Eri Blossom’s “Breakthrough” combines traditional Japanese instrumentation and the conventional musical style of hip hop with contemporary R&B. It’s reminiscent of Missy Elliot meets Ludacris and Chaka Khan.
The song explores the theme of how women are seen across societies and cultures. Inspired by Will Smith’s incident at the 2022 Academy Awards show, Eri was shocked by the response, especially among her Japanese community.
“I saw some messages on Twitter by Japanese people (including women) that supported Mr. Smith. I was shocked,” shares Eri. “I was like, do people still treat women like children in Japan? and they assume that we can’t do anything without men. The most crazy part is that women accepted it. I believe that it’s a remnant of Japanese traditions that a woman must trust her man and just follow him. It comes from the Edo era like 300 to 400 years ago. It has been handed down through generations. These views don’t match with modern life and have to be changed. That’s why I wrote this song.”
Eri Blossom is a NYC based singer, rapper and songwriter wrapping up people’s minds like petals of Japanese Cherry Blossom with an R&B and hip-hip rooted sounds. Her words flutter between Japanese and English with a sassy attitude and a rawness that comes from her soul. Her music is strongly influenced by Japanese and American culture, which shows listeners a view they’ve never seen.
Growing up in Japan with parents who loved American and British culture, it wasn’t difficult for her to get into classic R&B and Hip-Hop such as Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, TLC, Tupac, Janet Jackson, and more. After she moved to Tokyo from her hometown to continue her music study, she had opportunities to sing at night clubs and was able to visit NYC to take the class by the daughter of Ray Charles, Sheila Raye Charles.
During the trip, she had some opportunities to do street performances and interact with the audience. This experience convinced her to move to NYC. Since her move, she has earned a bachelor’s degree in Jazz studies from the City College of New York where she expanded her influence to Jazz music. She has also performed in open mics at well-known music venues in New York City, such as Village Underground, Ashford and Simpson’s Sugar Bar, Harlem Nights, The Groove and Negril BK.
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