Raised in Shibuya, Tokyo, Chikaramanga (General Manager and one of the founders of TRES Records), developed his Hip Hop career starting off as a DJ in '93. After a year of rocking the crowd (both on the tables and on the mic), he began to take on the roll of the MC more seriously, but in his native tongue. With this natural progression that most DJ's seem to go through, Chikara eventually found himself making beats. With all three titles under his belt, it was time for this Japanese MC/DJ/Producer to make his next move. So in '97, he moved to the United States. Here in the U.S., he met future group mates, Newman and Maanumental, and in 2001 they became Giant Panda. In 2005 they dropped their debut album, Fly School Reunion, and in 2008, had their sophmore album, Electric Laser (Chikara serving as a DJ/MC/Producer). He's currently putting together his "producer" project, which will include collaborations with his close friends ans affiliates. This project will be a series of 7 inch releases. The first song to be released from the series features Detroit native, Big Tone. The track is appropriately titled, Cool. The title itself explains the entire vibe of the song. From the comping of the horn lines, to the swingin' chopped drums, Chikaramanga made this track do exactly that. It remains cool, and allows the listeners to do as well. With a jazz sample laced with drums to match, the complex yet easy flowing wordplay of Big Tone pieces it all together to make the perfect debut single from Chikara's special 7 inch project.