MNNK Bro. Takashi Murakami & JP THE WAVY Vinyl + Trading Cards: The Rarest Drop Where Art Meets Rap
If you’ve been hunting for a piece that sits at the intersection of contemporary fine art, Japanese hip-hop, and sealed collectible culture, your search ends here. The MNNK Bro. “Mononoke Kyoto” 12-inch (30 cm) vinyl with sealed trading cards is one of the most unique limited-edition items to come out of Japan in recent years, and it’s now available at Rare Inventory.
What Is MNNK Bro.?
MNNK Bro., short for Mononoke Brothers, brings together world-renowned contemporary artist Takashi Murakami and Japanese rapper JP THE WAVY. The project began when JP THE WAVY created the theme song for Murakami’s solo exhibition Takashi Murakami: Mononoke in Kyoto, which opened at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art in February 2024. From that starting point, the collaboration quickly expanded into something much broader.
At the same time, Murakami took an active role in shaping the music, contributing directly to both production and recording. In addition, he designed the jacket artwork himself, ensuring that the visual identity stayed fully consistent with his artistic vision. Meanwhile, Xansei and Snail’s House led the beat production, adding a distinct and polished sound to the project.
As a result, the final piece goes far beyond a typical artist-musician crossover. Instead, it creates a rare kind of collectible that connects multiple worlds at once. In other words, it sits naturally between contemporary art and music culture, while also appealing to both record collectors and trading card enthusiasts.
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The Vinyl: What’s Inside
The release is a 12-inch (30 cm) vinyl record that includes 3 original trading cards out of 24 varieties total. The track listing breaks down as follows: Cartridge Thunder
Side A:
- Mononoke Kyoto
- Mononoke Kyoto [Instrumental]
Side B:
- Shijin no Zu. Picture of the Four Symbols
- Mononoke Kyoto. Spoken Lyrics by Niina
The jacket artwork, created by Murakami himself, features characters of both Murakami and JP THE WAVY placed atop cherry blossoms inspired by Kyoto. It is, in short, a visual artwork before you even drop the needle.
The Trading Cards: A Collectible System Within a Collectible
This is where things get especially interesting for serious collectors. Each sealed copy includes a special trading card pack with 3 random cards. The cards available span two highly sought-after series: the 108 Flowers Series and the Mononoke Kyoto Series. Among the possible pulls is the Ghost Flower, a super popular rare NFT-linked card from the 108 Flowers universe.
Because the unit is sealed, the exact cards inside are unknown until opened, preserving the mystery-pull dynamic that defines Japanese collectible culture at its best. With 24 possible card designs across both series, every sealed copy carries a different combination.
For those who choose not to open it: the sealed status itself adds to the item’s long-term collectible value.
Why This Item Matters to Collectors
Takashi Murakami is not a peripheral art-world figure. He is one of the most commercially and critically significant contemporary artists alive, the creator of the Superflat movement, collaborator with Louis Vuitton, Kanye West, and Billie Eilish, and the artist behind some of the highest-selling NFT drops in history. His 2024 Kyoto exhibition was his first major domestic solo show in eight years.
JP THE WAVY brings his own cultural weight: a rapper well known internationally for his work connected to The Fast and the Furious franchise.
The MNNK Bro. vinyl is not a merchandise item. It is a limited Japanese import, produced at a fixed quantity, tied to a one-time cultural event, an exhibition that is over. The physical object is all that remains.
What You’re Getting at Rare Inventory
- Format: 12″ (30 cm) LP vinyl, Japanese import
- Condition: Factory sealed, brand new
- Includes: 3 randomly inserted original trading cards (from 24 total designs. 108 Flowers Series & Mononoke Kyoto Series)
- Artist: MNNK Bro. (Takashi Murakami & JP THE WAVY)
- Release date: August 3, 2024
- Authenticity: 100% authentic Japanese pressing
Who Should Own This
This item is ideal for:
- Takashi Murakami collectors looking to expand beyond canvas prints and figures into music artifacts
- Vinyl collectors who value culturally significant limited pressings
- Trading card collectors with interest in fine-art-adjacent card sets
- Investors in cultural collectibles who understand the appreciation curve of sealed, limited-edition Japanese releases
- Fans of JP THE WAVY looking for something beyond digital streams
Final Word
The MNNK Bro. “Mononoke Kyoto” vinyl is the kind of item that makes sense to own whether you’re a purist record collector, a Murakami art collector, or a trading card enthusiast. It does not fit neatly into any single category, which is exactly why it’s rare, and exactly why it belongs in Rare Inventory.
Stock is limited. Once sealed copies of this pressing are gone, they’re gone.
👉 Browse this and other rare Japanese collectibles at Rare Inventory.
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