Blumio, born Fumio Kuniyoshi on February 16, 1985 in Hilden, Germany to parents who had moved there from Japan, started writing raps as a teenager. His professional career took root after he won a 2002 contest and became acquainted with various performers in the German rap industry. He had a huge success with the 2005 single “Meine Lieblinsrapper”, which allowed Blumio to show off his versatility by mimicking the voice and flow of a dozen German rappers. He founded his own record label, Japensoul, in 2008 and released the album Rush Hour on it that same year, working closely with Habesha. He first displayed a strong interest in politics with the 2009 single “Hey Mr. Nazi, which became a viral smash. He started a weekly online show called Blumio Rap Da News where he would perform a new rap about the major events of the previous week. He made five more albums in Germany before moving to Japan in 2016. He refashioned himself, accentuating his affection for Japan and Japanese culture and rapping in the language, showcasing this evolution on the 2017 single “UNIQLO”. His first Japanese EP, Demo, dropped in 2018.
