Twenty-something Atsu Nakayama (a/k/a Fox Spirit) was inspired by XXXTENTACION, Juice WRLD, Nas and Kendrick Lamar. It’s one helluva pedigree, if I do say so. It blends the youthful sadness of a so-called “lost generation” of hip-hop with BARS and a look into the world Fox lives in.

“Nakano Relaxation” is a dual-language track (DJ Nej produced the beat and provides the Japanese portions of the track) that appears on Fox’s Kegare album. “Kegare” is a term that, from what I’ve been able to gather, speaks on something being impure, unclean and defiled. How does that relate to “Nakano Relaxation,” you ask? I’ve got a couple of ideas.

The “day-in-the-life” song speaks on experiences within Nakano, some of which aren’t as “sterile” as some may (incorrectly) assume the country appears. More importantly, those splashes of color within the bars, the beat and the Japanese-language verse, they help color a picture of Nakano, one that just shows love for the artists’ residence. It’s equal parts “here’s my living place. It’s awesome” and “here’s my living place. There are some things outsiders may not understand.”

That’s why I appreciate this one, even though I’m not overly fluent in Japanese (neither the language nor as much of the culture and its various subcultures as I’d like to be). I like that the song doesn’t try to be a catchall of all things Japanese. Heck, it doesn’t try to be a catchall for all things Tokyo. From the English-language verse and the Japanese-language verse, listeners get a peek inside of the world of two denizens. It’s quite literally a slice-of-life look at Fox and Nej’s day-to-day.

If you’re intrigued, I recommend that you give this one a spin, support dope music in all its forms and try to learn more about cultures other than yours. It will benefit you in the long run.