Tanaka (musician)
Tanaka is a Japanese rapper, vocalist and lyricist. He was known by the moniker Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi from 2014 to 2018. In 2021, Tanaka formed a band with Ichika Nito and Sasanomaly called Dios.
Life and career
Tanaka was born in Yokohama, Japan, and went to school in the same area. He first became interested in releasing music in junior high school, and began uploading songs on the Japanese video streaming service Nico Nico under the moniker Shigaisen from February 2012, at the age of 14. This name was his utaite moniker, a Nico Nico specific term for a person who uploads sung vocal covers of Vocaloid songs. Among the songs he covered were Ishifuro's "Yurufuwa Jukai Girl", Denpol-P's "Hitorinbo Envy" and Hachi's "Donut Hole".Tanaka became interested in rap music through the Nico Nico community Nico Rap, especially a rapper in the community called Vacon. After becoming friends, Vacon inspired Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi to try releasing original rap songs. In late 2012, he uploaded his first rap song, "One Night Stand and Rain". He decided on his stage name late at night while uploading the song, arbitrarily choosing the phrase Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi. He felt that his voice while rapping sounded as if he were singing in a monotone instead of rapping, so decided on the name because of this. Originally he wanted to form a band, however did not have any friends who wanted to join in. As a student at an elite high school, he found that his friends had little interest in music, so he decided to release music as a solo act.
In April 2014, Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi released a free to download extended play through the independent hip-hop label Idler Records, a label run by Denpa Girl member Hashishi. Later in 2014, he was announced as one of the finalists of the Tokyo FM teen music contest Senkō Riot, after submitting the song "Sub/objective" because it had the biggest response on the internet. Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi submitted another song, "Fuckin' Summer Vacatioooooon
In December 2015, Tanaka released his debut album Hollow World as Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi through newly founded JVC Kenwood Victor Entertainment sub-label Connectone, His second album Noah’s Ark features a collaboration with Latin jazz producer Nicola Conte, and "Be Noble", the theme song for the film March Comes in like a Lion Part 1.
In September 2018, Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi announced that he would leave the music industry, by releasing a final studio album, Botsuraku, and a compilation album, Ningen, on December 12. In 2019, he announced that he would change his stage name to Tanaka. In April 2021, Tanaka formed a band with Ichika Nito and Sasanomaly called Dios.
In 2025, he contributed to the original soundtrack of the Netflix original series Glass Heart.
Discography
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist | Album |
| "Sunrise" | 2014 | Nqrse | Compilation Album W.W.W 2014 |
| "Cock Pitt" | 2014 | Rikon Nozaki, Shakabooz, Nera_K, Twoface | |
| "Fuckin' Summer Vacatioooooon | 2014 | Senkō Riot 2014 | |
| "Idler Stella" | 2015 | Denpa Girl, Nera_K, Rikon Nozaki | Who |
| "Fukurou Session featuring Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi " | 2016 | Sakanaction | "Tabun, Kaze" |
| "Game of Life" | 2017 | Sasanomaly | Game of Life |
| "Kubinawa" | 2017 | Denpa Girl, Sasanomaly | Health |
| "Nanisama" | 2018 | Sky-Hi | Best Catalyst: Collaboration Best Album |
| Suspected, Confused and Action | 2019 | Asca | |
| Foolish | 2019 | Teddyloid | Silent Planet: Infinity |
Songwriting credits
List of songs written by Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi for other artists.| Year | Song | Artist | Album | Co-written with |
| 2018 | "Kiss Is My Life" | SingTuyo | "Kiss Is My Life" | Yoshi Kenkai |
| 2018 | "Anymore" | Miyakawa-kun | Star Land | Yoshi Kenkai |