Bio : Handcraft Entertainment
ABOUT HANDCRAFT ENTERTAINMENT
Handcraft Entertainment is a first-of-its-kind global entertainment company centered around "Global" J-Pop and Japanese cultural IP. Founded by multi-platinum producer and entrepreneur Michael Africk, the company develops artists, music, fashion, beauty, film, television, anime, live experiences, and consumer products designed to introduce Japanese culture to a worldwide audience. Through a uniquely bilingual and bicultural approach, Handcraft seeks to establish Japanese culture as one of the defining forces in global entertainment.
ABOUT MICHAEL AFRICK
Michael Africk is an American singer, songwriter, multi-platinum record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Handcraft Entertainment. A 6x Japan Gold Disc Award winner, Africk has sold more than 25 million records worldwide and contributed to six No. 1 albums, including Mai Kuraki's Delicious Way, the best-selling debut album in Japanese music history.
In addition to his music career, Africk founded multiple technology companies, led award-winning digital media initiatives for the Super Bowl and major global brands, and was recognized by Inc. as one of its 12 Top Tech Leaders to Watch. Today, he serves as Founder and CEO of Handcraft Entertainment, a company focused on globalizing Japanese cultural IP through its pioneering vision of "Global" J-Pop.
ABOUT MIA TAKARABE
The new blueprint of Global J-Pop - borderless, hybrid, and built for the world.
Mia Takarabe is a 19 year old global J-Pop artist whose identity and sound are built on fusion - Japanese and Indian roots shaped through an Asian and Western upbringing, colliding into something entirely her own and defining the future of true Global J-Pop.
Born in Adelaide, Australia, and in and out of Japan throughout her childhood, Mia’s life was never confined to one place or one culture. She spent summers with family in Japan, fully immersed in language, food, tradition, and everyday life there. On her father’s side, Japanese culture was lived, not performed. He spoke the language at home, cooked traditional meals nightly, and filled their world with Japanese songs and customs. On her mother’s side, music was a constant, old musicals, harmony, lullabies, and Western pop icons like ABBA, Dolly Parton, and Olivia Newton-John.
After years of singing at school talent shows and sketching the beginnings of her artistic identity, a defining shift came when multi-platinum producer Michael Africk discovered her. When she met Michael, the CEO of Handcraft Entertainment, everything aligned. She connected instantly to Handcraft’s global vision, authenticity, and belief in her individuality as an artist.
“I’m not here just to participate in J-Pop - I’m here to help globalize it. I’m a global J-Pop artist because that’s who I truly am, and I want to show the world what this genre can become.”
Sonically, Mia blends pop with subtle cinematic textures and emotional nuance, moving between softness and power, melody and mood. She explores heartbreak, self-discovery, evolution, and the intimate moments where you realize who you are. She wants listeners to feel something real, to take her music personally and find their own story inside each song.
Away from the mic, Mia’s world is visual, stylish, and quietly obsessive about aesthetics. She gravitates toward all black minimalist looks, sharp lines, subtle details, and bold textures. And off to the side, she tattoos, a private craft she treats like another form of storytelling.
Now, as she steps into her debut era, Mia’s focus is simple and bold: To release her sound into the world, to grow with every song, and to connect deeply with the people who hear her.