Creepy Nuts

Japanese rap duo Creepy Nuts comprises DJ Matsunaga and rapper R-Shitei, who play in a whirlpool of colorful, freewheeling rap anthems. After building their eccentric early sound across a series of late-2010s EPs and their debut album Creep Show, the group gained major national attention with their 2021 album Case, which peaked at number three and spawned the platinum hit “Nobishiro.” In 2024, the pair landed a global smash hit in “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,” a relentless Jersey club anthem that broke chart records and catapulted them to international acclaim.Having met one another as teenagers, freestyle rapper R-Shitei (Kyohei Nogami) and DJ and producer DJ Matsunaga officially united under the alias of Creepy Nuts in 2013, delivering spirited verses layered over colorful, high-octane beats. The duo’s first single arrived with 2015’s “Setsuna,” before the EPs Tarinai Futari (2016) and Joendanyusho (2017) established their signature sound. Reflecting on isolation, social expectations, and self-actualization, R-Shitei's wide-ranging and often tongue-in-cheek lyrics proved a deft complement to Matsunaga’s dynamic, animated productions. Signing to Sony in 2017, the duo formed their own imprint, Creepers, in which they re-debuted with Koko Debut, Daigaku Debut, Zenbu Shippai Shitakedo Major Debut, a single album wryly reflecting on the struggles of becoming a musician. Their debut album, Creep Show, arrived in 2018. Putting their roots down in Japan, it spawned a 20-show domestic tour, and a demand for the re-release of their early work, which appeared with the compilation LP INDIES COMPLETE. In 2019, the duo hosted All Night Nippon, a radio broadcast from NRN, and composed the show’s tenth anniversary theme song, which formed the titular basis of their first mini album, Yofukashi no Uta, later that year. It was Katsute Tensai Datta Oretachi e (2020), their second mini album, that propelled the group to national attention, charting at number five behind a wild array of genre-flips. This success rolled into a national breakout moment with their 2021 sophomore album Case, a cohesive and acclaimed album that landed at number three on the Japanese charts and spawned “Nobishiro,” the first of the group’s singles to be certified platinum. It was joined just a year later by “Daten,” the theme song for the vampiric anime Call of the Night, and the group’s lively third album, Ensemble Play, which also charted at number three domestically.In 2024, the group exploded onto the global stage with “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born.” They went viral with the"‘BBBB" dance challenge on social media; the Jersey club anthem rocketed to number one in Japan, peaked at number eight on the Billboard Global 200, and became the second-longest running number one the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in the chart’s history. Spurred to global fame, the group followed up with a second single “Otonoke,” before announcing their fourth studio album, LEGION.
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