Written by Aileen Ha

Just last week, Shing02 released the song “VISA” with nitsua on SoundCloud to address “all the international lovers” [1]. The jazzy hip hop song starts off with a mellow chorus: “boy meets girl, they travel the world / they wanna stay together and be free as a bird / the only thing / stopping ’em is a piece of paper / can’t cross borders without visa status,” implying the difficulties of maintaining an interracial relationship.

Widely known for collaborating with legendary producer Nujabes in the Luv(sic) collection, Shing02, or Shingo Annen, is a Japanese hip hop rapper and producer. Although he was born in Tokyo, he was raised in different countries around the world, such as Tanzania and England, before eventually settling in the Bay Area. As a teenager, Annen was exposed to and involved in the vibrant hip hop culture through role models that were outspoken about their love for hip hop. According to Annen, the Bay Area was also “encouraging for an Asian artist to be expressive and still be accepted,” which further allowed Annen to pursue his passions freely [2].

Due to the extensive activist history in the Bay Area, Annen inevitably became aware of the past Civil Rights movement and Asian American movement through the legacy carried on by descendants and activists. Growing up in a place were “people [were] socially aware and politically conscious,” Annen began developing an activist stance and channeled his opinions through his songs [2]. For instance, in “Black is Beautiful,” Annen claims that “Black is beautiful to me / Respect all state, all color, all race / Black is beautiful to me / One love, one god, one mind, one heart,” thus advocating racial equality. Annen has also been involved in other social, political, and even environmental movements, such as participating in the Arab Spring protests and giving presentations pertaining to the nuclear fallout in Japan.

Although Annen grew up in Western society, he never lost touch with his Japanese roots. Throughout his career, he released several Japanese albums, such as Evolution of the MC and 400 and even held an extensive tour to promote his recent album, Y-Kyoku [3]. Regardless of the language of his music, Annen uses rhetoric to communicate complex social and political ideas through his lyrics to prove how powerful and persuasive of a tool hip hop music can be to change the world little by little.

References

[1] https://www.facebook.com/ShingoAnnen

[2] http://mocoloco.com/archives/027649.php 

[3] http://www.amoeba.com/blog/2008/10/jamoeblog/shing02-hip-hop-artist-creator-of-the-faderboard.html