Suga Shikao
| Shikao Suga | |
|---|---|
| Native name | スガ シカオ |
| Born |
July 28, 1966 Hino, Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | J-pop, pop rock, funk rock, soul, smooth jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality, actor |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels |
Universal/Mercury/Kitty MME (1997–2003) Augusta/BMG Japan/Ariola Japan (2003–2011) Victor/Speedstar (2013–present) |
| Associated acts | Fukumimi, Kokua |
| Website | Shikao Suga Official Website |
Shikao Suga (スガ シカオ Suga Shikao, born July 28, 1966) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter from Tokyo known for writing the theme songs for several anime, movies and commercial ads. His name is 菅 止戈男. Suga (菅) is his family name and Shikao (止戈男) is his given name. He uses the katakana (スガ Suga シカオ Shikao) equivalent of his name as his professional name.
He went to Kosei Gakuen Male High School () in Suginami, Tokyo, where he saw his interest in music start to grow.
After graduating from Tokyo Keizai University in 1989, he worked as a "salaryman" for four years in the advertisement industry.
By 1993 he had set his mind on becoming a musician. He already had a number of lyrics written. But, by that time, his age was something that didn't help. Most Japanese singers start their careers in their teens. Suga was in his late twenties. He decided to give it a try and, after struggling for someone to pick him, he made his first indie single, "0101", which he released using his birth name in kanji.
After 2 years struggling to have a major recording label, he was signed up by Office Augusta. His debut single "Hit Chart o Kakenukero" (ヒットチャートをかけぬけろ) opened up a world of possibilities. His EP album Clover, released in 1997, shows his J-Pop music has jazz, funk and soul influence. His work in Office Augusta began displaying his name in katakana, which continues today.
Yozora no Mukō, the song he wrote the lyrics to, and was sung by SMAP, has appeared in several Japanese music textbooks. Both SMAP's "Yozora no Mukō" (1998) and KAT-TUN's Real Face (2006) either debuted at or reached quickly the top spot in the Oricon charts, and sold over 1 million units each, making the name of Shikao Suga known all around the country
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