Show Notes
■ Bubby Lewis Too nerdy for the L.A. music business — until Snoop Dogg asked him about Dragon Ball Z. Bubby Lewis is a bassist, composer and producer from Flint, Michigan, based in Tokyo since 2022 and now making music as Peanut Butter Man. A pastor's son, he picked up the bass at 14 and learned everything in his father's church, where gospel came first and made the rest easy. He moved to Los Angeles to study video game design; when that fell through, music worked its way in. The city had little use for a square who didn't drink, played Pokémon and collected Godzilla figures, and people told him he would never make it. Then gospel bass legend Andrew Gouché called one Sunday, asked who he was playing for, hung up, and rang back 45 minutes later with a seat in Snoop Dogg's band. Snoop, it turned out, wanted to talk about Dragon Ball Z. From there came Dr. Dre, Stevie Wonder, Jhené Aiko, theme music for Marvel, and two solo albums, 1UP! Adventures & Quests Episode III (2017) and Hero Dynasty (2019), whose "Miss & Love" with Jhené Aiko was written for everyone who has lost someone. Japan, a dream since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at age four, arrived through AI's 2012 tour; he moved his family to Tokyo in May 2022, after COVID had sent them home once. On August 7, 2026 he released Loops, Vol. 1 as Peanut Butter Man on Alpha Pup: five originals, then five play-along versions with the lead removed, so you can join the band. He owns 16 basses, all MTD. On tour, he picks the one that matches the outfit.
■ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:59 Welcome to the YUGEN Podcast 03:09 A pastor's kid who found the bass at 14 07:31 Gospel, the root of everything 09:42 From game design in L.A. to music 11:09 Being a nerd in Flint in the '90s 12:54 Moving to Japan during the pandemic 15:58 Black soybean peanut butter and the fridge trick 17:24 How he became Peanut Butter Man 18:29 "Miss & Love" with Jhené Aiko 22:41 The phone call that put him in Snoop Dogg's band 25:15 "Everybody is a nerd" in the music industry 27:30 Music for Marvel, and sessions from home 30:12 16 basses, and picking one to match the outfit 32:37 "Episode III" and his kind of fusion 36:35 Breaks, family time, and making music 42:15 Being yourself is the greatest superpower 47:11 Japanese music going global 51:21 Touring in Japan vs the US and Europe 53:23 Giving Asian artists a chance at festivals 56:27 Don't wait for someone famous to say it's good 58:37 What he'd tell his younger self in Flint 1:00:44 Himself in one sentence, and what's next 1:05:15 A message to his family and fans
■ FOLLOW Bubby Lewis Official Website: https://www.bubbylewis.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bubbylewis/ Streaming（Peanut Butter Man『Loops, Vol. 1』）: https://open.spotify.com/album/6LgHd7dmrtVHeLILMtpU4p
オタクはロサンゼルスの音楽業界で生き残れない、と言われ続けた。最初に彼を舞台に上げたSnoop Doggは、『ドラゴンボールZ』の話をふってきた。 ミシガン州フリント出身、2022年から東京を拠点にするベーシスト／作曲家／プロデューサー。Peanut Butter Man名義でも活動する。牧師の家に生まれ、14歳でベースを手にし、父の教会でゴスペルからすべてを学んだ。ロサンゼルスへ渡ったのはゲームデザインを学ぶためだったが、その道が閉ざされ、音楽が入り込んできた。酒も煙草もやらず、ポケモンで遊び、ゴジラのフィギュアを集める「真面目」な男に、周囲は「この業界では無理だ」と言った。転機はある日曜日の電話。ベースの巨匠Andrew Gouchéが「今は誰と弾いてる？」と尋ね、「誰とも」と答えると、45分後にかけ直してきた電話でSnoop Doggのバンドの席が決まっていた。以降Dr. Dre、Stevie Wonder、Jhené Aikoらと共演し、Marvelの楽曲も手がける。ソロ作は『1UP! Adventures & Quests Episode III』（2017年）と『Hero Dynasty』（2019年）。Jhené Aikoを迎えた「Miss & Love」は、大切な人を失ったすべての人への曲だ。4歳で『ティーンエイジ・ミュータント・ニンジャ・タートルズ』を観て以来の夢だった日本には、2012年のAIのツアーで初めて訪れた。コロナ禍で一度は帰国させられながら、2022年5月に家族で東京へ移住。2026年8月7日、Peanut Butter Man名義のアルバム『Loops, Vol. 1』をAlpha Pupからリリース。オリジナル5曲と、リードを抜いたプレイアロング版5曲を収めた一枚だ。ベースは16本、すべてMTD。ツアーでは衣装の色で選ぶ。
■ ABOUT YUGEN YUGEN features English-language conversations with artists from across Asia and beyond, exploring their music and the stories behind it. From Asia to the World — A New Era of Sound http://ygen.net/
CREDITS — YUGEN Production Committee MC: ELLI-ROSE / Guest: BUBBY LEWIS / Art Department: ONSA Inc. / Special Thanks: Sae Hidaka / Edit & Production: 4thclue Inc.
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■ Rol3ert Raised in Tokyo, singing in English — he once posed online as an American. Now he wants to reach the US as exactly who he is. Rol3ert is a singer-songwriter from Tokyo, born in Ohio in 2005 and raised in Japan since before he turned two. He taught himself English at a Japanese public school, yet he writes almost everything in it — singing in English, he says, feels like talking to himself. At fourteen he wanted to be a professional fencer, until music clicked; telling his mother, who had backed his fencing all along, was the hard part. He began making songs in his bedroom on GarageBand and Logic Pro, with free plug-ins that sound "cheap in a good way." The name began as plain Robert. It felt too normal, so the B became a 3, and when Ro3ert turned out to be taken, a small l slipped in. Before his debut he even posed online as a Japanese American living in the US; now he wants to reach the American industry as himself, and to open a new lane for Japanese music. Instagram covers with over four million views led to his debut single "meaning" in January 2025. Since then he has played FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL, sold out Shibuya WWW X, taken "savior" to No. 1 on Billboard JAPAN Heatseekers Songs, and won Radio Rising Artist of the Year at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026. His first full album, "meet me in my head," arrives October 21, 2026, followed in November by a tour of the same name at Osaka BIG CAT and Tokyo Spotify O-EAST — two venues he had long set as goals.
■ Rol3ert Raised in Tokyo, singing in English — he once posed online as an American. Now he wants to reach the US as exactly who he is. Rol3ert is a singer-songwriter from Tokyo, born in Ohio in 2005 and raised in Japan since before he turned two. He taught himself English at a Japanese public school, yet he writes almost everything in it — singing in English, he says, feels like talking to himself. At fourteen he wanted to be a professional fencer, until music clicked; telling his mother, who had backed his fencing all along, was the hard part. He began making songs in his bedroom on GarageBand and Logic Pro, with free plug-ins that sound "cheap in a good way." The name began as plain Robert. It felt too normal, so the B became a 3, and when Ro3ert turned out to be taken, a small l slipped in. Before his debut he even posed online as a Japanese American living in the US; now he wants to reach the American industry as himself, and to open a new lane for Japanese music. Instagram covers with over four million views led to his debut single "meaning" in January 2025. Since then he has played FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL, sold out Shibuya WWW X, taken "savior" to No. 1 on Billboard JAPAN Heatseekers Songs, and won Radio Rising Artist of the Year at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026. His first full album, "meet me in my head," arrives October 21, 2026, followed in November by a tour of the same name at Osaka BIG CAT and Tokyo Spotify O-EAST — two venues he had long set as goals.
From Asia to the World — A New Era of Sound アジアのシーンを牽引するアーティストたちとの対話を通して、"アジアミュージック"という未定義のカルチャーに輪郭を与えていく。
From Asia to the World — A New Era of Sound アジアのシーンを牽引するアーティストたちとの対話を通して、"アジアミュージック"という未定義のカルチャーに輪郭を与えていく。
From Asia to the World — A New Era of Sound アジアのシーンを牽引するアーティストたちとの対話を通して、"アジアミュージック"という未定義のカルチャーに輪郭を与えていく。