SKY-HI

Japanese singer, rapper, and dancer Mitsuhori “SKY-HI” Hidaka rose to fame as a member of the J-pop supergroup AAA. He went on to launch a fruitful solo career as a genre-blending hip-hop artist. • Inspired by the Japanese rap group Rhymester, Hidaka began making music in junior high. By high school, he’d joined AAA (Attack All Around). • In 2005, the group issued their debut single “Blood On Fire,” which earned them the Best Newcomer Award at the Japan Record Awards. • Simultaneously, Hidaka began his solo career as an underground battle rapper. He soon became a member of hip-hop trio Mother Ninja, though they disbanded after the release of 2007’s Spontaneous. • Hidaka delivered his debut solo album, Trickster, in 2014. The hit single “Ai Bloom” won him an award for Best Hip-Hop Video at MTV’s VMAJ. • His 2016 album Catharsis hit No. 5 on the Oricon Albums Chart. His follow-ups Olive (2017) and Japrison (2018) also made the Top 10. • In September 2020, Hidaka issued his SKY-HI’s THE BEST series, a collection of his best pop, rap, and collaboration singles—plus six new songs.