Ever since I heard Namie Amuro's « Alarm », I've been hooked to the Japanese version of hip-hop. Or hip-pop as Namie uses it as her latest album's namesake. Instead of the hook-girl, guy-rapper combo that is American hip-pop, the J take on the genre is more of a dance/r&b fusion with killer beats. And as she self-declared on her most recent release, Namie is indeed the queen.

After performing a feat that was unheard of in the ultra-fickle Jpop industry, Namie defied critics and skeptics alike when she returned to the charts after a long hiatus due to a list of scandals and hardships: from her extramarital pregnancy to the murder of her mother. People thought that her star basically went supernova and vanished, replaced by the reigning Jpop queen, Ayumi Hamasaki. But lo and behold, instead of trying to recapture her J-idol status (which obviously she had succeeded a few years back with her legion of diehard fans who carbon-copied every single style item she wore), she chose to shift genres to the Japanese R&B scene.

First, she participated in the Suite Chic project, collaborating with Japan's foremost R&B artists like m-flo & verbal. That musical path change seemed to work, the album sold well and Namie's back on the map. She then released the multigenre « STYLE », her first hip-hop flavored album to a somewhat mediocre success compared to her previous multiplatinum, straight-to-number-one releases. Nevertheless, she's definitely back in the game. 2005 saw the release of her full-length Hip-hop album « Queen of Hip-Pop » that entered the Oricon Chart at number 2, cementing her comeback.

The single currently on play is taken from that album, a dance-infused track with raunchy lyrics about — what else? — sex. She tapped MICHICO to write the song, japanese peppered with somewhat nonsensical English words here and there which has come to be the trademark of JPop (except for Utada Hikaru). If there are some English lines which you have no idea what it means... your guess is just as good as mine.

« WANT ME, WANT ME »

Want me, want me はじけ飛ぶ, 胸のボタン　焦りすぎて
Want me, want me hajike tobu, Mune no BOTAN aseri sugite
Want me, want me we're so impatient that my shirt buttons pop off and fly
Wait a minute ちょっと待った, 落ち着いて手取り足取り
Wait a minute chotto matta, Ochitsuite tedori ashidori
Wait a minute wait a minute, Calm down, we have trouble
手こずる二人はlike a virgin, でも忘れないでねTrojan
Tekozuru futari wa like a virgin, Demo wasurenai de ne Trojan
controlling our arms and legs, we're like a virgin, But don't forget the Trojan
I am oochie, la la poppin’ coochie, 押さえ切れずに　Want me, baby
I am oochie, la la poppin’ coochie, Osae kirezu ni want me, baby
I am oochie, la la poppin’ coochie, Uncontrollably want me, baby

Oh boy,you are so hot, こんな気分は久しぶり
Oh boy, you are so hot, Konna kibun wa hisashiburi
It's been a long time since I've had a feeling like this
もう何度も繰り返してるのに, Ah, hey, give me one mo' stroke
Mou nandomo kurikaeshiteru noni, Ah, hey, give me one mo' stroke
Already, they're repeating over and over

Ah, ah, I can do you, Yeah, yeah, you can do me

Anything you want me to do, I can do you, I can do you
スミカラスミマデウラカラ, オモテマデドコモカシコモ
SUMIKARASUMIMADE URA KARA, OMOTE MADE DOKOMOKASHIKOMO
From A to Z from front, To back, even everywhere and there
Baby, let me taste it, taste it, 言葉の無い会話
Baby, let me taste it, Kotoba no nai kaiwa
A conversation without words
Up & down, in & out, こうやって　bounce wit me
Up & down, in & out, Kouyatte bounce wit me
Like this bounce wit me

Oh,boy 少し飛ばしすぎ, Why don't we tryna go nice & slow
Oh boy, sukoshi tobashisugi, Why don't we tryna go nice & slow
Oh boy, I'm flying a little too much
1 2 3 4 take a breath, look at my eyes, 刺激に慣れてくるまで slow down
1 2 3 4 take a breath, look at my eyes, Shigeki ni narete kuru made slow down
Until we become accustomed to the stimulation slow down

スミカラスミマデウラカラ, オモテマデドコモカシコモ
SUMIKARASUMIMADE URA KARA, OMOTE MADE DOKOMOKASHIKOMO
From A to Z from front, To back, even everywhere and there
Baby, let me taste it, taste it, あきれるほどに
Baby, let me taste it, Akireru hodo ni
Until it amazes me

Ha, ha, ha, ha, touch it, touch it, touch it
No body can do you, do you like me
No body can do me, do me like you
Ha, ha, ha, ha, touch it, touch it, touch it