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Artist
Hisao Shinagawa
12+ albums
folkreggaepoliticalprotest musicfrom: japan
about
Hisao Shinagawa is a Japanese-born folk singer currently living in the U.S. His songs consist of Shinagawa singing and playing acoustic guitar. The lyrics vary greatly in subject matter, but usually cover American society and political issues, like his song "Free Mumia Abu Jamal." His songs are unmistakable, as Shinagawa has a very strong accent and a very unique way of piecing together the English language, which can make him difficult to understand. Shinagawa came to America in 1974, not fluent in English, but still hoping to become the "Japanese Bob Dylan," adopting a style similar to simple singer-songwriter folk music like his role model Woody Guthrie. Drifting around the United States and playing guitar, he befriended Johnny Cash and Townes Van Zandt after hitchhiking to Nashville. The now 60-year-old Shinagawa has never found commercial success with his music. As a result of his quest, he lives a simple life bordering on poverty in Los Angeles, selling his music at farmers markets and on the street. Shinagawa's daily life was the subject of Director Masahiro Sugano's 1997 short film HISAO, which won several awards and led to a full-length documentary about Shinagawa directed by Peter I. Chang called "I Want to Destroy America" released in 2008. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
