DJ SCRATCH NICE Drops “HANDLE IT”

DJ SCRATCH NICE releases “HANDLE IT” on August 26 via his own label, Twice as Nice. The track features Eujin, 仙人掌 (Seninsho), Loota, and VANY. It’s his first single since “Let This Be The Healing“, a track that has circulated long enough to earn classic status in Japanese rap. Production by SCRATCH NICE himself. Mixed and mastered by TAPPOGreenHill. Photo by Cayo Imaeda, artwork by SPECDEE.

“HANDLE IT” moves away from hard boom bap toward something more melodic and urban. It’s a side of SCRATCH NICE that his productions don’t always put front and center, and the choice of features says something about the direction: Eujin, recently heard on TENGG’s 1994 LP and on ISSUGI & GRADIS NICE’s “XL” remix, brings dense, precise writing. 仙人掌 (Seninsho) has been one of the most respected MCs in the Japanese rap underground for a decade. Loota, Tokyo-based, has built a discography at the intersection of hip-hop and electronic music, working with KOJOE, Tohji, and Mechatok among others. VANY comes from the FEL0’s collective and has appeared on several projects in the current boom bap scene.

The fact that SCRATCH NICE chose these four for a melodic-leaning track says something: not an attempt to chase radio play, but a shift in register built from within his own network. The single has been streaming on all platforms since August 26.

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