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You can't put opportunities on layaway: VERBAL at TEDxTokyo 2014 - YouTube
Channel: TEDx Talks
[0]
Transcriber: Mieko Yabiku
Reviewer: Ellen Maloney
[17]
Hi.
[18]
(Applause)
[23]
I watch TED online.
[28]
It's amazing to be standing here.
[30]
Exciting, and nerve-wrecking, actually;
[34]
more nerve-wrecking
than being on stage.
[37]
But most of all, it's an honor,
and it's a pleasure being here.
[40]
So without further ado,
I'm just going to start my presentation.
[46]
(Ping)
[48]
(Music)
[57]
(Rapping) Life is like a game
of musical chairs.
[61]
Opportunities come along
in limited numbers.
[63]
When you're not there to claim your spot,
[66]
when the music stops,
[68]
you are out of the game, so to speak.
[70]
(Music stops)
[72]
if you don't take advantage
of the opportunity at the moment
[76]
you may never encounter it again.
[78]
You can't put opportunities on layaway.
[83]
I don't know about you guys,
but in my life, I've come to realize
[86]
opportunities seem to always come about
at the very inopportune times.
[93]
In 1998, I was faced with the contract
to come out with my first record
[98]
for my group M-Flo.
[99]
As Patrick mentioned,
we just released our eighth.
[103]
But anyway, back in 1998,
[105]
I asked the guy from the record company
who was sitting across the table from me,
[111]
"Like honestly, what's the lifespan
of a rapper like me?"
[116]
He said, "Hmm, two years, tops."
[119]
That's in Japanese, obviously.
[121]
But as if it gave me a consolation prize,
he told me, "But don't worry.
[125]
you can write lyrics for other big artists
and make lots of money."
[133]
Being in my early 20s,
[136]
I was puzzled with the suggestion,
[137]
because not only did I want
to go into a music career
[142]
because I wanted
to end up being a lyricist,
[145]
but also that I didn't go into it
for the love of money necessarily.
[152]
At that instant, I realized that
[155]
I needed to proactively make
opportunities for myself,
[158]
and when it does come around
[159]
that I cannot put it on layaway,
and as I said it in Japanese,
[165]
"You cannot save chances."
[168]
Being bilingual,
[169]
I was actually mixing Japanese
and English in my work by nature,
[173]
but a lot of people told me
[174]
I should just keep it
either Japanese or English.
[177]
But I kept to my craft
because I had the gut feeling.
[181]
When I started,
I was rapping something like this.
[185]
(Music video)
[187]
(Japanese and English mixed lyrics)
[208]
So that was one of my verses
from my early works
[211]
Thank you
[213]
(Applause)
[214]
Thank you.
[217]
And as I mentioned in the last line,
[219]
this dialect, my original mixing
of English and Japanese
[224]
is what brought me through
throughout the years.
[227]
OK, fast forward 15 years.
[229]
(Music)
[246]
After eight albums, and many
tours later, we are still here.
[250]
Actually I just finished my tour.
[252]
(Music)
[255]
Started my show
for my new album last night.
[260]
Actually this is footage from last year.
[263]
(Music)
[278]
2004 is our 15th anniversary,
[281]
and I feel honored
[282]
to have many truly good friends
with whom I've collaborated with.
[288]
As I mentioned,
that's footage from last year
[291]
but hopefully I get invited again
some other time
[294]
so I can show you some new footage.
[296]
(Music)
[300]
Life is full of unknown
[303]
so I've made of point
of developing other passions
[306]
which have also become
part of my portfolio beyond music.
[309]
I've developed a passion
for jewelry, technology.
[313]
and anything that becomes
an essential part of how I express myself.
[317]
I've had the pleasure working with
Louis Vuitton, Sakai, Bathing Ape, Reebok,
[322]
just to name a few.
[325]
And it has expanded my world
beyond my imagination.
[328]
But for me, my long time collaborator
has been my wife,
[332]
with whom I build my brand AMBUSH
[335]
and to be able to connect with
people in the fashion field.
[339]
And contrary to popular belief,
it's not that bad working with your wife.
[343]
(Laughter)
[345]
As I mentioned earlier,
[347]
I felt the need to proactively
make opportunites
[349]
and when it does come around
that I cannot put it on layaway.
[353]
and I wrote a rap about it
and it kind of goes like this.
[356]
(Music) (Rapping)
[376]
Thank you
[377]
(Applause)
[380]
So that was the verse where I mixed
English and Japanese
[383]
and where I juxtapose two opposing terms
[387]
being a front man and
behind the scenes guys
[390]
at the same time,
and being globally minded,
[393]
and being locally-conscious
at the same time and so forth.
[398]
I felt that in order for me to connect
with the unconnected,
[401]
I can't just be an artist,
but need to play different roles
[405]
and understand the work
that goes into a performance or a product.
[408]
Basically inside out
I just wanted to know everything.
[411]
You know, how the guy
at the "gemba" feels,
[413]
how the guy on the stage feels.
[416]
Proactively, I made opportunities
[418]
and when it did come around
I didn't put it on layaway
[425]
I've believed that that's the only way
I'll keep discovering new things
[428]
and be able to meet and deeply connect
with people from all walks of life
[432]
Thank you
[434]
(Applause)
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