It is now 2026, and we are looking forward to a new year. Earlier, we have seen Tyler, the Creator drop “Sag Harbor”, Chief Keef dropping “Harry Potter”, Lil Uzi Vert with “What You Saying”, and even more new music in the rap/hip-hop scene. But who actually started us off with the new year? Hint: it’s actually not Yolanda Adams…
You might not have guessed it, even PaRappa knew that one. Dotty Ryōsuke, known on streaming platforms as AMU Henry Smalls, actually started us off with the first music video of 2026. The music video is for his all-new “One Thing Freestyle”, and DottyB has gone all out to make it to the new year with it. There is more to this than a kid rapping about anime.
The most interesting thing about this freestyle is the fact that it is 10-minutes long, although it is actually around 12-minutes. Well, it’s around 12-minutes, but Dotty actually raps for 10-minutes consecutively. In one take, he raps in a basketball court, while in another, he walks through the city of New York. Over the beat for “One Thing” by Amarie, Dotty raps about various things in this freestyle, ranging from his take on swag to his music style and his love for anime. At one point, he randomly blurts out long titles of anime from his Crunchyroll watchlist before suddenly going back to rapping. All takes of the music video were recorded on Dotty’s PlayStation Vita, bringing love to the lost handheld.
In order to deliver a happy new year to all of his fans, he uploaded the music video to multiple websites, including NicoNico and VidLii. If you ask anyone from Japan or China if Dotty’s music video was actually the first of 2026, they will say yes.
The end of the year has not been relatively easy for Dotty, mainly due to issues with DistroKid causing his latest music to not make it to Apple and Spotify. He was also brushed off by his high school at the time of homecoming. To add insult to injury, Bri3, who was performing at his school’s homecoming, had ‘egoed’ and maybe even humiliated him when he asked her how much she charges for features. However, Dotty has already planned for 2026. Fans are speculating that Anime Otapia might be giving him a chance, as he is volunteering and leading a panel at the upcoming convention.
Dotty is already working on new music, while also planning to go on tour. Although, it’s not a formal tour, because every stop is an anime convention. Let’s keep our eyes open for Dotty, as he is bound to take over the scene this year, while rapping about Highschool DxD and Persona 5.
You can watch the new music video on YouTube or BiliBili
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ueiMBfEcX/?vd_source=6bdb12a6255881554af8e1a4a1883099
