Rapping used to be a dream career, now it is a favorite pass time for Ken Uechi.
"Everyone has a stress reliever. This is mine," said Uechi.
These days, he heads to the studio to write music, record records, and blow off steam from the week. He grew up loving rap music and even tried to make it as a rapper in Japan.
"I realized I'm not making any money doing this and I needed a real job," he said.
So this born and bred Angeleno moved back to the U.S. to work for his father.
Rapper Ken is also Chef Ken, son of the world renowned sushi chef, Chef Katusya. He is now being primed to take over the Katsuya Sushi empire.
"I heard from my mom that he was happy that I was going to work from him," says Uechi.
He says his dad doesn't show much emotion and that he's an old fashioned Japanese father. He says it was a long process learning under him. He started as a dish washer over 12 years ago and is now an executive chef. He oversees their newest restaurant Washoku of L.A.
"It feels great to be part of something he created," said Uechi.
Washoku is one of the nine restaurants in the Katsuya Group, which Uechi says is the family group. Chef Katsuya has also partnered with the SBE Group to open many other restaurants around the world.
One day, Uechi will take over the family restaurants in the Los Angeles area, a large feat for any sushi chef.
"It’s a lot of pressure. I try not to think about it. But when the time comes, I want to make sure I'm ready," he said.
He wants to be ready and stay humble, which is the biggest piece of advice he learned from his dad.
"He said don’t get a big head. He always tells me till this day," said Uechi.
At the end of the day he loves rapping and he loves making sushi. He even sometimes combines the two. He says he likes to talk to the fish and sometimes rap to them.
"I say 'Yo, hey, I hope you're good,'" said Uechi.