安室 奈美恵 (Namie Amuro) - Past < Future

Style : Hip-Pop (she's the queen of the genre)

Meiko is probably saying to herself " Finally, a post not related to kpop" !
My bad, I haven't listened to jpop in a long time but because of this mysterious cover and the artist featured on it, I decided it was time to give it another try.
I now present you the latest of Namie Amuro who, at 32 and with almost 20 years of music history behind her, is still fresh as ever... She found her style and is doing a good job at it.
Namie Amuro - Past < Future (2009)

1. FAST CAR
2. COPY THAT
3. LOVE GAME
4. Bad Habit
5. Steal my Night
6. FIRST TIMER feat. DOBERMAN INC.
7. WILD
8. Dr.
9. Shut Up
10. MY LOVE
11. The Meaning Of Us
12. Defend Love

Now don't ask me about the over use of CAPS in the titles, maybe she felt inspired by Kanye West, I  don't know.
I just want to take those last few lines and talk about FIRST TIMER.
Even if Dr. was one of the first track that really caught my attention, FIRST TIMER recently surpassed this track in the  playcount on my player.
The fast /scat beat is really out there and Namie Amuro clearly got outshined by the collective DOBERMAN INC. Like Bjork on her album Volta with Antony and the Johnsons, Namie Amuro made me discover a new artist I'll definitely check out and not that only!! I think I'll start paying attention to the latest jpop releases. It's time!