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Sway (Japanese rapper)

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Sway
野替 愁平
Sway from "jam" at Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018
Born
Shuhei Nogae

(1986-06-09) June 9, 1986 (age 38)
Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan
Occupation(s)Rapper, lyricist, actor, producer
Years active2012 – present
AgentLDH
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Musical career
GenresRap, Hip hop music
LabelsToy's Factory (2014–2017)
Def Jam Recordings (2017–present)
Websitehttps://sway-official.jp/

Shuhei Nogae (野替愁平, Nogae Shuhei, born June 9, 1986), better known with his stage name "SWAY" is a Japanese rapper, actor, lyricist and producer managed by LDH and signed to Def Jam Recordings. He is a member of the group Doberman Infinity, of EXILE's theater company (Gekidan EXILE) and is also a soloist.

Early life

[edit]

Shuhei Nogae was born on June 9, 1986, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Growing up, Shuhei was a huge fan of basketball, especially the NBA. He would regularly buy the sports magazine Hoop and at one point, he read an article about Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant doing some rapping. Since they were his idols during his junior high school years, he became interested in rap music and hip-hop culture.[1] For this reason he started singing and DJing as a hobby.[2] In the 3rd grade of junior high school, he started learning graphic design[3][4] and break dance besides his other activities.[5] He also produced a dance track, wrote lyrics and started to rap.

At the age of 16, his mindset changed and he became serious about a career as a rapper after watching the movie 8 Mile.[6] The impact of the movie led him to choose a stage name by searching through an English-Japanese dictionary. The word 'sway' stuck with him since its sound was close to his birth name and he also liked the meaning. However, he faced a huge problem starting as a rapper: He didn't know what he should write about in his lyrics and felt like his experiences didn't matter since his life had been so different from the American rappers he listened to. He overcame this obstacle by realizing there were also famous rappers who talked about fairly normal things in their lyrics, such as Kanye West for example.[1]

Sway formed a group called Wild Style with his close friend Shokichi when he was 17[7][8] and they performed together during their late teens[9] until Sway moved to Toronto, Canada where he lived and studied for two years from 19 to 21 years old[3] while doing various part-time jobs including waiting tables at a Japanese restaurant.[1]

After returning to Hokkaido, he worked at a clothing store while rapping in the evenings. Despite enjoying both jobs, he envisioned his future differently. In his mid-twenties, he decided to move to Tokyo and perform there at clubs. During that time, Shokichi, who was now a member of famous J-Pop boygroup Exile, called him and stated he wanted to make music together again. Therefore they wrote three songs and Shokichi presented them to Exile leader Hiroyuki Igarashi who approved of their work.[1]

Career

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Subsequently, Sway signed with LDH, the company founded by Exile.

In August 2012, he debuted as an actor in the stage play Attack No. 1 and in September, he joined Gekidan Exile (Exile's theater company). Since then he started to work both in music and acting.

In June 2014, he joined the group Doberman Infinity. Two years later in April 2016, he also joined the hip-hop group Honest Boyz.[10]

On September 16, 2017, he announced his major solo debut with single "Manzana", which was released on November 1 under Universal Music Japan's sub-label Def Jam Recordings. On November 11, Sway formed the creative unit "N0IR (Noir)".[11]

On August 29, 2018, he released his debut album titled Unchained. On December 12, 2018, he announced that he would use "Sway" also during acting activities that used his real name.[12]

Participating groups

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Group Period
Gekidan Exile (September 2012 – present)
Doberman Infinity (June 2014 – present)
Honest Boyz (April 2016 – present)
N0IR (November 2017 – present)

Discography

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Studio albums

[edit]
Year Title Release date Chart positions
Oricon
Albums
Chart
2012 The S June 15 –
2018 Unchained August 29 11

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Release date Chart positions Album
Oricon
Singles
Chart 		Billboard
Japan
Hot 100[13]
2017 "Manzana" November 1 5 16[14] Unchained

Digital singles

[edit]
Year Title Release date Album Ref.
2018 "Perfect Love" July 18 Unchained
"Never Say Goodbye" August 22
2019 "Chocolate" (チョコレート) February 14 [15]
"On Fire" October 10
"Angels" December 18 [16]

Participating works

[edit]
Year Release date Song Artist and Album
2009 December 2 I Like It feat. SWAY Hiromi "Hot Chocolate"
2013 February 27 Cazal feat. SWAY & YOU THE ROCK☆ DJ Ken Watanabe "Cazal feat. SWAY & YOU THE ROCK☆"
August 7 Summer Vacation feat. SWAY Klooz "Summer Vacation feat. SWAY"
2014 March 5 Signal Fire feat. SWAY Exile The Second "HE II AGE"
March 5 Movie Star feat. SWAY Super Sonic "SCRATCH YOUR WORLD"
March 26 S.A.K.U.R.A. Sandaime J Soul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE "S.A.K.U.R.A."
April 9 Amazing Girl feat. SWAY Koudai Sato "Magic Carpet Ride"
June 4 BACK TO THE FUTURE / EXILE Shokichi feat. VERBAL (M-Flo) & SWAY Exile Shokichi "BACK TO THE FUTURE"
THE ANTHEM / EXILE SHOKICHI, DOBERMAN INC, SWAY, ELLY (Sandaime J Soul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE)
June 11 LIGHTS Sway × Hiyadam "LIGHTS"
June 18 Organ Donor 〜OFF DA HOOK〜 / DJ Makidai feat. Generations from Exile Tribe & SWAY DJ Makidai from Exile "EXILE TRIBE PERFECT MIX"
August 6 Pop!! feat. SHUN, SWAY, KLOOZ / KEN THE 390 V.A. "DREAM BOY BEST MIX vol.1- MIXED BY DJ HIRORON"
October 22 Rock the party feat. SWAY, Staxx T(CREAM), APOLLO, Kotobuki-Kun, KIRA Shimotaku "Rock the party feat. SWAY, Staxx T(CREAM), APOLLO, Kotobuki-Kun, KIRA"
December 10 WANNA SAY feat. SWAY & MATT CAB Jolly-Tip a.k.a DJ Keizi "WANNA SAY feat. SWAY & MATT CAB"
2015 January 14 ONE feat. SWAY & Koudai Sato Jolly-Tip a.k.a DJ Keizi "JOLLY-TIP STORY"
May 20 Call Your Name feat. SWAY Matt Cab "Call Your Name feat. SWAY"
September 9
 Orenojikan (feat. SWAY) MAD "Orenojikan (feat. SWAY)"
September 16 REVOLUTION (PKCZ Remix feat. SWAY) Crystal Kay feat. Namie Amuro "REVOLUTION"
September 16 Heart Breaker feat. SWAY Thelma Aoyama "GRAY SMOKE"
2016 April 27 Rock City feat. SWAY & Crystal Kay Exile Shokichi "THE FUTURE"
June 15 MIGHTY WARRIORS / PKCZ feat. CRAZYBOY, ANARCHY, SWAY, MIGHTY CROWN (MASTA SIMON & SAMI-T V.A. "HiGH&LOW ORIGINAL BEST ALBUM"
FUNK JUNGLE / ANARCHY, SWAY & CRAZYBOY
BBFL / SWAY & ANARCHY
2017 February 24 CLAPTIME feat. ANARCHY, VERBAL, SWAY, DABO Crazyboy "NEOTOKYO EP"
August 2 Beauty Mark feat. Hiroomi Tosaka, SWAY PKCZ "360° ChamberZ"
Mighty Warriors (Album Ver) feat. Afrojack, Crazyboy, Anarchy, Sway, Mighty Warriors (MASTA SIMON&SAMI-T)
August 30 Baby Baby Baby feat. SWAY Koudai Sato "Baby Baby Baby feat. SWAY"
October 25 Dream Boys Mighty Warriors "HiGH&LOW THE MIGHTY WARRIORS"
Good Life
2018 January 19 Alive feat. SWAY Crazyboy "NEOTOKYO III EP"
September 19 Kissing Pt.2 feat. SWAY Cream "Sounds Good"
2019 January 19 RUN 100 feat. Miliyah Kato & Sway Run The Floor "RUN 100 feat. Miliyah Kato & Sway"
November 6 Superstar V.A. "Another Voice -Full Of Harmony Tribute Album-"

Lyrics

[edit]
Song Artist
FUNK JUNGLE Anarchy, Sway & Crazyboy
Heartbreaker Thelma Aoyama
REVOLUTION (PKCZ Remix feat. SWAY) Crystal Kay
24WORLD Exile Tribe
BACK TO THE FUTURE EXILE Shokichi
#HOTLINE
Loveholic
Rock City
THE ANTHEM
Signal Fire feat. SWAY Exile The Second
S.A.K.U.R.A. Sandaime Jsoul Brothers
Rock The Party feat. SWAY, Staxx T(CREAM), APOLLO, Kotobuki-kun, KIRA Shimotaku
BBFL Sway & Anarchy

Live

[edit]
Period Title Ref.
From December 12, 2018 to January 27, 2019 SWAY "LIVE SHOWCASE 2018 UNCHAINED" [17]

Filmography

[edit]

Movies

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Director Ref.
2013 Aragure Satoshi Yamagachi Hajime Gonno
2014 Aragure II ROPPONGI v.s. SHIBUYA
Crows Explode Kenichi Kadozumi Toshiaki Toyoda
Hot Road Akane Takahiro Miki
2016 Road to High & Low Pearl Sigeaki Kubo
High & Low The Movie
2017 High&Low The Movie 2 / End of Sky
High&Low The Movie 3 / Final Mission
2018 Jam Minatochu Sabu
2019 Manriki Yasuhiko Shimizu [18]
2021 Struggling Man Toshio Lee [19]
2024 Silent Love Eiji Uchida [20]

TV Dramas

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Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2012 Sugarless Isami Morita NTV
2013 Kamen Teacher Jiro Inukami NTV (ep.10–12)
2015 Senryokugai Sousakan Teppei Tokui (Ponzara) NTV 2 hours special
Wild Heroes NTV Lead role
High & Low The Story of S.W.O.R.D. Pearl NTV
2016 High & Low Season 2 Pearl NTV
2018 Kiss Shitai Matsuge Toshimitsu Saijo Fuji TV Lead role [21]

Stage

[edit]
Year Title Ref.
2012 Hounangumi x Gekidan EXILE "Attack No. 1"
BS – TBS shūkaku-sai
2013 Gekidan EXILE performance "SADAKO ~ birth sad story ~
GEKIDAN EXILE "Attack No.1"
2014 Karuseoraria
Gekidan EXILE Attack No. 1 Spin-off reading play
Gekidan EXILE "THE mensetsu"
2016 Hounangumi presents reading play "Aitakute..."
2020 Gekidan Exile "Yusha no Tame ni Kane wa Naru / The Bell Rings for the Brave"

CM

[edit]
Year Title Ref.
2016 Youfuku no Aoyama "Summer Suits" [22]

Commercials

[edit]
Year Title Ref.
2017 Vanilla air Hakodate PR poster [23]
Reebook [24]
AdamHavve by schopfung 2018 Spring / Summer "SUPERNATURAL POWER" Brand Promotion Video [25]
2019 G-Star Raw Japan "G-Star Raw Elwood × N0IR" Promotion movie series

Voice Acting

[edit]
Year Title Role Ref.
2017 HiGH&LOW g-sword Animation DVD Special Edition Pearl

Music Videos

[edit]
Year Artist Title Ref.
2014 Sandaime J Soul Brothers S.A.K.U.R.A.
EXILE Shokichi BACK TO THE FUTURE
2016 EXILE Shokichi Rock City feat. SWAY & Crystal Kay
2017 Bigzam I Got a Dream
2018 EXILE Shokichi Underdog [26]
2019 Noritake Kinashi GG STAND UP!! feat. Takahiro Matsumoto [27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "That Sway Style: The Rapper and Actor on Working With Pharrell Williams and Finding His Voice". Tokyo Weekender. September 6, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "SWAY「MANZANA」インタビュー｜TuneGate.me". tunegate.me. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "SWAY | BILLY'S Meet Tokyo Creator VOL.27｜BILLY'S Online". www.billys-tokyo.net. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  4. ^ "進路を親に反対されたら... DOBERMAN INFINITYのメンバー全員に高校生インタビュー". U-18 | ウルトラ18 by ch FILES (in Japanese). August 30, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "自分自身をアンチェインし、強くしてくれた...SWAY 1stアルバム『UNCHAINED』インタビュー". mu-moステーション. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "ソロデビューのDOBERMAN INFINITY・SWAY"15年越しの夢"語る 1年半の肉体改造で「30代のエロス」表現＜モデルプレスインタビュー＞ – モデルプレス". モデルプレス – ライフスタイル・ファッションエンタメニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "【インタビュー】DOBERMAN INFINITYのSWAYがソロデビュー！ 盟友・EXILE SHOKICHIも援護射撃". ライブドアニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "EXILE SHOKICHIが語る、音楽ルーツと変わらぬ情熱 「ストリートの空気を吸収できたのは大きな財産」". Real Sound｜リアルサウンド (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  9. ^ "「攻めたものを作りたい」という想いを込め、違うスタイルのラップを披露したSWAYのソロデビュー". Men'sJOKER PREMIUM | メンズファッション雑誌 (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "EXILENAOTO、ラップに初挑戦". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  11. ^ "【11/11(土)AM10:00より発売開始！】SWAY クリエイティブユニット『N0IR』結成！第一弾プロジェクト・コラボレーションシューズ「CLUB C 85 SWAY」 | NEWS". LDH mobile (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. ^ "役者ＳＷＡＹが斎藤工と共演で始動、野替愁平は封印 – シネマ : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  13. ^ "Japanese Music: Top Japanese Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  14. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100.The week of November 18, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  15. ^ "【Teaser Unveiled!!】SWAY will release his single "CHOCOLATE" on 2/14 (Thu.) | NEWS (ALL) | LDH – LOVE DREAM HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD -". www.ldh.co.jp. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  16. ^ "SWAY's new single "Angels" is available on digital music services from today!". www.ldh.co.jp. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  17. ^ "SWAY 'LIVE SHOWCASE 2018 UNCHAINED'開催決定！". LDH mobile (in Japanese). Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  18. ^ "SWAY appearing in the movie "MANRIKI" scheduled for release in 2019! | LDH – LOVE DREAM HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD -". www.ldh.co.jp. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  19. ^ "私はいったい、何と闘っているのか". eiga.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  20. ^ "サイレントラブ". eiga.com. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  21. ^ "【Episode 3 on air from 23:30 on 3/20 (Tue.)】Shuhei Nogae / SWAY appearing in Fuji TV's "KISS Shitai Matsuge"! DOBERMAN INFINITY's new song "Harukaze" has been chosen as the background music! | NEWS (ALL) | LDH – LOVE DREAM HAPPINESS TO THE WORLD -". www.ldh.co.jp. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  22. ^ MUSIC(エムオンミュージック), 音楽WEBメディア M.-ON!. "EXILE SHOKICHI＆DOBERMAN INFINITY・SWAY、洋服の青山CMで夏スーツ姿に". 音楽WEBメディア M-ON! MUSIC(エムオンミュージック) (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  23. ^ "函館の魅力をSWAYが紹介！成田空港にてポスターを展示". バニラエア Vanilla Air – 国内 海外のLCC 格安航空券 飛行機の検索･予約 (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  24. ^ LDH. "We are D.I -DOBERMAN INFINITY OFFICIAL FAN CLUB-". We are D.I -DOBERMAN INFINITY OFFICIAL FAN CLUB-. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  25. ^ "今旬のラップアーティスト、SWAY(DOBERMAN INFINITY),SALU,JP THE WAVY出演！「AdamHavve by schopfung」がブランド..." atpress.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  26. ^ "ラッパーのBIGZAMが新曲を配信 MVにはEXILE SHOKICHI、Swayや豪華アスリートら出演 – CDJournal ニュース". cdjournal.com (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  27. ^ 木梨憲武「GG STAND UP!! feat. 松本孝弘」Music Video (Short Ver.), retrieved November 10, 2019
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