Shinobi Ninja

Origins

Prior to joining the band, Baby G was a professional dancer, performing for such artists as Rihanna, Santigold, Jason Derulo, Ricky Martin, Mylène Farmer, Cassie, P. Diddy, LL Cool J, Nelly, and Daddy Yankee. In 2006, she made an appearance in the video "Long Way To Go" by Cassie.

Meanwhile, Axis, Mike, and Dave were in a band called Stalley & The Wax Machine, which broke up in early 2008. Shinobi Ninja formed shortly afterward. Several members of the band met at a rehearsal and recording studio called Progressive Music in the Film Center Building in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. Duke Sims, Jonny, and Mike worked at the studio, and Baby G took vocal classes there. In 2010, their original bass player Jonny left the band, and Alien Lex replaced him.

Of the six members of the band only Duke Sims and Alien Lex are originally from Brooklyn, both being born and raised in Bensonhurst. Lead singer Baby G is from Lawrence, Massachusetts. The twins, Mike and Dave are from Piermont, New York. Axis Powers is originally from Toronto, Canada.

Familial connections

Baby G's sister Esia was inducted into the UMass Lowell Hall of Fame in 2013 for Track & Field.

Alien Lex and D.A. are cousins. A Lex is also cousin to singer Carmen Consoli. Terminator Dave and Maniak Mike are polar-fraternal twins.

Performances

On July 12, 2009, the band played the Afropunk Festival on a block in Brooklyn. In 2010 and 2011 the band played Summerfest, the worlds biggest music festival held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On August 6, 2011, the band played the first ever 311 Pow Wow Festival.

On July 28, 2012, the band played the opening set at the first ever Catalpa Festival on Randall's Island, covered by Rolling Stone. They have also played SXSW and The Warped Tour multiple years.

In 2013 Shinobi Ninja went on the High School Nation tour sponsored by Monster Cables & Headphones, where they played over 20 West Coast high schools in a month. In Summer 2014 Shinobi Ninja went on Escape from New York Tour, a DIY tour circling the country over five weeks.

On March 24, 2016 the band played the Grammy Career Day at Pace University in New York City.

Media and appearances

The band has been featured in major publications like Rolling Stone, Spin, Time, Ebony, as well as on MTV, and on Fuse.

On January 28, 2010, the band released Shinobi Ninja Attacks!, a Nintendo-style video game album for iPhone, iPod, and iPad. The game was featured in the Apple Store's "Hot New Games" section and downloaded over 10,000 times. They are the first independent band to release an app based on their likeness and music.

Baby G was a coach in episode 11, season 11 of the MTV show Made, which aired on October 7, 2010. She also appeared in episodes 13 and 14 of season 3 of the TV series Gotham as one of Jerome's (The Joker) followers.

In February 2015 Terminator Dave played the drum solos in the episode of Broad City titled "The Matrix".

"Stop" was featured in the third episode ("El Diablo") of the American television drama series The Killing, which aired on April 10, 2011 on AMC. "Rock Hood" was featured in the video games NBA 2K12 and Tap Tap Revenge 3.

Their song "Amped to 12" was written specifically for the 2014 film A Haunted House 2, and is the only song to play during the film as well as playing as soon as the film ends.

The band released their debut album, Rock Hood in April 2011. They followed this with the double album Escape from New York / Return From... in June 2014. Their third album, a freestyle free-form album recorded live in two weeks entitled Artistic Visions, was released in January 2015.

In January 2016 the band started their own talk show called Heavy Metal Breakfast, which they shoot at YouTube Space NY.

Their fourth album Bless Up was released on March 10, 2017.

Members

Former members

Studio albums

EPs

Mixtapes

Non-album singles

Live albums

Van album