These days an artist must do so much more than just create music to have a sustainable career in the music industry. Shing02's strong work ethic and DIY methods have helped him to tour the world for over two decades so far and he's still just getting going. Much can be learned from his independent hustle and longevity in the industry so I picked his brain via email about how he remains productive and stays inspired with so much on his plate. True to form, Shing02 & The Chee-Hoos have booked their own tour (pro-style independent grind) and will be landing at The Crocodile on March 7 with Cise Starr and Sabyu. Come through and visit us at the merch booth!
Liz Marquis: Who are the The Chee-Hoos and how did your collaboration begin? What can we expect from a Shing02 & The Chee-Hoos show?
Shing02: The Chee-Hoos is the name of our live band, consisting of musicians that are close friends of mine from Honolulu. The members are Dae Han (drums), Wil Tafolo (bass), Nicholas Kaleikini (sax), Alika Lyman (guitar / currently based in NY), Spin Master A-1 (turntables) and myself for the Seattle show. Since they are all very versatile you’re going to see a lot of live improvisations and dynamic interactions of our hiphop set. We’re also having Cise Starr open for us so you can expect a little collaboration with the band too.
Dex Amora, Shing02, & Spin Master A-1 outside their Sold Out show at Barboza February 2016 -Photo by Me
Liz Marquis: How did you get involved with the Samurai Champloo series and in what ways did the success of “Battlecry” change your life?
Shing02: The anime was offered to me through Nujabes right before 2004 when it first aired, when I was living in Oakland. At the time all I knew was that this was going to be a late-night offering in Japan, so I never imagined it would be syndicated Stateside or that it would ever be a hit. I knew through my friends like Del (the Funky Homosapien) that Cowboy Bebop had a cult following and Shinichiro Watanabe (the director) already was known, so that should have been an indication, but I wasn’t really hip to it. So we ended up recording a Japanese version of the opening song over an instrumental that became “Horizon” on Nujabes’ album but somehow it got nixed. Then we were asked to do an English version and Nujabes sent me the beat for Battlecry. I thought it was dark and abstract but since I have a Samurai background in my ancestry and I also had a friend who is a sword-smith in Japan, I just wrote to it and the rest is history… Now I have 20-something kids coming up to me saying “I used to watch the show when I was 9!"
Liz Marquis: Other than Samurai Champloo, how did your friendship with Nujabes affect your art while he was alive and after his passing?
Shing02: I always say in interviews that our bond was strongest on record, and it remains true after his passing. Although the Luv(sic) series is written in a style that is in character and full of idioms and such, my life experience is poured in there. A lot of things remain unsaid even today and what’s so hard to verbalize we can still express with music.
Liz Marquis: How did you end up in Hawaii and what is the Hip Hop scene like?
Shing02: To be completely honest, it was the climate and the community. Or the other way around. I almost moved to NYC but I did a 180 from LA and ended up in Honolulu. The hiphop scene is awesome with so much talent that’s not limited to a genre and also the art scene that we all contribute to is amazing also. We just wrapped the annual Pow!Wow! festival in Honolulu and it was a mad house for 10 days, plus cleaning up and finally settling back into normalcy.
Liz Marquis: How has social media changed the way you promote your music? On which platforms are you most active? Are there any differences to promoting your music in the US vs. other countries?
Shing02: I think having social media as an artist or any modern business is a must, especially if you’re trying to promote. At the same time, if you don’t have constant traffic coming to you like a celebrity it’s definitely a challenge to stay connected even with your followers. Just because you have a certain number of people following you it doesn’t mean anything, it’s safe to say maybe 10% will read what you put out and 5% will click on your links. I personally hate the algorithms that filter feeds and take your followers hostage that you have to pay in order to reach them! Have I said too much? I don’t think so. I refuse to pay to promote that way and I’m also behind on streaming, etc. Having said all that, I do post on most major platforms mostly in English now (with occasional Japanese on twitter). I think for the most part you have to keep reaching out, but also let people come to you, like a shop.
Liz Marquis: One of my favorite things about you is that you are very hands-on with your career. How do you create opportunities for yourself and/or have you worked with any record labels in the past who have helped to guide you?
Shing02: I’ve never had a manager or booking agent, and that’s really worked out because we have great relationships with promoters and venues (and festivals) that support us. I appreciate the support we get and also the audience that seems to be growing still. In Japan I’ve worked with the label Mary Joy Recordings that have released most of my Japanese albums, and I’ve worked with scores of artists in collaboration, but I’m basically independent with what I do. = )
Liz Marquis: Do you have any advice for others hoping to create sustainable careers from their art? Any methods for staying productive and keeping yourself inspired?
Shing02: I’m still going through it daily, but my whole motto is "you never know what’s around the corner until you work to get to that point". People are always watching not only your output, but how you work. No opportunities will come your way unless you create your own and put yourself in that position, whether through networking or investing the necessary time and energy. My method of staying inspired has been to be the jack-of-all-trades but that can get exhausting if you’re not focused enough to keep your priorities straight. To be honest, I always feel like I’m several albums behind with my career, but it’s been over 20 years that way. Also the biggest conundrum is that the harder your work, you realize that you have less time to do the things you want to accomplish. Ultimately you should understand that time is the most precious resource in life and that you shouldn’t be wasting it on things you’ll eventually forget about.
Liz Marquis: I saw that you studied Art at UC Berkeley. [Don't believe everything you read kids] Do you have any other creative outlets other than music?
Shing02: I have a BS in EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), not art. Although I never programmed outside of school, that degree totally helped me in the way I formulate my thinking and approach anything from producing beats to engineering instruments (such as Vestax Faderboard). I have so many ideas that never became a reality but I could have pursued the engineer’s path as well. Last year, as a rebellion against digital culture I started making handmade resin figures called Wabyshaka. You can catch the progress on instagram.com/wabyshaka and I’ve already made over 200 that’s in shops and exhibits now... It all sounds ridiculous looking back but I feel like starting new projects with the same work ethic has opened new doors for me and I love the fact that people like my work not knowing that I rap. (the discovery comes later. lol) I let people connect the dots and by the time people see the big picture, hopefully I’ve moved on to something new.
LizMarquis: What’s next for you and The Chee-Hoos after the tour?
Shing02: I already put it out there that I will finish a new English album (collab project “S8102" with super-producer sauce81 from Japan), and a Japanese album that I’ve put on hold for 10years. Thanks for the great interview questions and I look forward to the show at the Crocodile!