Hip-hop duo Hilcrhyme was formed in Niigata Prefecture, Japan in 2004. Founded by rapper/MC Toc and musician/arranger DJ Katsu, the two were working as solo artists but met in 2004 at a hip-hop event organized by DJ Katsu. The duo released the demo album Nettaiya in early 2007. The following year, they released the independent single “Mō Bye Bye” before signing with Universal Music. Their second single for the major label, “Shunkashūtō,” rose to Number 6 on the singles chart and Number 1 on the Digital Tracks chart. Hilchryme’s debut album, Recital, was released in 2009 and rose to Number 2 on the Japanese Albums chart. Their 2010 singles “Daijōbu” and “Loose Leaf” – both from the album Message – were also Top 10 singles. The duo continued to release a series of Top 20 and Top 40 singles but didn’t match the success of their earlier hits. Hilcrhyme released a series of albums that landed in the Top 20 including Rising (2011), Like a Novel (2012), Five Zero One (2014), Revival (2015), and Side by Side (2016). In December of 2017, DJ Katsu was arrested for marijuana possession. Because of this controversial incident, the duo was dropped by their label and management company. Finally, in March 2018, DJ Katsu left Hilcrhyme and Toc chose to continue recording and touring under the Hilcrhyme name. After a three-year break, Toc and Hilcrhyme returned with the self-titled release. Further albums include The MC (2020), Frontier (2021), Selfish (2022) and Moments (2025).
