KR$NA Lives It Up in Tokyo in Glitzy ‘Joota Japani’ Video
The Delhi rapper teams up with Pakistani beatsmith Umair for a drill flip that draws from the 1950s Raj Kapoor song “Mera Joota Hai Japani” composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and sung by Mukesh
KR$NA in a still from the music video for "Joota Japani"
Rapper KR$NA kickstarts the new year with an urgent and quickfire drill track “Joota Japani,” produced by Umair and borrowing a hook from the 1955 song “Mera Joota Hai Japani,” which was sung by Mukesh and composed by Shankar-Jaikishan for the movie Shree 420 starring Raj Kapoor.
The iconic Bollywood song might have been considered sacrosanct for a few, but KR$NA and Umair bring their A-game, even as the rapper traveled to Tokyo, Japan to shoot the music video in all its shimmering, sensory-overload grandiosity. From drag racing to mob bosses to possessing a katana, KR$NA takes the acid-drenched nightlife of Tokyo in his stride in the video directed by filmmaker Ken Haraki.
KR$NA said in a statement about the song, “This project is a mix of old and new, with the hook inspired by the original Bollywood song. Umair’s work on the beat was fantastic, giving the classic sample a modern twist.” He added about the music video, “[It] brings in that Japanese element to tie it all together. We pay tribute to the original while creating something entirely new, and we hope people enjoy the mix of nostalgia and cutting edge rap music.”
Released via Saregama – who own the rights to the original song – “Joota Japani” comes on the back of a few Indian rappers drawing from famous Bollywood songs to bank on nostalgia as well as make it a proving ground for their pen game.
Most recently, hip-hop/pop artist KING’s “High Hukku” off his album New Life took its hook from the Bollywood song “Haye Hukku Haye Hukku Haaye Haaye” composed by Anand-Milind and sung by Kumar Sanu and Poornima for 1994 movie Gopi Kishan.
Prior to that, DIVINE has had not just one, but two songs that take off from Bollywood hits – “Satya” from his 2020 album Punya Paap is produced by Karan Kanchan and samples “Goli Maar Bheje Mein” composed by Vishal Bhardwaj from the Ram Gopal Verma-directed movie Satya, while “Baazigar” – also produced by Kanchan and featuring a guest verse from American artist Armani White – was on his 2022 LP Gunehgar and sampled the hook from “Baazigar O Baazigar” composed by Anu Malik as the title track from the 1993 film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in lead roles.
