Nigö (ニゴー, Nigō, born Tomoaki Nagao (長尾 智明) on December 23, 1970) is a Japanese fashion designer, disc jockey (DJ), record producer and entrepreneur.
[6] The sneaker resembles Nike's Air Force 1 design,[7] but instead of the swoosh on the side, it has Nigo's Bapesta logo, a star with a lightning bolt extending out of it.
In 2003, Nigo partnered with Pharrell Williams to create and launch the streetwear brands Billionaire Boys Club[8] and Ice Cream footwear.
Nigo's first involvement with music was playing in punk cover band Tokyo Sex Pistols while at university, alongside fellow fashion figures Hiroshi Fujiwara, Jun Takahashi and Hikaru Iwanaga.
[4] Nigo collaborated with James Lavelle, creating a compilation called A Bathing Ape vs Mo Wax, which was released in Japan in 1997.
[4] The following year saw the Japanese release of Nigo's debut album, Ape Sounds, on which he showcased a blend of trip-hop, dub, indie rock, and psychedelic pop.
[4] Soon after the establishment of Billionaire Boys Club, Nigo formed rap group Teriyaki Boyz alongside Ilmari, Ryo-Z, Verbal, and Wise.
[4] On April 15, 2016, the Japanese company LDH announced that a new Hip-Hop unit named HONEST BOYZ® would be produced as a joint project of Nigo and EXILE and 三代目 J SOUL BROTHERS member NAOTO since they had been long term friends and often worked on designing clothes together.
In November of the same year, the unit released a music video for the unreleased song "TOKYO DIP" featuring American artist Pharrell Williams on their official YouTube channel.
The music video, directed by Nigo, was shot in Shibuya and Nakameguro, and also features cameo appearances by Sano Reo and Iwata Takanori.
In 2019, the unit provided the unreleased song "ELECTRICITY" featuring American Hip-Hop artist Lil Uzi Vert as the ending theme of the movie Detective Pikachu.
The album includes guest appearances from Tyler, the Creator, Clipse, Gunna, Teriyaki Boyz, ASAP Ferg, Pusha T, Lil Uzi Vert, and the late Pop Smoke.