The hip-hop/R&B duo Bennie K were the first female urban project to break into the Japanese musical mainstream and their sunny rap tunes with catchy choruses spawned a huge wave of followers. The band was established in 1999 in Los Angeles, of all places, where rapper Cico met vocalist Yuki. Upon returning to Japan, Bennie K released a handful of singles and albums, but it wasn't until their first single of 2004, "Sunrise," which entered the Oricon Top Ten, that the duo managed to ride a wave of success. That breakthrough led to the 2005 single, "Dreamland," peaking at number two in the charts. Bennie K's fourth album, Japana-Rhythm, claimed the number one spot in 2005 and their fifth album, The World, reached number three on the charts. ~ Alexey Eremenko