Wakadanna

Overview

Wakadanna (若旦那, born April 6, 1976) is a Japanese musician and a member of the reggae group Shonan no Kaze (湘南乃風). Born in Setagaya, Tokyo, he has also performed solo under his real name, Shinji Nira (新羅慎二), since November 2018. Beyond music, he is active as an actor, radio personality and TV host. He names Masashi Sada as the person he respects most.

Career

Early years and Shonan no Kaze

As a teenager he hung out with delinquents in Shibuya's Center Gai; after losing a conflict with a rival group and sensing his limits, he went on to run a reggae bar in Shonan. After a chance reunion in Chigasaki with SHOCK EYE, an acquaintance from junior high and high school, he joined INFINITY16 in 2000, but left the group the same year together with SHOCK EYE. In 2001 he formed Shonan no Kaze with RED RICE, HAN-KUN and GOKI (now GOKIGEN SOUND, who left in 2002) and launched the indie label 134LABEL.

Solo career

On December 15, 2010, he founded the new label Tank Top Records under Avex, and made his solo debut on January 26, 2011 with the single "Inochi Sakura no Kioku" (いのち ～桜の記憶～). He followed with "Mamoru Beki Mono" (May 2011), "Toy box" with JAY'ED (August 2011), "TASUKI/Aozora" (October 2011), "Anata no Egao wa Sekai de Ichiban Utsukushii" (November 2011), "Haru Ichiban" (February 2012), "Ore ga Ore ga Sekaijuu ga Teki ni Nattemo / Haru Ichiban" (April 2012) and "LOVERS" (October 2012). His album "LIFE IS MOUNTAIN" was released on September 13, 2013 (September 11).

Collaborations, production and songwriting

He has featured on Miliyah Kato's "LALALA feat. Wakadanna" (2007) and "LOVERS part II feat. Wakadanna" (2012), JAMOSA's "BOND Kizuna" (2010) and "Nanika Hitotsu" with JAY'ED (2011), BES's "Komugi LOVE" with May J. (2012), and several INFINITY16 releases. As a songwriter, he wrote lyrics for Kanjani Eight's "King of Otoko!" (2014) and both lyrics and music for Johnny's WEST's "Gingakei" (2021). His production credits include the official song for Hato Bus's 70th anniversary, "GO GO Shiawase wo Hakobu Kiiroi Bus" (2019), and the team song "SHARKS say YES" (December 18, 2024) for the rugby team Shimizu Construction Koto Blue Sharks.

Acting and media

In 2017 he made a full-fledged acting debut in the TBS drama "Gekokujo Juken". That year he also appeared in "Ai o Kou Hito", "Minshu no Teki" and several WOWOW dramas, followed by "Mirror Twins" (2019) and "Fugitive" (2020). His films include "Kage ni Dakarete Nemure" (2019), "Haiiro no Kabe -Omiya Notorious-" (2022) and "Kimi ga Saigo ni Nokoshita Uta" (2026), and he has appeared in the V-Cinema series "Nihon Toitsu". On stage he performed in "Ay Sonezaki Shinju" (2018) and "Shin Tsumi to Batsu" (2019). He has hosted regular radio programs such as FM COCOLO's "Bokura wa Kaikyo wo Wataru" and served as MC of the BS Nippon TV programming show (2019–2020). He also contributed to the manga "Center Shibuya Furyo Domei".

Personal life

On November 18, 2007, he registered his marriage to reggae artist MINMI; they had two sons and a daughter, and announced their divorce on February 28, 2016.

Musical style

A reggae-rooted J-POP artist, Wakadanna builds on the reggae sound he developed with Shonan no Kaze, and in his solo work has explored a wide range of collaborations with artists such as JAY'ED and Miliyah Kato. He writes lyrics and music himself and also provides songs to other artists.