According to Patrick Neate, his music "has addressed important issues from Japanese ethnicity to sexual exploitation to the education system.

"[1] Due in part to growing up in Western cities, Shing02 stands as one of the few multilingual rappers from Japan able to compose songs entirely in either Japanese or English.

[2] His rhyming style makes use of lyrics which are largely conceptual in nature and his hip-hop sound is known for blending various influences, ranging from reggae to traditional Japanese music to jazz.

At the age of fourteen, Shing02 moved to Menlo Park in the San Francisco Bay Area of California just following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, where he became involved in various creative arts programs.

[2][4] Living in the Oakland and San Francisco Bay Area, he became immersed in the hip-hop scene amongst direct descendants of members of civil rights movement groups such as the Black Panthers and Asian American activists.