Cocona

Cocona (心那) is a rapper and vocalist in XG, the seven-member Japanese group under XGALX and Avex. Born Akiyama Kokona (秋山心響) on December 6, 2005, in Tokyo, Japan, they were the third member revealed on January 31, 2022, ahead of XG's debut that March. Cocona's path to XG ran through Avex's competitive talent development system. They received the Jury's Special Award in the 2017 Kirachare Vocal category and won the 2018 Kira Challe audition in the singing category, performing "Haru Haru" by BIGBANG. They went on to study at Avex Artist Academy Tokyo and became a member of its project group A-CE, honing skills across singing, rapping, and dancing simultaneously. A childhood friend of fellow member Maya, their bond predates XG. Fluent in Korean, Cocona draws from a wide set of influences: Lauryn Hill, Tyler, The Creator, and Keyshia Cole are the artists they cite as most formative. The combination of hip-hop instinct and emotive vocal delivery is central to their role in XG's X-POP genre framework. MBTI INFJ, with a preference for green and an open, curious personality well documented in the group's behind-the-scenes content. On their 20th birthday, December 6, 2025, Cocona came out as transmasculine non-binary in a public statement on social media, also revealing they had undergone top surgery earlier that year. The announcement made them one of the most prominent openly trans artists in the Japanese music industry.