Rapper SKY-HI at Troubadour

Popular Japanese rapper SKY-HI (aka Mitsuhiro Hidaka) will make two stops in the U.S. for the SKY-HI Round A Ground 2017 tour.

SKY-HI

In addition, he will make a special appearance at a new anime convention, Anime NYC, on Nov. 17.

North American tour dates:

Sunday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) at the Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Tickets: www.ticketfly.com/event/1581171-sky-hi-round-ground-2017-la-los-angeles/

Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) at SOB’s (Sounds of Brazil), 204 Varick St., New York City. Tickets: http://sobs.com/2017/10752/sky-hi

For more info about SKY-HI’s appearance at Anime NYC, go to http://animenyc.com/guests-nyc/sky-hi/

Starting his career in 2005 as a member of the idol group AAA, Hidaka simultaneously launched his solo career under the name SKY-HI. He roamed around the club scene of Tokyo, participating in rap battles undercover from his pop career.

In 2012, SKY-HI launched the critically acclaimed “Floatin’ Lab” project, where he collaborated with other artists, releasing a CD in response to the success. SKI-HI was awarded the Woofi’n Award in 2012 for best rapper for his musical collaborations with artists such as KREVA and a multi-city tour across Japan.

In 2013, SKY-HI made his major debut, and in March of the following year, he released his first album, “Trickster.” In the same year, he won MTV’s VMAJ for best hip-hop video. His skills and refined musical tastes have transcended genres and have now claimed attention from the rock and subculture scenes.

In 2015, SKI-HI accomplished a nine-city, nine-show, country-wide tour called Ride My Limo, which more than 10,000 people attended. In response to the high demand, three additional shows were hosted at the famous ZEPP halls. For these shows, SKY-HI himself produced the band’s sounds, staging, and lighting, integrating a live band and a group of dancers he called Super Flyers. From this tour, big bands have become a symbol in SKY-HI’s solo tours.

In January 2016, his second album, “Catharsis,” was released, showcasing SKY-HI’s eccentric musical tastes and his storytelling ability as a lyricist.

From the following month, he completed his first seven-city, cross-nation music hall tour, called SKY-HI Hall Tour 2016 Find Ms. Liberty. A choir accompanied his performances, and the tour was a sold-out success. This tour gained SKY-HI industry-wide recognition for his unique entertainment style and contributed to his appearances at multiple large-scale music festivals. Since 2016, he has been touring around smaller venues in his Live House Tour and sharing the stage with other artists under the name Round a Ground.

SKY-HI’s third solo album, “Olive,” was released last January. It transcended his name as a singer-songwriter outside of the music industry. In March, the 13-city, 15-show SKY-HI Hall Tour 2017 Welive was announced. He played two shows at the celebrated Budokan venue.

SKY-HI credits his musical inspirations to world music and strives to produce globally competitive sounds. When Mark Ronson visited Japan, they both sat in an interview and discussed their shared views on their music. SKI-Hi’s 24-show world tour, includes performances in Paris, London, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan.

On the Web: http://avex.jp/skyhi/index.php (Japanese only)