I have been dying to visit Coconut Disk in Ekoda for some time, and having a few hours to kill last weekend, I found it on the map, and though it appeared just a short jaunt away in Nerima, Maps was telling it me would take 50 minutes to get there by car on a busy Tokyo Saturday. Knowing that I can split lanes on the bike and work my way to the front of every green light, I can usually shave off about 30-40% of every trip (I’ve insister for years that Tokyo really is best experienced by bike. It was actually the very thing that led me to living here, ask me about it next time you see me.)
These days, whenever traversing the city for any reason, I always take a quick look at the map to see if there is a still-unkown-to-me record store on my way to any destination, that I can drive past and potentially spot a Tokyo Record Style “victim” and (if time allows) photograph them for the project. There were actually 7 record stores on the way from Kichijo, most of which I knew, and one I didn’t – BBQ Records in Nerima. I’d stop by to check it out.
BBQ Records exceeded all my expectations, and I’ll share about shopkeeper, Atsushi in the next post, but while I was making my first visit there, so was Daisuke and Mao‘s pictured here. We shopped together and eventually, all fired up a chat (record stores are so great this way), and they (Daisuke and Mao) were just as enamored by BBQ Records as me!
Daisuke had come a long way from Maebashi in Gunma to rendezvous with pal Mao in her neighborhood of Nerima, and they were both happy to oblige me for a TRS photo. When I asked Daisuke how he initially got into hip-hop and R&B, he told me his older brother turned him on to Tribe, De La Soul, and Mark Morrison whose 12″ he scored this day. Daisuke also shared with me that he’s an avid cyclist and illustrator (check out his Instagram!), and Mao mentioned that she is crazy about Sauna! I thought they made a reeeal cute couple, but they insisted they were just friend. Ok …if you say so 😉
Great meeting you two! Hope you had a fun day in Nerima!
Mark Morrison – Return Of The Mack
Label: Atlantic – 0-85443
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1996
Genre: Hip Hop, Funk / Soul
Style: Contemporary R&B
https://www.discogs.com/release/191341-Mark-Morrison-Return-Of-The-Mack
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