Japanese Hip-Hop Duo Creepy Nuts Turn Up the Tempo With New Single & MV "Running Wheel" A Phonk-Infused Track
GLOBAL BREAKOUT JAPANESE HIP-HOP DUO
TURN UP THE TEMPO WITH
NEW SINGLE & MV “RUNNING WHEEL”
A PHONK-INFUSED TRACK
CREATED FOR HONDA'S N-BOX
Tokyo, Japan (August 20, 2026) – Japanese hip-hop powerhouse CREEPY NUTS — the duo of three-time national rap battle champion R-Shitei and world-champion DJ, DJ Matsunaga —released their latest single, "Running Wheel," on August 19, marking the next chapter in a year that has taken the pair from Coachella to their first North American tour and toward an upcoming run of stadium dates as special guests for The Weeknd across Asia.
Written specifically for Honda's N-BOX CUSTOM car, "Running Wheel" powered the automaker's new “NEW IMPACT” campaign and represented the first time an artist had written an original song specifically for an N-BOX commercial. Watch the ad here. The campaign arrived as the N-BOX continued its remarkable run as Japan's best-selling new vehicle for five consecutive years and the country's top-selling compact vehicle for 11 consecutive years.
For the song, Creepy Nuts pushed into new sonic territory. Built around DJ Matsunaga's aggressive production incorporating elements of phonk, "Running Wheel" pairs distorted, high-impact rhythms with R-Shitei's rapid-fire flow and dense lyricism. The track reflected the momentum of the duo's recent international run, with lyrics referencing their current trajectory and experiences on stages far beyond Japan.
The song is accompanied by a new music video, placing R-Shitei and DJ Matsunaga inside an underground, high-pressure environment surrounded by a crowd dressed entirely in black. Shot with an analog-video aesthetic, the visual continued the duo's collaboration with director Daiki Kamoshita, following previous videos including “doppelgänger,” “Chxxai” and “Fright” watch here.
"Running Wheel" also showcased another side of the duo's catalog through the Honda campaign. Alongside the new song, their 2021 track “Nobishiro” was featured in a separate N-BOX commercial watch here. The song has grown into one of Creepy Nuts’ signature tracks, surpassing 300 million streams.
The release followed a landmark international run for Creepy Nuts. In April, the duo made their Coachella debut, taking the final slot on the festival's Gobi Stage on both weekends. Their opening-night performance was later highlighted by Billboard among the notable moments of Coachella's first day, with the outlet describing the duo as artists who “rap really f—king good.”
The Coachella performances launched Creepy Nuts’ first-ever North American tour, which took the duo from California to New York, Chicago and Mexico City, bringing their Japanese-language hip-hop to audiences across the continent.
That momentum will continue this fall when Creepy Nuts join The Weeknd as special guests for 11 stadium shows across Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia as part of the final Asian leg of the After Hours Til Dawn Tour. The Weeknd's initial Tokyo date sold out immediately, prompting the addition of a second show.
The tour represents another significant stage for a duo whose international breakthrough has unfolded without abandoning the Japanese language or reshaping their identity for overseas audiences. Their 2024 global breakout “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” surpassed 900 million streams worldwide, while “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” and “Otonoke” went on to make Creepy Nuts the first Japanese artists to receive RIAA Gold certifications for two separate Japanese-language songs.
With “Running Wheel,” Creepy Nuts are once again choosing expansion over repetition. From anime hits and Japanese hip-hop to Coachella, North America, phonk-inspired production and now stadium audiences across Asia, the duo's latest release captures a group continuing to accelerate while refusing to stay in a single lane.
"Running Wheel" is available now on all digital platforms. The official music video is also available on YouTube, alongside the newly launched Creepy Nuts Station, a 24-hour live destination where fans can watch the duo's video content and interact with other viewers in real time.
Creepy Nuts will also return to Japan for their 2027 arena tour, scheduled to visit eight cities across 12 dates and expected to draw approximately 120,000 fans.
The Weeknd: After Hours Til Dawn Tour – Live in Asia (Special Guest: Creepy Nuts)
September 19 – Tokyo, Japan (Belluna Dome)
September 20 – Tokyo, Japan (Belluna Dome)
October 2 – Singapore (National Stadium)
October 3 – Singapore (National Stadium)
October 7 – Seoul, South Korea (Goyang Stadium)
October 8 – Seoul, South Korea (Goyang Stadium)
October 11 – Bangkok, Thailand (Rajamangala Stadium)
October 12 – Bangkok, Thailand (Rajamangala Stadium)
October 13 – Bangkok, Thailand (Rajamangala Stadium)
November 4 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (TM Stadium Nasional)
November 5 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (TM Stadium Nasional)
Official Tour Site: https://www.theweeknd.com/
About Creepy Nuts
Creepy Nuts is a hip-hop unit consisting of rapper R-Shitei, a three-time consecutive champion of Japan's premier rap battle competition, and DJ Matsunaga, winner of the DMC World DJ Championship 2019. Their 2024 release “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” became a global hit, surpassing 900 million streams worldwide. Along with subsequent releases “Otonoke” and “Mirage,” they made history by becoming the first act to occupy the entire Top 3 of the Billboard Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan chart. In July 2024, they released “Illusion (Creepy Nuts Remix)” in collaboration with Dua Lipa, marking a major international collaboration.
At the core of Creepy Nuts is live performance. In February 2025, they headlined Tokyo Dome for the first time, drawing approximately 50,000 fans, followed by their first Asia tour across five cities. In 2026, they made their Coachella debut, closing the Gobi Stage on their first appearance, before embarking on their first North American tour. They will also join The Weeknd as a special guest across his Asia stadium tour.
Creepy Nuts do not present Japanese hip-hop as novelty or export — they present it as complete. In an era where global rap often bends toward linguistic familiarity, they move in the opposite direction, proving that cultural specificity can travel further than compromise.
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