Although best known for his iconic contributions to video game scores, TV shows, and tokusatsu soundtracks, Hironobu Kageyama is also an accomplished solo artist who began releasing music of his own during the early 1980s. He was born on February 18, 1961, in Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka. Lazy, his first band, was formed during the early 1970s and debuted with the single "Hey! I Love You!" in July 1977. Although the group broke up in 1981, Lazy would go on to reform in 1997 and tour sporadically throughout the 2000s, 2010s, and early 2020s, releasing new music along the way. Meanwhile, Kageyama made his solo debut with 1981's Broken Heart and began singing songs for anime productions as the decade progressed. He memorably sang the opening and closing themes of the popular TV program Dengeki Sentai Changeman under the pseudonym "Kage." In 1989, he also performed the Dragon Ball Z theme, "Cha-La Head-Cha-La," which became a perennial hit that sold nearly two million copies in Japan alone. Meanwhile, his own material proved to be popular throughout the subsequent decades, too, with the 1993 single "Suki Suki Suki" earning a gold certification and a steady stream of albums — including 2000's I'm In You., 2007's 30years3ounce, and 2022's Hangeki no o Uchi Rock (反撃のおうちロック) — all maintaining his momentum. In 2024, he debuted at number 48 on the Top 50 Oricon chart with another hit single, "聖闘士星矢 聖闘士神話 ～ソルジャー·ドリーム～/夢旅人."
