_Vitalizer_ was the debut album of Kick the Can Crew, a rap/hip-hop trio consisting of: 1. Kreva 2. MCU 3. Little All three have had successful solo careers since. I’ll be uploading albums by each as I continue to go through my collection. Anyways, back to _Vitalizer._ The album was a surprisingly popular hit upon release, receiving commercial and critical acclaim. The early 2000’s were a transitional period for hip-hop and rap in Japan. First you had 90’s groups like Rip Slyme and Dragon Ash who were influenced heavily by reggae groups a decade prior. Then you get to the early 2000’s when the hip-hop genre began to overlap with and borrow elements from electronic Shibuya-kei music, which is why you hear such elements in _Vitalizer._ And now in recent years you have artists like Eccy and Zeebra creating music that takes many cues from Western rap as its grown in the past decade. This plants _Vitalizer_ in an interesting period in the progression of Japanese rap and hip-hop. Personally, _Vitalizer_ is one of my favorite albums and represents the pinnacle of Japanese hip-hop and rap from the early 2000’s. I hope you all enjoy it! And as always I welcome any requests. (Note: Sorry to anyone waiting for me to upload _Crimson_ by Nanase Aikawa. So far I have not been able to find my copy.)