Today we’d like to introduce you to Sha’ki.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Music has been in my life since I was born. As a baby my dad had me in the studio with legends! From Berry Gordy to Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis to my Uncle Bobcat etc etc. Growing up I was always interested in entertainment I started off modeling with Macy’s which turned in to me acting working as an extra on Hannah Montana and House while also playing sports but music was always apart of my life from having every CD on my walkman to having every song on my PSP or iPod so subconsciously I’ve always been preparing myself for this music/ entertainment life. The actual musically journey started four years ago. I was recording songs on SoundCloud in my closet off an iPad and my Phone by the artist name of $treeb I wasn’t sure if it was gonna be a career at the time. I just knew I liked doing it and I was clever with my wordplay. One of my homies heard one of my songs S/o Dant and told me like bro you should take this serious and recorded me at his house and we dropped a song and everyone we knew was like “woah bro you’re actually kinda good” So from there we dropped a EP and my cousin who I haven’t linked with in years invited me to his house which was like 9 minutes from my house and he actually had a mic and the whole set up in his room that him and his homie was using.
So I started goin there everyday after school (I was in college at the time SMC) and we started to release songs and started networking with other producers like ArjayOnTheBeat and Dj Official (RIP). We started looking for our own producer tho and by the grace of God we found one who lived directly across the street from me, my Dawg Tyrell. We were all working together for like seven months. I’d say I wasn’t 100% sold on Rap being my career still but I was like 65% by then. Still in school, was working and balancing music. Then the morning of July 21st, 2015 that 65% turned into 100 when I lost my best friend Sydney Dorsey in a car accident. I just was with bro like a week before and just to see how life can be taken away so fast made me realize I needed to be doing what I love just in case my time comes at least I can say I was happy. So I dropped out of school and recorded my first solo song at my cousin’s crib “Letter to Syd” over the Drake 30 for 30 beat dedicated to Syd. And the feedback the song received just confirmed that this life of music was for me. It was more of a serious song compared to the music I was making at my cousins house which was more ratchet and I kinda wanted to graduate into more of lyrical space vs the turn up party vibes and my cousin really wasn’t on that So Me an Tyrell started cookin up at his crib but we didn’t have a spot to record at.
Thats when we linked up with AyeG of AMG Studios and started recording a song every Friday. I was working at Ralphs at the time and would shoot from work straight to his crib and in 5 of those Friday sessions all produced by Tyrell we ended up having my first EP “The Open Letter” which dropped on SoundCloud 2016 on Syd’s Anniversary of him passing. We had a release party and I documented the process of making the project with Syd’s older brother 3rdxiii which we also showed at the release party. At that point, I was overly dedicated to making it in music but my sound wasn’t really the typical LA sound so I knew I needed something else to package the music together with and that was when W$TN was born. W$TN was a total of 4 ft Myself and my bros Z, Kamal, and AJ. Only Z, Kamal, and myself rapped and AJ was just a party promoter at the time. So we mixed the two and figured we could make money off the parties and also perform and promote our music too cause we were in control of the event. We were LIT! We performed at the Sold Out Forum for Krush Grove and even put together our own college tour. The team grew over time from 4 to 6.
We added my dawg XL who is about to be one of the top producers in the city right now and Crystal The Dj who is one of the coldest Dj’s out! But with all of us growing over time everyone kinda just did their own thing and I had to regroup and figure out what the next stage for me would be. As always, God was looking out and blessed me with the opportunity to Audition for Rhythm and Flow on Netflix which as we saw didn’t go as planned but the opportunity and experience alone is something I’ll never forget. Once that didn’t fall through I had to hit the drawing board again and talked it over with my Dad and we figured it may be time to rebrand so at that point $treeb then transformed to Sha’ki and thats when I linked with my fam Kario who is a musician, engineer, artist, and producer over at Offstream and we been LIT ever since. We’ve gotten placements with TNT, NBA 2k, Intel, Complex, and Nike to name a few all within a couple of months of us working together. So the future is very bright and you guys can expect a lot coming from us 2020.
Has it been a smooth road?
To be honest my Dad always taught me nothing in life is easy so I’ve always had a different mindset than others especially when It came to something I wanted to do or was passionate about, so anything that may have been a challenge or obstacle I just saw it as a part of the process you know? You gotta go through it to get through it.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
As of now, I’m known for my Music. Overall I’m proud of the growth and my determination that drove me to this point. What sets me apart from others is I’m an actual artist and not just a rapper. I feel like thats what the game is missing right now.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the diversity the city brings. From the people to the food, to our style, the weather and even our music. What I don’t like is the politics or fake love the artist in the city have towards one another. I feel like we have the same if not more talent than Atlanta we just aren’t as influential cause we never really come together to work like they do.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: FreeShaki
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9TNo3c7WAVOQ7I9Z46-35g
Image Credit:
@3rdxiii, @amgstudios, @i.grant.wishes, @michaelcruz.studio, @bigfissschhhh, @thepositivepapi
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