OZworld

BIOGRAPHY

OZworld (Okuma Reo, born November 17, 1997) is a rapper from Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Raised by his mother after his parents divorced, he began rapping in high school after buying Def Tech's CD, making his live debut at Okinawa City's L-LINE club. His 2015 track "CoCo ga OKINAWA" with Rude-\u03b1 drew local attention, and in 2016 he competed in the 9th BAZOOKA!!! High School Rap Championship under the name R'kuma. In 2018 he adopted the name OZworld, moving away from battle rap toward a more spiritual, futuristic sound. He raps in both Japanese and Okinawan (Ry\u016bky\u016ban), blending indigenous melody with a post-Goth, dark-fantasy aesthetic that Dazed named among Japan's most distinctive hip hop voices. His debut album OZWORLD arrived in 2019, followed by OZKNEEZ FXXKED UP on his 2020 birthday, the same year he launched his label I'M HAPPY Entertainment.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

OZworld carves a singular lane in Japanese hip hop, rapping in both Japanese and Okinawan while building a dark, futuristic fantasy world out of Ryukyuan folklore and a post-Goth style. Dazed singled him out among Japan's most distinctive rappers, and his melodic contributions to Awich's "RASEN in OKINAWA" freestyle even reached American hip hop audiences via 4 Shooters Only. His reach extended further in 2024 with "RISE TOGETHER," the official Japanese image track for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

GEORGE'S PLAYS

First time on the station.

PLAYED ON WOKE1

• RASEN in OKINAWA1 PLAY