Japinha
Ricardo Di Roberto (born 18 September 1973), better known as Japinha, is a Brazilian musician best recognized for having been the drummer of the Grammy-winning rock band CPM 22 from 1999 to 2020. He has performed music since 1994, not only as a drummer but also as a guitarist and singer, and is associated with underground styles such as melodic hardcore, punk rock, and hardcore punk. His nickname can be translated as "little Japanese one", referring to his Japanese ancestry.
On 4 June 2020, an anonymous Twitter account[1] published private conversations from January and March 2012 showing Japinha, who at the time was 38, talking to a 16-year-old virgin fan girl for whom he expresses romantic and sexual interest.[2] Japinha confirmed that the conversation is real, but said that he had no intention of 'seducing' or harming the girl.[3][2]
Less than a week later, on June 10, the band declared that Japinha was out, one day after another member, the bassist Fernando Sanches, announced that he would be stepping out as well, which for some suggested that there was already some kind of tension going on within the band.[3] On 17 August 2020, Japinha was officially dismissed from the band.[4] However, in the same month, before it could achieve more significant recognition in Brazil, Japinha's case was obscured by a more prominent one: vlogger PC Siqueira's confessed attraction to a six-year-old girl.
Japinha has since performed with his own band, Dinossaurus, which he had founded back in 2014.
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References
- ↑ The same account that would not much later expose the YouTuber PC Siqueira.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Japinha do CPM 22 confirma conversa vazada com garota que diz ter 16 anos; ele diz que era 'brincadeira' sem 'intenção de seduzir'. G1. 20 June 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Saída de baixista expõe racha no CPM 22 em polêmica sobre Japinha. extra.globo.com. 11 June 2020.
- ↑ Japinha quebra silêncio após saída do CPM 22: 'Seguirei em frente'. R7.