Shokichi
Musical artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shokichi Yagi (八木 将吉 Yagi Shōkichi; born October 3, 1985, in Tomakomai, Hokkaido),[1] better known by his stage name Shokichi and Exile Shokichi (stylized as SHOKICHI and EXILE SHOKICHI), is a Japanese singer, dancer, songwriter, composer and actor. He is a vocalist and performer of Exile and Exile The Second. He was also a member of J Soul Brothers' second generation Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009.
3 October 1985
Exile Shokichi 八木 将吉 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Shokichi, Exile Shokichi |
| Born | Shokichi Yagi 3 October 1985 Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan[1] |
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004-present |
| Label | Rhythm Zone |
| Website | Official website |
Shokichi debuted as a soloist with the single "Back To The Future" on June 14, 2014. For his solo activities he uses the stage name Exile Shokichi.
Biography
Shokichi Yagi was born on October 3, 1985, in Tomakomai, Hokkaido (Japan). He has a younger brother, Masayasu Yagi, who is an actor, singer and member of Gekidan Exile.
In July 2006 Shokichi participated in the EXILE VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 2006 ~ASIAN DREAM~, but failed. After that, he also failed the COLOR audition, which led him to the decision to attend the EXPG (Exile Professional Gym), LDH's talent academy. This finally made it possible for him to join Nidaime J Soul Brothers in 2007. The group announced their indefinite hiatus after releasing one album in 2009 and all members joined the line-up of Exile shortly after.[2]
In 2012, Shokichi joined the Exile sub-unit Exile The Second alongside his fellow former Nidaime J Soul Brothers members Nesmith, Kenchi, Keiji and Tetsuya.[3]
In 2013, he played his first leading role in the Nippon TV drama Frenemy: Dobunezumi no Machi alongside Exile/Sandaime J Soul Brothers member Naoto.[4]
On June 14, 2014, he debuted as a soloist with the single "BACK TO THE FUTURE".[5][6] On October 22, Shokichi released his 2nd single "The One".[7] At the end of the year he was invited to perform at the Asia Song Festival 2014 in South Korea together with DJ Hal.[8][9]
On July 22, 2015, he released his 3rd single "Don't Stop the Music". The B-side tracks featured several of his label mates, such as CrazyBoy on "Anytime" and PKCZ on "Y.L.S.S.".[10] Shortly after on August 16, Shokichi performed for the first time at Summer Sonic 2015 in Osaka.[11] Additionally, the title track of his 4th single "IGNITION" was used as the theme song for the Japanese release of the American movie The Transporter Refueled which was released on October 24.[12][13]
On April 27, 2016, Shokichi released his first solo album, titled THE FUTURE.[14]
On May 14, 2018 it was announced that Exile The Second's song "Hi Noboru Hikari ni ~ Pray for Now ~ " (日昇る光に ～Pray for Now～; Sunlight rising to Pray for Now), written by Shokichi, was chosen as the official support song for the Japanese Judo Federation during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[15][16] On July 16, he performed at DANCE EARTH FESTIVAL 2018 ～SPLASH SUMMER～, a festival hosted by LDH.[17] In the same month, he established and started producing his own label KOMA DOGG. This project is hosted by him at LDH Music & Publishing, LDH's own record label.[18] Shortly after he participated in another festival, DOBERMAN INFINITY presents D.Island 2018.[19]
On October 3, 2018, his 33rd birthday, Shokichi released his 6th single "Futen Boyz".[20] The music video for the title track features him and his brother Masayasu Yagi, who is also appearing in the movie DTC - Yukemuri Junjō-hen - from HiGH& LOW (DTC -湯けむり純情篇- from HiGH＆LOW) for which this track is used as the theme song.[21] On December 15, 2018, he released his first photo book titled BYAKUYA.[22] The first press edition included a new song with the same title, "Byakuya" (白夜; White Night).[23][24]
On February 12, 2019 it was announced that Shokichi would release his second album and hold the first solo arena tour in his career.[25] The release of his second album 1114, thoroughly composed and written by himself, was set for May 15 with the title representing the number of days since the release of his first album THE FUTURE.[26][27] His tour EXILE SHOKICHI LIVE TOUR 2019"UNDERDOGG" went from June 29 to September 15 with 8 performances in 6 cities.[28] Shokichi also composed the debut track of Ballistik Boyz from Exile Tribe, "Tenhane -1000%-" (テンハネ -1000%-) in the same year.[29]
Business
Koma Dogg
KOMA DOGG is Shokichi's own label which he established in July 2018. He started this project because he wants to contribute to LDH with music by becoming a representative producer of the company. Furthermore, he enjoys collaborating with various artists and likes to challenge himself. The goal of his label is to let musicians be able to express themselves freely, pursue creativity and create an enjoyable production environment. Since its establishment, the label has signed Japanese artists such as Salu and Kodai Sato.[30] Shokichi stated his next step is to increase the number of artists even more.[31]
Participating groups
| Name | Period of time | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Pot | 2004 | [32] |
| symphony | 2005 – unknown | [33] |
| Nidaime J Soul Brothers | 25 January 2007 – 1 March 2009 | |
| Exile | 1 March 2009 – present | |
| Exile The Second | 1 July 2012 – present |
Discography
Singles
Digital Singles
| Year | Title | Ranking | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Japan | |||
| 2017 | Back 2U | - | |
| 2019 | Kimi ni Au Tame ni Boku wa Umaretekitanda (君に会うために僕は生まれてきたんだ) | - | [35] |
| Psychedelic Romance (サイケデリックロマンス) | - |
Albums
Covers
| Title | Notes |
|---|---|
| Just the Two of Us | Grover Washington Jr. cover; recorded in the cover album Exile Cover |
Collaboration single
| date | title | Preparation | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020oct7 | KING&KING | EXILE SHOKICHI×CrazyBoy | 15 |
| 2020dec25 | GET IT ON | EXILE SHOKICHI×CrazyBoy | |
| 2020nov14 | Pull Up | EXILE SHOKICHI×CrazyBoy |
Participating works
| Year | Song | Artist | Album | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Glory | Sandaime J Soul Brothers | C.O.S.M.O.S. | [37] | |
| #Hotline | Doberman Infinity | #PRLG | |||
| Loveholic | [a] | ||||
| +α | Mhiro | Featuring Best "+α" | [38] | ||
| 2015 | Daydream | Akiko Wada | Wadasoul | [39] | |
| 2016 | Whiteout | Various artists | High & Low Original Best Album | [40] | |
| 2017 | Diamond Dust | Kodai Sato | Snow Globe | [41] | |
| Fight Club | Miyavi | SAMURAI SESSIONS vol.2 | [42][43] | ||
| 2018 | Untitled | Doberman Infinity | OFF ROAD | [44] | |
| Double Play Remix | CrazyBoy | NEOTOKYO IV EP | [45] | ||
| Lights Off | NEOTOKYO FOREVER | [46] | |||
| Good Vibes Only | Salu | [47] | |||
| Never Say Goodbye | Sway | UNCHAINED | [48] | ||
| Furui Nikki (古い日記) | Various artists | AKKO GA OMAKASE -WADA AKIKO 50 SHUUNEN KINEN TRIBUTE ALBUM(アッコがおまかせ ～和田アキ子 50周年記念 トリビュート・アルバム～) | [49] | ||
| 2019 | 白濁 Collaboration with EXILE SHOKICHI | sukekiyo | INFINITUM（公式通販限定盤） | [50] | |
| SUPERSTAR | Various artists | ANOTHER VOICE -Full Of Harmony Tribute Album- | [51] | ||
| THE FOOL | EXILE AKIRA | THE FOOL MOVIE 2 〜THE FOOLS〜 | [52] | ||
| 2020 | DANCE PARTY Part 2〜Music Bird〜 | [53] | |||
| LEMON FRIDAY | EXILE SHOKICHI & DEEP SQUAD | [54] | |||
| 2021 | Fridays Fantasy feat. EXILE SHOKICHI, SALU | SIMON & YMG | TRY | [55] | |
Compositions and lyrics
| Song | Artist | Recorded | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everlasting Song | Exile | Album Exile Japan | Written and composed | |
| Beautiful Life | Wrote lyrics, co-written with Atsushi | [56] | ||
| PARTY ALL NIGHT ～STAR OF WISH～ | Album Star of Wish | Wrote lyrics, co-written with Akira | [57] | |
| STEP UP | Co-produced with Jay'ed and The Stereotypes | [58][59] | ||
| Back To The Future | Shokichi | Single "Back To The Future" | Wrote lyrics, co-written with Verbal and Sway | |
| The Anthem | Written and composed, co-composed with Nakkid and Doberman Inc, co-written with Doberman Inc, Sway and Elly | |||
| Enrai | Wrote lyrics | |||
| Hello | Written and composed | |||
| The One | Single "The One" | Written and composed, co-composed with Sunny Boy | ||
| Loveholic | Wrote lyrics, co-written with Kubo-C, GS, P-Cho, Sway, and Kazuki | |||
| Here We Go | Written and composed, co-composed with Sky Beatz and Dexpistols | |||
| Don't Stop the Music | Single "Don't Stop the Music" | Wrote lyrics | ||
| Freaky Cheeky | Written and composed, co-written with Sakura, co-composed with T.Kura-Sakura | |||
| Anytime | Written and composed, co-written with Crazyboy, co-composed with Nakkid | |||
| Y.L.S.S. | Written and composed, co-written with Verbal, co-composed with Lucas Valentine (Ambushr) | |||
| Ignition | Single "Ignition" | Written and composed, co-written with Amon Hayashi, co-composed by Amon Hayashi and Nao the Laiza | ||
| Last Song | Wrote lyrics | |||
| Ao no Hibi | Written and composed, co-composed with D&H | |||
| Machine Gun Funk | Album The Future | Written and composed, co-composed with Sky Beatz | ||
| Rock City | Co-written with Sway | |||
| You are Beautiful | Written and composed, co-composed with Uta | |||
| A | Wrote lyrics | |||
| Without You (Interlude) | Written and composed, co-composed with Sky Beatz | |||
| Future | Written and composed, co-composed with T-SK | |||
| Chaos | Exile The Second | Single "Think 'Bout It!" | Written and composed, co-composed with Sky Beatz, Fast Lane and Mats Lie Skare | |
| Rock Star | Wrote lyrics | |||
| Survivors | Single "Survivors feat. DJ Makidai from Exile/Pride" | |||
| Lost In Time | ||||
| Bump Up | Wrote lyrics, co-written with P-Cho, GS, Kubo-C and Tomogen | |||
| Beginning Of The Second Age | Album The II Age | Wrote Lyrics | ||
| Missing You | Written and composed, co-composed with Sky Beatz and Fast Lane | |||
| Signal Fire | Wrote lyrics, co-written with Sway | |||
| Yeah!! Yeah!! Yeah!! | Single "Yeah!! Yeah!! Yeah!!" | Wrote lyrics | ||
| Going Crazy | ||||
| Wild Wild Wild | Single "Wild Wild Wild" | |||
| Ray | Written and composed, co-composed with Henrik Nordenback, Sirius and Big-F | |||
| Glory | Sandaime J Soul Brothers | Single "C.O.S.M.O.S." | Wrote lyrics, co-written with Amon Hayashi | |
| #Hotline | Doberman Infinity | Album #PRLG | Written and composed, co-written with Elly, Kubo-C, GS, P-Cho and Sway, co-composed with Nakkid, Elly, Kubo-C, GS, P-Cho and Sway | |
| Loveholic | Alternate version of "Loveholic (Exile Shokichi feat. Doberman Infinity)" | |||
| Love U Down | Album The Line | Written and composed, co-written with Sky Beatz-Shikata-Chris Hope-J Faith | ||
| Don't Stop The Music | DEEP | Single "Last Goodbye" | Wrote lyrics | |
| Intro –Love again– | Album Love Light | Written and composed | ||
| Higher Ground | Exile Tribe | Album High & Low Original Best Album/Various artists | Written and composed, co-written with Dimitri Thivaios, Michael Thivaios, Willem van Hanegem, Ward van der Harst, Chris Hope, Shikata, Maria Marcus, Masaya Wada and Crazyboy | |
| ASOBO! | Exile The Second | Wrote lyrics, co-written with Verbal, Nesmith, and Far East Movement (Kevin Nishimura-James Roh-Virman Coquia) | ||
| Diamond Dust | Kodai Sato | Single "Snow Globe" | Wrote lyrics | [41] |
Tie-up
| Song | Tie-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Back To The Future | Onegai! Ranking May 2014 ending theme | [60] |
| The One | Recruit Zexy advert song | |
| Onegai! Ranking October 2014 ending theme | ||
| Loveholic | Angfa "Scalp D" advert song | |
| Don't Stop the Music | Sukkiri!! July 2015 ending theme | |
| Ignition | The Transporter Refueled Japanese theme song | [61] |
| Freaky Cheeky | Exile Tribe Otoko Tabi Season III theme song | [62] |
| Rock City | Yōfuku no Aoyama "Natsu Suits" advert song | [63] |
| Whiteout | High & Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D. insert song |
Filmography
TV programmes
| Year | Title | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | EX-Lounge | TBS | MC | |
| 2013 | Massugu ni Chikako, Yume e | STV | Navigator | |
| 2014 | Dosanko Wide 179 | "Exile Shokichi mirai no Sora" mirai Ōen Caster; irregular appearances | [64] | |
| 2014–present | Exile Tribe Otoko Tabi (EXILE TRIBE 男旅) | UHB | travelog in Hokkaido with 4 other members of Exile Tribe | [65][66][67][68] |
TV dramas
Advertisements
| Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Daiichi Kosho Company "Smart Dam" | |
| 2014 | Recruit Zexy | [69] |
| AOYAMA PRESTIGE TECHNOLOGY "Soul Man" | [70] | |
| Angfa "Scalp D" | [71] | |
| beats by dr. re | ||
| 2015 | Suntory The Malts | [72][73] |
| 2016 | Yōfuku no Aoyama "Natsu Suits" | [63] |
Music videos
Live
Photobook
| Release date | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| December 15, 2018 | BYAKUYA | [78] |