tonosama wasabii Is Wild: The Road to wasabii yabaii and Her Ever-Changing Future [Exclusive Interview]

Feature image and images in this article courtesy of tonosama wasabii. Image rights belong to the photographer and their respective rights holders.

As spring draws to a close, wasabi plants bloom with tiny white flowers.

Their delicate little blossoms are undeniably charming, carrying themselves as though they were fragile things. Drawn in by that appearance, the foolish mistake them for something harmless. They venture closer.

But there is something they fail to see.

The flower does not reveal the plant’s true nature. Beneath the earth lies a powerful root. Within that root is a potency fierce enough to bring a grown man to tears.

Key Takeaways

• tonosama wasabii began her career in 2024 and completed her debut album, 『wasabii yabaii』, in under two years.
• Her entry into rap began with a major fight with NillNico, when she fired back at him with a rap response of her own.
• The seven-track album features guest appearances from Loopy and Bryn, moving between trap, rage, hyperpop, and dancehall.
• In her own words, she discusses her defiant and lonely sides, as well as her instinctive process of choosing between Japanese, English, and Korean by sound.
• Her next goal is to assert herself even more powerfully through rap that does not lean too heavily on Auto-Tune.

Who Is tonosama wasabii? A Rising Artist Moving Between Cuteness and Aggression

tonosama wasabii. She, too, is a delicate artist who has only recently begun to bloom.

Yet in contrast to her endearing appearance, her rapping is fast and razor-sharp. One moment she is laughing, “I’m seriously so dumb.”

The next, the fiercely competitive streak of an Osaka native flashes to the surface.

She is elusive and multifaceted—and that is precisely what makes her so compelling.

Debut Album 『wasabii yabaii』—Seven Tracks Featuring Loopy and Bryn

Her debut album, 『wasabii yabaii』, captures every facet of her own particular brand of “yabai” across seven tracks.

Across the album, wasabii instinctively rides a diverse range of beats. Trap, rage, hyperpop, and dancehall all surface. The result is a style that refuses to fit neatly into any mold.

The album’s official distribution page lists Loopy on “yabaii” and Bryn on “tekken2.”

Bryn reached a wider audience on Mnet’s 2019 competition Show Me the Money 8, where the network’s official video documents her “CUPID” performance in the main-round quarterfinals.

Those same credits list STEELO as executive producer overseeing the project. That hand shows in how fully realized the “wasabii” world feels track to track.

It is a record that reveals the defiance rooted in her upbringing in Hirakata, Osaka. But it also lets through the unguarded person who surfaces in quieter moments.

She began making music in 2024. Less than two years later, she had completed her first full-length album.

Its title hinges on “yabai.” The single Japanese word can suggest intensity, cuteness, or danger. It all depends on how it lands. Here, tonosama wasabii speaks about the record in her own unvarnished words.

Interview with tonosama wasabii

Her Name and the Beginning of Her Rap Career—It Started with a Fight with NillNico

── First, we wanted to ask about your stage name. How did you settle on the combination of “tonosama” and “wasabii”?

wasabii: At first, I wanted something with a queen-like feel.

But I wanted to preserve a sense of Japaneseness, so I went with “tonosama,” meaning “feudal lord.” It sounds a little masculine, but that actually makes it cute. So I thought, “Whatever, this works.” It has a nice ring to it too.

Nico came up with it. I told him I wanted a name with this combination of “queen” and “spicy.”

── So “wasabii” was chosen as a symbol of spiciness. Do you actually like wasabi itself?

wasabii: I couldn’t handle it at all before…but recently I’ve learned to like it (laughs).

── We heard that you started rapping because of a rather unusual incident involving NillNico.

wasabii: There was this one time when Nico and I got into a huge fight (laughs).

He came at me hard through rap, so I answered him with a rap of my own. That actually helped us make up. But yeah, the fight was what made me think, “Maybe I should start rapping.”

We fought for hours, and eventually I couldn’t take it anymore, so I responded with a rap. That was the beginning.

── You began your career in 2024, and it has been less than two years. Developing at this pace is highly unusual. How did you build your skills so quickly?

wasabii: I spend a lot of time with Nico. He’s an incredible rapper, and I’m constantly listening to him rap. That’s part of why I’ve been able to do it. Nico is the artist who has influenced me most.

He taught me how to record, too, and now I make tracks by myself.

When I was little, my mom always played Lil Wayne and Eminem in the car while driving me around. I loved it. I grew up listening to them constantly. It feels like my life with rap began back then.

I listen to all kinds of music, but hip-hop has always been the foundation for me.

── Some of your songs have an aggressive tone, but speaking with you now gives a completely different impression. The phrase “her current position and dangerous potential” appeared in the release information. That “danger” also seems to carry a more nuanced meaning than simply being dangerous.

wasabii: I think…when I’m talking to people, I’m super, super nice. Even I think so (laughs).

But I’ve got a really sharp personality. My starting assumption is basically that everyone around me is an enemy.

I’m kind to my people, but if I don’t know you, you’re an enemy for now (laughs). I’ve seen too much, so I can’t tell who my real friends are anymore.

But in the end, I still wind up being nice to those people too.

── So the world you create, where cuteness and aggression coexist, emerged naturally from those experiences.

wasabii: I’m still the same as I was as a kid—completely pure. I’m seriously so dumb (laughs). Like, genuinely dumb. They made me go to cram school. But my hensachi—Japan’s standardized academic score—was an 8.

But then I learned that some adults are devious. I saw far too many people like that. That’s how I ended up this way, I guess.

Maybe those experiences come through in both sides of me: the aggressive side and the cute side.

Hirakata-Bred Defiance and the Loneliness Seeping Through “Lonely Girl”

── Has your background in Kansai—particularly Hirakata—also shaped that defiant side of you?

wasabii: My family home is in Hirakata, in Kansai. That’s just the kind of city Hirakata is. Tough.

Do you watch 『BREAKING DOWN』? Hirakata is full of people like Shenron from that Japanese fight series. I’m basically the female version of him (laughs).

I’m defiant at heart, but I have vulnerable sides too, especially with romance and my mental state. Sometimes I’ll suddenly feel incredibly lonely. I turn those feelings into songs, too.

── Listening through the album, it opens with the defiant “tekken2” and closes with “Lonely girl” and its remix. Was that progression from attack mode to introspection intentional?

wasabii: Yeah. I’m usually defiant, but there are plenty of times when I feel lonely too.

Maybe my more honest side starts coming out toward the end. The strong me and the lonely me are both who I am.

── Your music, including the lyrics, has an immediacy that almost feels built for short-form video. We were curious whether you consciously structure songs to work in that format.

wasabii: I don’t think about it at all (laughs). If I started thinking, “I have to make this go viral,” I’d lose track of everything. I probably wouldn’t be able to create at all. It’s entirely instinctive.

If something happens or I feel frustrated, I write about it right away. That’s how I finally process it. When I make a song, the flow comes first, and then I put what I want to say into it.

── What struck us about your lyrics was their lightness. Even serious subjects stay easy to listen to, without collapsing under their own weight or darkness. It feels as though you process everything entirely in your own words.

wasabii: Maybe it’s just that I don’t know difficult words (laughs). Even when I listen to other people’s songs, a lot of the time I can’t understand what they’re saying…

I just use the words I use every day. I can’t read books, and I’m bad at saying things indirectly. I put myself out there exactly as I am—straightforward and simple.

Choosing Between Japanese, English, and Korean by “Sound”

── The moments when your lyrics move naturally between Japanese, English, and Korean really stood out. How do you decide which one to use?

wasabii: Sound. I decide based on whether the sound fits. I start with an image like, “This is exactly how I want it to sound.” Then I create the flow. From there, I decide which words to place within it.

The meaning matters too, of course, but from there I’m figuring out which word fits best. It turns into a game—seriously, like Tetris. It feels incredible when everything locks perfectly into place.

As for Korean, I’ve loved Korea for a long time, so I studied it on my own. I can read Hangul, but I only understand a little of what it means. That’s probably the opposite of how it usually works (laughs).

I’ve lived in Korea and performed there too. I have a few listeners in Korea. I put Korean into my lyrics hoping they’ll understand it.

Loopy and Bryn—Connecting with the Korean Scene

── Let’s talk about the guest appearances. Your collaboration with Loopy grew out of an ongoing relationship. It wasn’t arranged solely for this project, right?

wasabii: Loopy is my favorite rapper in the entire world. We first made music together on “BITE,” which came out around January this year.

Nico was appearing on 『SHOW ME THE MONEY』 at the time, so I was there with him. Everyone looked after me too.

I was incredibly nervous the first time Loopy and I worked together. He told me to ad-lib, and I recorded right beside him…it was wild (laughs). But I went through that experience. Now making music and performing live in Japan doesn’t make me nervous at all anymore.

Loopy has a really sharp edge too, but he’s kind to the people around him. We even have the same MBTI type—INFP—so we’re alike. He’s my friend, but I have real respect for him too.

── I understand this was your first time working with Bryn. What stood out to you about her verse?

wasabii: Bryn and I had never met before this. She really understood my vibe and what I wanted to do before sending over her verse. It was perfect.

“yabaii” and “adrenaline”—Crafted Through Instinct and Obsession

── Sonically, everything about “yabaii” feels good, even the layered vocals and background ad-libs. Is that feeling built entirely by instinct, or is it designed to some extent?

wasabii: It’s less about calculation and more about how good it feels to sing and listen to. I can’t really explain it well in words…

I feel like I do everything by instinct rather than thinking it through. This track, “yabaii,” was wild… all kinds of wild (laughs).

There was the whole saga of the original beat never being sent over. Then Loopy’s verse only came in at the very last minute. It was seriously tough, but I obsessed over every detail.

── Which track gave you the most trouble during the production process?

wasabii: “adrenaline” was the hardest.

It’s the longest track on the album. I wrote the lyrics pretty quickly, but… recording it took forever.

We rebuilt both the beat and the melody from the original demo. It became a completely different track. On top of that, re-recording everything to fit the new version was tough.

On top of that, I was staying in an AirBnB during the recording. Nico was recording me there. It was a wooden apartment building with a bus stop right outside, and all the noise from outdoors kept getting picked up (laughs).

But “adrenaline” is where I managed to say what I most wanted to say.

── Where does that sense of “saying what you wanted to say” come through?

wasabii: I address genre in the lyrics to “adrenaline.” People often call my music hyperpop. But you know how some people always have something to say about hyperpop. “Auto-Tune this, Auto-Tune that.”

But I’m like, “Who cares?” (laughs). I can make music without Auto-Tune; I use it because I like it. “adrenaline” is where I got to say everything I feel about that.

── How do you relate to being categorized by genre itself? Do you use the label to your advantage, or would you rather not be boxed in?

wasabii: I guess I use it to my advantage. Hyperpop is what I’m best at making. As soon as I hear a beat, a flow comes to me. I can make a track right away. So in that sense, maybe I am using it… Or maybe it just suits me (laughs).

But I still love rap more.

Beyond Auto-Tune—Going All Out with Rap

── “足” is an older track. Even though the rapping is fast, you know exactly when to pull back, and the cuteness still comes through. How do you create that distinctive style of expression?

wasabii: I practiced “足”! It’s fast, after all (laughs). “足” has been received really well in Korea.

── Releasing your debut album less than two years after beginning your career is an incredibly fast pace. Has anything changed for you since you started?

wasabii: The money and the way I’m living don’t add up at all (laughs). Right now, I’m moving from place to place and pouring absolutely everything into music.

But thankfully, I get a ton of work inquiries. The video for “Erika Sawajiri” is set in Kabukicho, Tokyo’s neon-lit nightlife district. People overseas have been telling me it’s really good.

── What musical territory do you want to explore next?

wasabii: I want to go off even harder with rap. I want to hit with rap—just boom. I want to make something that isn’t hyperpop, something that barely uses Auto-Tune.

Women rappers have built incredible momentum over the past few years. I really think this is our era… But there still aren’t many women who are truly sharp-edged and going all out. That’s the space I want to take.

── Finally, do you have a message for everyone reading this article?

wasabii: There isn’t another Japanese rapper this skilled and this cute, right? I’m going to become a star for the history books.

Closing Note—tsuyoii, kawaii, yabaii, wasabii

There is something almost childlike about wasabii. She is openhearted, endlessly sincere, and completely unguarded.

Her assertive side certainly came through in the interview. The “lonely” side she speaks of barely showed its face. Still, there must be days when the curtain falls. On those nights, tears quietly wet her cheeks. But she will surely be all right.

At times, wasabi pauses its growth, storing nutrients in its all-important roots. Only then does it extend its branches and leaves, gathering strength once more. The cycle repeats until it blooms again with white, beautiful, delicate flowers.

wasabii has only just awakened. Once the full force of her “yabaii” side reaches the world, it will unfold as a universe: fancy, spicy, and irresistibly cute. It will be hers alone.

Incidentally, in the Japanese language of flowers, wasabi symbolizes “awakening.” Its other meaning is “tears of joy.”

“wasabii yabaii” Release Information

Tracklist

The roles below reproduce the official TuneCore distribution credits. They are listed separately from the decorative titles and additional production notes in the supplied press material.

1. tekken2 (feat. Bryn)
   Lyricists: tonosama wasabii, Bryn
   Composers: NGA, KID LUKA
   Producer: STEEKNOWS
2. yabaii (feat. Loopy)
   Lyricist: tonosama wasabii
   Composers: venexxi, ripazure
   Producer: STEEKNOWS
3. ByeBye
   Lyricist: tonosama wasabii
   Composers: NGA, KID LUKA
   Producer: STEEKNOWS
4. adrenaline
   Lyricist: tonosama wasabii
   Composers: NGA, KID LUKA
   Producer: STEEKNOWS
5. Gossip Gyal
   Lyricist: tonosama wasabii
   Composers: NGA, KID LUKA
   Producer: STEEKNOWS
6. Lonely girl
   Lyricist: tonosama wasabii
   Composers: NGA, KID LUKA
   Producer: STEEKNOWS
7. Lonely girl (Remix)
   Lyricist: tonosama wasabii
   Composers: NGA, KID LUKA
   Producer: STEEKNOWS
   Remixers: NGA, KID LUKA

Mixing & Mastering Engineer: Foux

Creative Direction: STEEKNOWS

Executive Producer: STEELO

FAQ: tonosama wasabii and wasabii yabaii

Who is tonosama wasabii?

A rapper rooted in Hirakata, Osaka. Her sound moves fluidly between trap, rage, and hyperpop. Active since 2024, she pairs a playful, cute aesthetic with razor-sharp flows.

When was wasabii yabaii released?

Released on June 4, 2026, wasabii yabaii is a seven-track debut album. It runs approximately 18 minutes and is categorized as Hip-Hop/Rap on Apple Music.

Who are the featured artists on the album?

Loopy, an artist active in the Korean scene, appears on “yabaii.” Bryn features on “tekken2.”

Official Links and Release Information

• wasabii yabaii Streaming Page | TuneCore Japan
• wasabii yabaii | Apple Music
• Official tonosama wasabii Instagram (@tonosamawasabii)