Shingo Annen(安念 真吾,Annen Shingo) (born 1975), better known by his stage name Shing02, is a Japanese American hip hop recording artist, record producer, activist and investor. He was described by Patrick Neate as one of the Japanese emcees who "has addressed important issues from Japanese ethnicity to sexual exploitation to the education system."
Due in part to growing up in Western cities, Shing02 stands as one of the few multilingual rappers from Japan able to compose songs entirely in either Japanese or English. His rhyming style makes use of lyrics which are largely conceptual in nature and his hip-hop sound is known for blending various influences, ranging from reggae to traditional Japanese music to jazz. The style of music has made him a significant presence within the underground rap community, and he has achieved recognition beyond the scene for rapping "Battlecry", the theme song of the hip-hop-influenced chanbara anime Samurai Champloo, produced by late Japanese jazz rap DJ Nujabes.
Living in the Oakland and San Francisco Bay Area he became immersed in the hip-hop scene amongst direct descendants of members of civil rights movement groups such as the Black Panthers and Asian American activists. Shing02 has said of his music that "it was natural to have political and social messages in my music; I was fortunate to be exposed to it."
In 2010, Shing02 teamed up with Japanese-American jazz vocalist Emi Meyer for her second album, Passport. The two initially met via Myspace and Meyer joined Shing02 on his summer tour of Japan in 2008, after which they began work on Passport.
Shing02's remix of the song "Odakias" by Ryuichi Sakamoto was uploaded to Sakamoto's SoundCloud in July 2012.
Albums
Homo Caeruleus Cerinus (1999)
400 (2001)
Waikyoku (2008)
ASDR (2012) (with Chimp Beams)
1200 Ways (2013) (with DJ $hin)
Zone of Zen (2016) (with Cradle Orchestra)
Mixtapes
Shing02 Limited Express Mix (2003)
For the Tyme Being (2009)
For the Tyme Being 2 (2010)
For the Tyme Being 3 (2012)
Live from Annen Annex (2013)
For the Tyme Being 4 (2013)
EPs
Evolution of the MC (2003)
iTunes Live from Tokyo (2008)
Jikaku (2013) (with Kaigen)
1200 Ways EP (2013) (with DJ $hin)
Singles
"A Day Like Any Other" (1998) (with El-P, Murs and Yeshua Da Poed)
