “Family” and “brothers” describe Noah’s own sense of affiliation, not a documented crew membership for every artist named. For a wider map of the capital’s scenes and the limits of treating Tokyo as one sound, see the English Tokyo Rap Atlas.

“HAR7EM”: a first rap release, recorded one phrase at a time

Lucie: You were already making beats. When did you begin rapping?

Noah: In middle school, I would make rhythms by hitting a desk and freestyle. Friends and I jokingly dissed one another. I still bring that feeling into making songs.

Sam: Music was part of the lifestyle rather than a separate activity.

Lucie: Which artists did you grow up hearing?

Noah: 50 Cent, Mobb Deep and Jim Jones.

Sam: Jim Jones is a Harlem elder.

Lucie: What is “HAR7EM” about?

Noah: Like, “we gon’ up.”

Lucie: Was it the first song featuring your own rap that you released?

Noah: Yeah. I think it was the first rap song I released.

Lucie: How did the song reach release?

Noah: The song itself had been finished for about a year. I played it for Cyprus, or CYP. He pushed me: “This is really good. You should definitely put it out.” So I did. It is one of many songs. It is about rising from the bottom.

Lucie: The song moves between Japanese and English. Did you hear the finished form as soon as you heard the beat?

Noah: I did not overthink it. I made it in a style like Chiba’s.

Lucie: Punching in line by line?

Noah: Exactly—recording one phrase at a time. Chiba is extremely good at that. He can freestyle for five or ten minutes, select the best parts, and a song appears. I want to reach that point someday.

Lucie: The video feels polished, and the location looks almost too perfect to be “in front of your home.”

Noah: It was all in front of my home. When I opened the door, 116th Street was right there. Look—I even have that number on my face.

Lucie: So the number comes from home. Is the Apollo nearby?

Noah: The Apollo is a few minutes away on 125th Street. But every scene with my friends was shot in front of my place on 116th.

Lucie: Who handled the video effects?

Noah: The person who did the VFX for “HAR7EM” is called Nitetive. He is connected to Playboi Carti’s team and was involved with “Magnolia.” We connected by chance through A$AP.

Lucie: The beat feels close to supertrap, a sound artists such as DARKSPIN, Redda and untiljapan have explored in the U.S. Do you consciously try to anticipate new sounds?

Noah: I do think about what kind of music may be coming next. It is similar to anticipating a fashion trend.

Lucie: Chiba is an unusual example of a Japanese rapper moving globally. Who else do you think can reach that level?

Noah: Chiba is one of one, so reaching his level is difficult. But I return to the artists from Yokosuka and western Tokyo. I think they will keep rising.

Sam: I think Noah himself may be the closest. His base is different. If he becomes a bridge, he can give younger artists a real connection.

Lucie: Do you actively want to create that bridge between the U.S. mainstream and Japan’s underground?

Noah: It will happen naturally, like it did with Chiba.

Production-credit boundary: The official “HAR7EM” upload verifies the title, channel and publication timestamp, and its closing credits identify Nitetive for VFX. Noah’s separate statements that Nitetive is connected to Playboi Carti’s team and was involved with “Magnolia,” as well as his account of Cyprus’s encouragement, remain attributed interview testimony; HIPHOPCs did not find primary public documentation sufficient to establish those additional claims independently.

The mask, the cars and a question left unanswered

Lucie: You often wear a mask. Is there a reason?

Noah: …

Sam: [Laughs]

Lucie: Understood. Cars also appear often in your videos and Instagram. Do you have favorites?

Noah: A Maybach and a Porsche. The black Porsche in “HAR7EM” was later wrecked in a crash.

Lucie: That was recent. Do you drive fast?

Noah: …

Sam and Lucie: [Laugh]

Safety boundary: The crash is Noah’s brief personal statement. The follow-up and silence are preserved as interview banter; HIPHOPCs draws no conclusion about cause, speed, fault, injury or any legal issue.

The first EP he was building in 2025

Lucie: We heard that you were making your first EP. What kind of record did you want it to become, and did you have a release window?

Noah: I thought it would reflect my lifestyle and the way I think. Of course I wanted Japanese listeners to respond, but I also wanted to make something that would impress people back home in Harlem. You had to wait for the date—but I did not think it would be far away.

Lucie: What else were you planning at the time?

Noah: I planned to release several music videos and the EP before the end of that year, then begin performing live the following year. I wanted people to look forward to the next twelve months.

Release-status boundary: These were plans stated in the 2025 interview, not a current release announcement. As of the August 20, 2026 check described above, HIPHOPCs could verify “HAR7EM” on Noah’s official YouTube channel but could not verify a publicly released first EP from that official channel. The interview therefore uses “was building,” not “upcoming,” in its present-day framing.

What this interview documents

The strongest part of Noah Ezra’s story is not a list of famous names. It is the way he describes translation between places: Harlem and western Tokyo, violence and care, private production work and a first public rap release. “HAR7EM” gave that movement a visible starting point, but this conversation also records the uncertainty around it. Some credits are difficult to trace. Some relationships are necessarily private. A promised EP had not reached the official channel by the date of this English edition.

That uncertainty should not be filled with speculation. The durable record is what Noah and Sam said, what the official videos show, and what remains unresolved. Read alongside HIPHOPCs’ Tokyo Rap Atlas, the interview also shows why a simple “Japan versus the U.S.” frame is too narrow: artists move through neighborhoods, crews, studios and personal relationships that do not fit one national lane.

Primary sources and further reading

• Original Japanese HIPHOPCs interview — the source transcript for this English edition.
• Noah Ezra, “HAR7EM” — official video upload.
• Noah Ezra’s official YouTube channel — used for the August 20, 2026 catalog-status check.
• Duke Deuce and Yuki Chiba, “TEAM TOMODACHI REMIX” — official video referenced in the meeting account.
• The Apollo: official history — background for the 125th Street institution discussed in the interview.
• New York City Community Atlas — official demographic context used to prevent Noah’s impressionistic “98 percent” description from being read as census data.

Editorial standard: Direct testimony is attributed to the speaker. Official uploads verify only what they visibly publish or credit. Unnamed institutions, private conversations, neighborhood events and unlisted production work remain unresolved unless primary documentation becomes available.