Shokichi

Shokichi Yagi (八木 将吉 Yagi Shokichi; born October 3, 1985, in Tomakomai, Hokkaido)[1], better known by his stage name 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.

Exile Shokichi 八木 将吉
Birth name	Shokichi Yagi
Also known as	SHOKICHI
Born	(1985-10-03) 3 October 1985 Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan[1]
Origin	Japan
Genres	J-pop contemporary R&B hip hop
Occupation(s)	Singer dancer lyricist composer
Years active	2004-present
Labels	Rhythm Zone
Associated acts	Exile Exile The Second
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

For his works with Exile, see Exile (Japanese band) § Discography.

For his works with Exile The Second, see Exile The Second § Discography.

Singles

Year	Title	Ranking		Ref.
		Oricon	Billboard Japan
2014	BACK TO THE FUTURE	2	10	[34]
	The One	5	9
2015	Don't Stop the Music	4	29
	IGNITION	6	29
2018	Underdog	7	18
	Futen Boyz	8	28

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

Year	Title	Ranking		Ref.
		Oricon	Billboard Japan
2016	The Future	5	4
2019	1114	3	2	[36]

Covers

Title	Notes
Just the Two of Us	Grover Washington Jr. cover; recorded in the cover album Exile Cover

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			[lower-alpha 1]
	+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]

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	[49]
PARTY ALL NIGHT ～STAR OF WISH～		Album Star of Wish	Wrote lyrics, co-written with Akira	[50]
STEP UP			Co-produced with Jay'ed and The Stereotypes	[51][52]
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	[53]
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	[54]
Freaky Cheeky	Exile Tribe Otoko Tabi Season III theme song	[55]
Rock City	Yōfuku no Aoyama "Natsu Suits" advert song	[56]
Whiteout	High & Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D. insert song

Filmography

For his appearances with Exile, see Exile (Japanese band).

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	[57]
2014-present	Exile Tribe Otoko Tabi (EXILE TRIBE 男旅)	UHB	travelog in Hokkaido with 4 other members of Exile Tribe	[58][59][60][61]

TV dramas

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes
2012	Sugarless	Itaru Aramaki / Shake	NTV
2013	Frenemy: Dobunezumi no Machi	Natsuki Morishita		Lead role

Advertisements

Year	Title	Ref.
2013	Daiichi Kosho Company "Smart Dam"
2014	Recruit Zexy	[62]
	AOYAMA PRESTIGE TECHNOLOGY "Soul Man"	[63]
	Angfa "Scalp D"	[64]
	beats by dr. re
2015	Suntory The Malts	[65][66]
2016	Yōfuku no Aoyama "Natsu Suits"	[56]

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Ref.
2017	I Got a Dream	BIGZAM	[67]
2018	RED SOUL BLUE DRAGON	Red Diamond Dogs	[68]

Live

Year	Title	Ref.
2012	VBA Live Tour 2012 Vocal Battle Stage
2014	Vocal Battle Audition Presents "Vocal Battle Stage 2014"	[69]
2019	Exile Shokichi Live Tour 2019 "UNDERDOGG"	[70]

Photobook

Release date	Title	Ref.
December 15, 2018	BYAKUYA	[71]

References

1. "苫小牧出身のEXILE・SHOKICHIさんにインタビュー". Tomakomai Minpō (in Japanese). Tomakomai Minpō-sha. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
2. "EXILEにJ Soul Brothers合流！14人体制で新たな出発". natalie.
3. "EXILEから新ユニット誕生、映画主題歌でデビュー". natalie.
4. "【動画】EXILE・NAOTO、HIROの私生活に興味津々「寝てる姿見てみたい」". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
5. "EXILESHOKICHI、6・4ソロデビュー ATSUSHI、TAKAHIROに続き3人目". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
6. "SHOKICHI、EXILEから3人目のソロデビュー". natalie.
7. "EXILE SHOKICHI新曲PVは戦場のボーカリスト". natalie.
8. "2014 아시아송 페스티벌(Asia Song Festival)". 2014-10-19. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
9. "Foto Shokichi Exile Hadir Sebagai Perwakilan Jepang di Asia Song Festival 2014 - Foto 2 dari 30". www.wowkeren.com. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
10. "EXILE SHOKICHI新シングルにPKCZ、三代目JSBのELLY客演". natalie.
11. "「サマソニ」にGENERATIONS、EXILE SHOKICHI初出演". natalie.
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14. "EXILE SHOKICHIの初ソロアルバムにSWAY、クリケイら参加". natalie.
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21. "EXILESHOKICHIが33歳誕生日にソロ新曲発売 AKIRA、弟・八木将康ら祝福メッセージ". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
22. "SHOKICHI史上最高のセクシー詰まった初写真集「BYAKUYA」に新曲封入、ヌードも". natalie.
23. "EXILESHOKICHI「史上最高のセクシーを表現できた」 写真集12・15発売". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
24. "EXILESHOKICHI"セクシー写真集"は「イイ感じの仕上がり」". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
25. "EXILESHOKICHI、2年ぶり新作＆初の単独アリーナツアー決定". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
26. "EXILESHOKICHIが石膏像に!? 2年ぶりソロアルバム新ビジュアル公開". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
27. "EXILE SHOKICHI新作ソロアルバム詳細発表、初回盤にはドキュメンタリー40分収録". natalie.
28. "EXILE SHOKICHIが1114日ぶりにソロアルバム発表、初の単独アリーナツアー開催". natalie.
29. "EXILE SHOKICHIが語る！「このアーティストがヤバい」と思うのは…". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
30. "SALUがLDHに電撃移籍、第1弾シングルにEXILE SHOKICHI参加". natalie.
31. "LDHの異端児・EXILE SHOKICHIが描く未来図「LDHを代表するプロデューサーを目指す」". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
32. "佐藤広大、EXILE SHOKICHI、DEEP KEISEI" (in Japanese). ASWYL Inc & Kodai Sato. Archived from the original on 2016-10-23. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
33. "PROFILE". Exile Official Website (in Japanese). Avex Marketing. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
34. "SHOKICHI、EXILEから3人目のソロデビュー". Music Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha. 10 Apr 2014. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
35. "EXILE SHOKICHI、新曲「君に会うために僕は生まれてきたんだ」配信開始＆MV公開". natalie.
36. "週間 CDアルバムランキング 2019年05月27日付" [Weekly CD Album Ranking on May 27, 2019]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved May 22, 2019.
37. Shokichi (15 Oct 2014). "カップリングのGloryでRapperとして客演させて頂きました!!". Exile Shokichi Official * instagram Account (in Japanese). Instagram. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
38. "MIHIRO～マイロ～コラボベスト新曲でEXILE SHOKICHI共演". natalie.
39. "和田アキ子＆EXILE SHOKICHI、新作収録曲でデュエット". Music Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha. 27 Aug 2015. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
40. "EXILE黒木啓司、金爆ら出演「HiGH&LOW」長編予告第2弾公開". natalie.
41. "佐藤広大、メジャーデビューシングルのカップリング曲は親友・EXILE SHOKICHIから贈られた"友情の歌"" (in Japanese). M-On! Press. 11 Jan 2017. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
42. "MIYAVI対戦型コラボ盤にHYDE、シェネル、EXILE SHOKICHI、三浦大知、ちゃんみなら". natalie.
43. "MIYAVI×EXILE SHOKICHI、明日「スッキリ」でコラボ曲テレビ初披露". natalie.
44. "DOBERMAN INFINITY新曲にSHOKICHI、CRAZYBOYが参加". natalie.
45. "三代目JSB・ELLY、新作ミニアルバム携え初の全国ソロツアーへ". natalie.
46. "CRAZYBOY、ツアー直前に初のベストアルバム「NEOTOKYO FOREVER」". natalie.
47. "SALU、SHOKICHIやJP THE WAVYと戯れるLDH移籍第1弾シングル曲MV". natalie.
48. "SWAY、SHOKICHI、SALUが自然の中で歌うコラボ曲MV公開". natalie.
49. "EXILE、年末シングルは再びATSUSHIソロ曲との両A面". natalie.
50. "EXILE新曲配信企画はメンバーが映像プロデュース、第1弾はAKIRA＆SHOKICHI". natalie.
51. "EXILEがアニメーション化！TETSUYA、世界、大樹プロデュースのリリックビデオ公開". natalie.
52. "「EXILE FRIDAY」ラスト曲はThe Stereotypesプロデュース". natalie.
53. "「お願い!ランキング」より" (in Japanese). TV Asahi. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
54. "EXILE SHOKICHI、リュック・ベッソン最新作で主題歌「本当に光栄」". Music Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha. 27 Aug 2015. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
55. "EXILE TRIBE 男旅". Exile Tribe Otoko Tabi Facebook (in Japanese). Facebook. 30 Mar 2016. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
56. "洋服の青山「AOYAMA PRESTIGE TECHNOLOGY」のCM第8弾に EXILE SHOKICHIとDOBERMAN INFINITY SWAYが登場！新CMは本日よりオンエア！" (in Japanese). Rhythm Zone. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
57. "STV『どさんこワイド』"みらいの応援キャスター"にEXILE SHOKICHI抜擢★" (in Japanese). LDH. 18 Mar 2014. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
58. "【5/17(土)より新番組放送START!!】UHB『EXILE TRIBE男旅』にSHOKICHI出演" (in Japanese). LDH. 26 Apr 2014. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
59. "【TV】2015年4月、SHOKICHI出演番組 UHB『EXILE TRIBE 男旅』SEASON Ⅱスタート!!" (in Japanese). Ex Family. 20 Mar 2015. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
60. "北海道出身の5人が故郷を旅する「EXILE TRIBE 男旅」が映像化". natalie.
61. "「EXILE TRIBE 男旅」BD/DVD第2弾発売、三代目JSB今市隆二ゲスト回や旭岳登頂企画も". natalie.
62. "EXILE SHOKICHI、ゼクシィCM出演＋新曲も". natalie.
63. "【動画】EXILESHOKICHI＆メンディー、スーツ姿でキレキレダンス披露". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
64. "【動画】EXILESHOKICHI、肉体改造で体脂肪7.8％に「自分史上最高」". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
65. "『ザ・モルツ』" (in Japanese). Suntory The Malts. 3 Sep 2015. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
66. "EXILETRIBEメンバーが100人の観客と"大宴会"を開催". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
67. "ニトロBIGZAM、夢見るすべての人に捧げる新曲「I Got a Dream」を配信リリース". natalie.
68. "ATSUSHIが新曲で松坂大輔選手にエールを送る、MVにはEXILEメンバーら豪華ゲスト". natalie.
69. "EXILE TRIBE PERFECT YEAR 2014". Exile Tribe Perfect Year 2014 Official Site (in Japanese). LDH. 10 Feb 2014. Retrieved 5 Feb 2017.
70. "EXILE SHOKICHI LIVE TOUR 2019 "UNDERDOGG"開催決定！" (in Japanese). EXILE Mobile. 2019-02-09. Retrieved 9 Feb 2019.
71. EXILE SHOKICHI:BYAKUYA. Tōkyō: Burūpurinto. 2019. ISBN 9784909852014. OCLC 1079061177.

Notes

1. Alternate version of the song "Loveholic (Exile Shokichi feat. Doberman Infinity).

External links

• Official website at Exile Official Website (in Japanese)
• Official website (in Japanese)