Ichii began practicing her rapping in preparation for a solo show with her friend Gaku, who was a part of the group East End.
Initially, as one of the members of East End, DJ Yoggy was skeptical of working with Ichii because he saw her only as a pop idol singer (as she was with TPD) and thought she would not be able to perform live.
In June 1994, East End X Yuri released the mini-album titled Denim-ed Soul on File Records with four songs.
[2] However, today, many thuggish rappers are also experiencing mainstream success, with artists like Hannya, Maria, Rappagariya, Ozrosaurus and Seeda on the forefront.
This new popularity spark in rugged hip hop can be seen as a polar opposite turn, versus the original pop-influenced hip-hop style that artists such as East End x Yuri pioneered.