Yabujin
Musical artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rokas Tarulis (born April 24, 1999), known professionally as Yabujin or DJ Gyrotta Zao (stylized in uppercase), is a Lithuanian rapper and record producer. He is considered a "mysterious" influential figure in the 2020s underground rap scene with releases that span genres such as cloud rap, hexD, and jumpstyle.
April 24, 1999
- Rapper
- record producer
Early life
Rokas Tarulis was born on April 24, 1999, in Visaginas, Lithuania.[citation needed]
Career
Tarulis rose to prominence online in the 2020s, blending styles such as rap, electronic, and jumpstyle.[1] He has released jumpstyle tracks under the alias DJ Gyrotta Zao.[1] Writing for Pitchfork, music journalist Kieran Press-Reynolds noted that in Tarulis' album covers and videos "bizarre figures stretch and elongate, their voices muffled and mangled; images superimpose like poorly designed clickbait; the text is foreign and stuffed with symbols."[1] The "Yabujin masterdoc" is a list which catalogues Tarulis' work.[3]
According to Press-Reynolds, Tarulis is a "mysterious" artist who has released material under several aliases across many different accounts and names, often deleting them or disappearing for long periods.[4][1][3] Press-Reynolds described Tarulis as "underground ephemera",[5] and believed that he had never done an interview, only released one piece of merchandise, and never performed live.[1][4] The Internet music archivist "Music Place" featured Tarulis' song 'gnom.mp3' under the alias Λąųmę§ğęƴđžįąɲţ on their SoundCloud account.[6]
Musical style and artistry
According to music journalist Kieran Press-Reynolds, writing for Pitchfork, Tarulis' work is influenced by the "decayed glimmer" of the Internet rap collective Reptilian Club Boyz along with the "waterlogged pixels" of producer $ludgehammer.[1] His songs have been compared to Bladee and SpaceGhostPurrp.[1] Press-Reynolds cited the song "CHALICE OF MIND" as "most intoxicating" while also citing songs such as "SECRET GROTTOES" and "FLASH DESIRE".[1] They[a] have also noted Tarulis as concerned with "North Korean aesthetics" and associated with the Internet music microgenre hexD.[2]
Azeroy
Tarulis' work is connected to a fictional world of symbols, characters, and stories he refers to as "Azeroy".[1] Press-Reynolds noted that fans "compared Yabujin's work to an 'ARG,' or alternate reality game, because there's so much to get invested in".[1][4] Tarulis' visual aesthetic for his Azeroy series is, according to Press-Reynolds, inspired by Web 2.0 era iconography, such as the use of "144p quality Unregistered HyperCam footage".[1] Tarulis also developed a cryptic language, numbers such as 1616 translate to evil, 8888 to good.[1] Fans have interpreted Azeroy as an allegory for North Korea.[1]
Influence
According to Pitchfork, artists such as 2hollis and Ken Carson have been influenced by Yabujin.[1] English rapper EsDeeKid was cited by British magazine I-D as listening to Yabujin's songs.[7]
Additionally, Tarulis' jumpstyle songs under the alias DJ GYROTTA ZAO spawned a "TikTok genre" referred to as "Yabujin-core".[1] British magazine Dazed noted the style as "Yabujin jumpstyle", defined as "a niche internet movement", adding that "the yabujin community thrives on platforms like TikTok and Discord, offering a virtual space for fans of hardstyle music".[8]
Russian music producer Dayerteq has cited Yabujin as an influence.[1]
Discography
Mixtapes
| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| Flash Desire |
|
| ? ? ? ? |
|
EPs
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Fezome |
|
| She Likes Swords and Doing Drugs 1 |
|
| Baroque |
|
| Swords |
|
| Claws |
|
| Flash Desire |
|
| Laumių Dovanos |
|
