Quick Facts
Biography
Minmi (stylized as MINMI) (ミンミ, born December 8, 1974 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese hip-hop, soca, and reggae musician, as well as a singer-songwriter and record producer. She is the first soca artist from Japan. Since 2007, she has been married to Wakadanna (若旦那), a member of Japanese reggae group Shōnan no Kaze.
She began playing reggae music in Japanese clubs in 1996. Her 2002 debut single, "The Perfect Vision", went on to sell over 500,000 copies.
Biography
Minmi began playing the piano at the age of five, at which time she began to take interest in soul and jazz music. Minmi began her musical career in 1996, performing at rub-a-dub showcases and hip hop events in the clubs of Osaka. She also began to develop her own sound by making her own original tracks around this period. Minmi signed her first recording deal with JVC Records, releasing the reggae song "The Perfect Vision" as her first single in August 2002. Minmi's first single became extremely popular, and was widely accepted and heavily rotated by as many as 20 FM radio stations. "The Perfect Vision," after gradually increasing in popularity, would eventually sell over 500,000 copies. Her second single, "T.T.T.," differed stylistically, more influenced by hip-hop. The single was a moderate success, peaking in the top 10. These were followed by Minmi's debut album Miracle, which debuted at #2 and has sold more than 600,000 copies. Minmi continued her success in 2004, with her second album Imagine, which was also a high seller.
In 2004, she contributed the song "四季ノ唄 Shiki no Uta" to the anime Samurai Champloo, where it appears as the end credits theme.
In 2005, Minmi released her first soca-influenced song, "Summertime!!," as opposed to her regular reggae and hip-hop sound. Because of this event, she attended the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in February 2006, performing on stage. In September, she was nominated for best new artist at the Reggae/Soca Music Awards in New York. Minmi attended the festival again in 2007, performing "Sha Na Na (Japanese Wine)" with Machel Montano.
In June 2007, it was suddenly announced that Minmi had married Wakadanna, a member of reggae group Shōnan no Kaze, and was four months pregnant. The two had first met in 2001 in Jamaica, and began dating soon after. In November she gave birth to her first child, a son.
In March 2010 it was announced that Minmi was pregnant with her second child. Her fourth album Mother, released in July when she was roughly eight months pregnant, prominently features her stomach in the photographs. The child, the second boy, was born ten days early on August 4 in New York.
On June 10 and July 22, 2015, Minmi released her seventeenth single "Hologram".
Discography
Original albums
| Year | Album Information | Oricon Albums Charts | Reported sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Miracle
| 2 | 476,000 |
| 2004 | imagine
| 3 | 190,000 |
| 2006 | Natural
| 6 | 100,000 |
| 2010 | Mother
| 5 | 64,000 |
| 2013 | I LOVE
| 14 | |
| 2014 | BAD
| ||
| 2015 | EGO
| ||
| 2016 | Life is Beautiful
|
Other albums
| Year | Album Information | Oricon Albums Charts | Reported sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Friends: Minmi Featuring Works Best
| 16 | 71,000 |
| 2007 | The Love Song Collection 2006—2007
| 3 | 75,000 |
| 2008 | Minmi Best 2002—2008
| 2 | 230,000 |
| 2009 | Summer Collection with Music Clips
| 5 | 38,000 |
Singles
As lead artist
| Release | Title | Chart positions | Oricon sales | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Singles Charts | Billboard Japan Hot 100† | RIAJ digital tracks† | |||||
| 2002 | "The Perfect Vision" | 4 | — | — | 353,000 | Miracle | |
| "T.T.T." | 8 | — | — | 74,000 | |||
| 2003 | "Another World" | 17 | — | — | 37,000 | Imagine | |
| 2004 | "Ai no Mi" (アイの実, "Fruit of Love") | 19 | — | — | 15,000 | ||
| "Are Yu Ready" | 45 | — | — | 7,000 | Natural | ||
| 2005 | "Summertime!!" (サマータイム!!, Samātaimu!!) | 19 | — | — | 27,000 | ||
| 2006 | "Nishiazabu Densetsu" (西麻布伝説, Nishiazabu Legend) | 78 | — | — | 3,000 | ||
| "I Love You Baby" | 42 | — | — | 9,000 | Love Song Collection | ||
| 2007 | "Sha Na Na" (シャナナ☆) | 17 | — | 13* | 36,000 | ||
| 2009 | "Ave Maria" (アベマリア, Abe Maria) | 14 | 16 | 2 | 18,000 | Mother | |
| "Ashita Moshi mo Kimi ga Inai..." (アシタもしもキミがいない…, "What If You're Not There Tomorrow") | 25 | 42 | 7 | 7,000 | |||
| 2010 | "Hibiscus" (ハイビスカス, Haibisukasu) | 27 | 30 | 8 | 7,000 | ||
| "Pa to Hanasaku" feat. Verbal (パッと花咲く, "Blooming with a Bang") | 58 | 70 | 25 | 2,000 | TBA | ||
| * charted on monthly Chaku-uta Reco-kyō Chart. †Japan Hot 100 established February 2008, RIAJ Digital Track Chart established April 2009. | |||||||
As featured artist
| Release | Title | Notes | Chart positions | Oricon sales | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Singles Charts | Billboard Japan Hot 100† | RIAJ digital tracks† | |||||
| 2006 | "Win and Shine" (Ukarats FC) | Co-wrote lyrics/music. | 48 | — | — | 6,000 | We Love We [We Love Winning Eleven] |
| 2007 | "Dream Lover" (Infinity 16 welcomez Shōnan no Kaze, Minmi, Moomin) | 10 | — | 5* | 74,000 | Foundation Rock | |
| "Manatsu no Orion" (真夏のオリオン, "Midsummer Orion") (Infinity 16 welcomez Minmi, 10-Feet) | 14 | — | 27* | 25,000 | |||
| "Kiseki" (キセキ, "Miracle") (Teruteru Babys) | Charity single, wrote song/featured vocals. | 39 | — | — | 7,000 | ||
| 2008 | "Dream Believer (Hoshi ni Negai o)" (星に願いを, "Wishing on a Star") (Infinity 16 welcomez Minmi, Wakadanna & Han-kun from Shōnan no Kaze, Goki) | 19 | 13 | 11* | 14,000 | Welcomez | |
DVDs
| Title | Release date | Oricon rank |
|---|---|---|
| Minmi Live Tour 2004 "Imagine" (sunshine) | 24 September 2004 | — |
| Minmi Video Clips 2002—2005: Summer | 27 July 2005 | 37 |
| Minmi Natural Show Case 2006 in Zepp Tokyo | 22 November 2006 | 69 |
| Freedom '08 | 3 December 2008 | 17 |
| Minmi Live: Freedom in Awajishima | 2 December 2009 | 33 |
Collaborations
| Title | Artist | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| "Tornade" | Silver King | September 2000 |
| "Shot Dem Up" | Jumbo Maatch from Mighty Jam Rock | October 2001 |
| "3 Minute Special" | Silver King | 22 May 2002 |
| "Parasite" | Vader | 22 May 2002 |
| "I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend" | Boogie Man | July 2002 |
| "Journey Into..." | Takafin from Mighty Jam Rock | August 2002 |
| "Cry" | Shōnan no Kaze | July 2003 |
| "Independent Woman" | Pushim | 17 December 2003 |
| "V-XL (Five-Xtra Large)" | Vader | 2 June 2004 |
| "Irie Music" | Home Grown | 4 August 2004 |
| "Set Mi Free, Let Mi Be" | Home Grown | 4 August 2004 |
| "My Way" | Shōnan no Kaze | 18 August 2004 |
| "Keep On Steppin'" | SAL The Soul | 26 November 2004 |
| "Day Dreamer" | Munehiro | 21 May 2005 |
| "Cherry Blossom" | 10-Feet | 18 April 2006 |
| "Lotta Love" | M-Flo | 26 July 2006 |
| "Happy Today" | Shōnan no Kaze | 18 April 2007 |
| "Spider City (Rock City 3)" | Kenty-Gross | 7 February 2007 |
| "Spider Time (Summer Time!!)" | Kenty-Gross | 7 February 2007 |
| "Missing You" | Minmi | 7 February 2007 |
| "Spider (Aira)" | Minmi | 7 February 2007 |
| "Nande" | Rudebwoy Face | 25 April 2007 |
| "Suirenka" | Shōnan no Kaze | 6 June 2007 |