Daily Inspiration: Meet Shannin “Shining Rae” Watkins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannin “Shining Rae” Watkins.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up as an inquisitive artistic only child in an amazing musical family with a brilliant dad who played in a band and church as a keyboardist. He’s so talented his nickname is “Gold Fingers.” Every day I woke up to him playing the piano or keyboard. He also worked a high-level government job that involved a lot of travel. I have a cousin named 1 Luv in a legendary hip hop band (Arrested Development), a mom who sings and plays guitar but also worked as a nurse executive and educator. She is a true hero and has the heart and spirit of an Angel. She is loved by so many in my hometown and known for literally saving so many lives with her bare hands.

I’m a Rae of Sunshine in all I do. I bring joyful energy and a sense of childlike freedom to all this around me. I feel everything and express my deep empathy and love through my voice. I’ve endured a lot of pain and experience a lot of extreme happiness in myself. Because of that, I am able to express myself in ways that connect to others. As a scientist and artist, I have an unusual “double life.” I can go from working in diagnostic testing all day saving lives to checking in to my studio space at night making music and teaching voice lessons. Music is my deepest passion and outlet to help me de-stress from the chaotic world of laboratory medicine.

As an artist, I am a singers singer. I believe in singing music from my soul. Performing for me is not about pride at all. It’s about using my God-given gift to touch souls. I have always had an “old soul.” I feel like I’m a mix of retro sounds from the 40s all the way up through every decade to 2022. I love music from before my time to now all because of being exposed to the best music by my parents who were also musicians. I am unapologetic in my emotional delivery of songs when I sing because I keep it real and raw. I don’t believe in vocal perfection. I believe in real feelings. If I cry, it’s ok. That’s why I love 90s R&B so much. Emotional love songs were so cool back then.

Shining Rae has also made a name for herself as a songwriter for notable collaborations with award-winning songwriters ‪Makeba Riddick‬ Woods  (‪Beyonce‬, ‪Rihanna‬), Sam Hook (‪Trey Songz‬, ‪Bruno Mars‬), and Lil Eddie (5th Harmony, Syco/Sony Music). In 2016 she gained the attention of Roc Nation Executive A&R Omar Grant (‪Rihanna‬) who invited her to work in studio as part of a songwriting camp for global superstar ‪Rihanna‬.

Since the age of 12, Shining Rae has won many talent shows, booked professional gigs all over the South and Midwest, and had her own song copyright by age 17. Growing up in Southern Arkansas with parents who are musicians/songwriters made music an inevitable love of Shining Rae. She grew up singing in church and around her community in a gospel music trio/band with her parents.

Shining Rae graduated with honors from Louisiana Tech University as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist and left her Southern roots to follow her dreams.  She moved to Baltimore, Maryland and worked as a Scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 4 years.  With very little sleep, she mastered the art of juggling her science and music careers.  From November 2008 to May 2009, Shining Rae was a background singer for TMG Records artist Nisha Hester.  She performed at President Barack Obama’s first “Lighting of the National Christmas Tree” in Washington, D.C.  She has also collaborated with and opened up for Hip-Hop artists such as Baltimore’s own Huli Shallone and subsequently performed regularly as a featured artist in lounges located inside the historic Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore and Eden’s Lounge. Later in 2010-2013 Rae went on to perform in New York City’s R-Bar (Bowery) and multiple times at The Shrine World Music Avenue in Harlem, NY. In 2018 she was the opening act for New Orleans legendary rapper Mannie Fresh at the Beat Street Hip Hop Festival in San Diego, CA.

Shining Rae’s captivating lyrics, musicianship, and vocals of her pop single “Dreaming” (released in 2010) caught the attention of Andre Harrell as she was selected as a semi-finalist in his National Superstar Soul Search competition in July 2010.  In May of 2011, Shining Rae caught the attention of (MTV partner) OURSTAGE Magazine in which journalist Emily Cassel featured Shining Rae’s single “Dreaming” as the “ Breakup Anthem” for every girl to “unleash her inner diva.”  As a result of fan voting, Shining Rae went on to become the Grand Prize winner in the OurStage Artist Access Competition in July, with her hit single “Dreaming” landing her an opportunity to perform live in NYC and meet music industry giant Bruce Tyler (former EVP of Sony Music and Columbia Records).

Currently, Rae is featured on songs with multi-platinum selling recording artist ‪Ray J‬ “Anniversary” (2017), Lil Yee’s “Straight to the Point” (Album: Cita Son 2017/ Empire Records), single “Primetime” by Adonis (Priority/Capitol Records), single “Declined” alongside OVO artist/producer Mike Zombie and Cloudy X Nueve,  the late ‪Leah Labelle‬’s posthumous EP “Love to the Moon” released by hit producer ‪Pharrell Williams‬ (2018), and featured on 2 songs from the “Dawgma”  album by rising LA rapper OSBE Chill (discovered and developed by rapper/actor The Game). As of 2021 Rae is in the studio writing with recording artist/Universal Music Group hit songwriter Tish Hyman, Rapper/Actor Bre-Z (“Empire” & “All American” tv shows), and highly acclaimed battle rapper King Los (seen on the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher, Wild N Out, & Rhythm & Flow on Netflix).

The summer of 2019 proved to be a major turning point in  Rae’s life in which she manifested her biggest dream come true.  World-renowned movie director Brett Ratner (‪X-Men‬, Rush Hour 1 & 2) was so impressed by Rae’s talent he surprised Rae by inviting her to meet and spend an evening with her music idol ‪Mariah Carey‬.  Videos of Rae singing along with Mariah have since gone viral online and inspired Rae to the highest level.  December 2019 she collaborated with her favorite multi-platinum/Grammy Award-winning songwriter ‪Diane Warren‬ on a remake of her Oscar Nominated song “I’m Standing With You” for a global charity called “Mission Onlus” protecting the civil rights of women and children who are victims of abuse.   With an “old soul & heart of gold” and the ability to create meaningful songs of all genres, it is clear that Shining Rae is well on her way to becoming the music industry’s hottest female musician who makes meaningful music that resonates with the hearts of people around the globe.

Rae’s most successful songwriting/vocal production placement is the single “Stay” by Iakopo (Orchard/Sony) which gained over 13 million music video streams on YouTube within the first 2 weeks (released June 3, 2019). She has since co-written with American Idol Jordin Sparks and released an International/Reggaeton song collaboration Blow Your Mind” in 2022 featuring world-renowned DJs Willy Monfret, God Wonder, DJ Fasta from Europe and DR. The song gained over 130,000 plus on Instagram reels, charted number 1 on iHeart Radio partner station aBreak Radio in October 2022, and was on the GRAMMY Awards ballot for Best Global Music Performance.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn about the music business is that most of the people who are in it don’t do good honest business. Whether it’s due to pure ignorance or malice, it was always heartbreaking to deal with. It kind of takes the fun out of making music, so I learned to only work with people who have pure good intentions from the beginning and stay consistent. This same issue made it difficult to find genuine friends within the music community, but when we good souls finally connect we develop beautiful friendships that become more like family. The other obstacle I faced was dealing with people stealing my songs, song lyrics, and melodies and never giving me credit. The harsh reality I learned is no matter how well you “protect” your music (copyright, PRO registration) someone who is dirty will still take it. They know most people don’t want to take the time or pay the money to sue them so they blatantly steal. A few years ago an artist used my recorded vocals and performed my song live overseas in Israel as an opener for a world-renowned pop singer without my permission. I was never paid. Another artist forged my signature on a split sheet and had the credits/royalties changed from the original without my knowledge. I could go on and on, but the point is you got to work only with people who are honest.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Under her music production company Raediyance, LLC since 2016 Shining Rare works as a celebrity vocal producer, songwriter, music l/guitar teacher, and vocal coach for both major record labels and independent artists. She has vocal produced artists such as the late Leah Labelle (formerly of Epic Records), Jasmine V. (Interscope Records), Iakopo (Sony Orchard) and co-written songs with International DJs Willy Monfret (Paris), DJ Fasta (The Netherlands), and DJ Godwonder (Dominican Republic) to name a few.

Mentoring is also a big part of Rae’s life. She’s been very fortunate to have some amazing mentors in her life (i.e. Bruce Tyler form EVP of Sony Music and Columbia Records) and to be able to share her wisdom as a GRAMMY U mentor and Jammcard Mentor. As of 2021 Rae was selected to serve as a voting member of the Recording Academy, so she continues to use her gifts and talents to get be back to the nations music community.

As a recording artist Rae is featured on songs with multi-platinum selling recording artist ‪Ray J‬ “Anniversary” (2017), Lil Yee’s “Straight to the Point” (Album: Cita Son 2017/ Empire Records), single “Primetime” by Adonis (Priority/Capitol Records), single “Declined” alongside OVO artist/producer Mike Zombie and Cloudy X Nueve,  the late ‪Leah Labelle‬’s posthumous EP “Love to the Moon” released by hit producer ‪Pharrell Williams‬ (2018), and featured on 2 songs from the “Dawgma”  album by rising LA rapper OSBE Chill (discovered and developed by rapper/actor The Game). As of 2021, Rae is in the studio writing with recording artist/Universal Music Group hit songwriter Tish Hyman, Rapper/Actor Bre-Z (“Empire” & “All American” tv shows), and highly acclaimed battle rapper King Los (seen on the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher, Wild N Out, & Rhythm & Flow on Netflix).

What sets Rae apart from other music pros is that she is a Rae of Sunshine in all she does. She brings joyful energy and a sense of childlike freedom to all this around her.

According to Rae “I feel everything and express my deep empathy and love through my voice. I’ve endured a lot of pain and experience a lot of extreme happiness in myself. Because of that, I am able to express myself in ways that connect to others. As a scientist and artist, I have an unusual ‘double life.’ I can go from working in diagnostic testing all day saving lives to checking in to my studio space at night making music and teaching voice lessons. Music is my deepest passion and outlet to help me de-stress from the chaotic world of laboratory medicine.”

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Because I’ve worked with such a cast age range of music artists, I have advice for both parents of artists as well as music artists themselves.

To everyone, I recommend learning basic music business. Learn legal terms common to most music contracts. Because contracts are so binding everyone needs to have a general understanding of the terms. Consulting a lawyer is always recommended but I still believe in being an informed client/artist.

To parents of child artists, I recommend not signing children to multiple talent agency/manager contracts. Stick to one agency and one manager but do your research on both before signing. If they don’t have clear success records, don’t sign to them. I hate to see so many young adult artists who’ve been tied to long contracts as a kid that sometimes haunt them later and prevent them from receiving bigger opportunities.

To artists, songwriters, and producers: MASTER your craft but be at least proficient in as many other areas in music as you can. For example as a singer/songwriter, I learned sound engineering so I could save time and money and record myself in the studio. I learned guitar and piano so I could produce music and perform live.

I also believe in waiting to sign a record or publishing deals. Don’t take the first thing you’re offered especially if you’ve not had a major success yet. The longer you wait the more time you have to grow your career independently. Once you sign a deal that company takes a large amount of your royalties. If you’re able to build a hugely successful career independently you may never see a need to sign to a label.

Also, strive to be unique in your art. It’s great to pull from musical artist influences, but the difference I see in who ends up successful is when an artist brings something new to the music game.

Find and hold on to great mentors. Connect to those who’ve reached success in areas of music that you are passionate about. These mentors can help guide you in your career by sharing their wisdom as network.

Lastly, to make it in music you have to be what I call “optimistic persistent perseverance” even when you feel discouraged or that no one else believes in you. The faith and resilience you need to overcome the endless obstacles in this tough industry have to be on an extraordinary level within your spirit to make it to the top. When I say “make it” in music I mean to get to a place where you feel content and that you are living out your purpose.

Pricing:

• $85/ hour Voice lessons
• $850/3 hour Vocal Production Session

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.Shiningrae.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/shiningrae
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Shiningrae
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Shiningraemusic
• Youtube: http://www.YouTube.com/Shiningraemusic