Shu

Artist Information

Biography

Instrumentation

EITHER Shu - Acoustic Piano/Electric Keyboard OR
Shu on keys with drums, bass, guitar

Discography

The Get Down EP - 2003
Shusic - 2006

Links

• Myspace Love

Audio

• Beautiful and Broken
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• Shut Up
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• Walk That Line
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• Letting Go
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• Once Again
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• I Wanna Leave (But I Can't Stop Wantin' You)
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Lyrics

• Beautiful and Broken
• Shut Up
• Walk That Line
• Letting Go
• Once Again
• I Wanna Leave (But I Can't Stop Wantin' You)

Video

Valentine's Highlight at the Legendary Blue Note

Photo Gallery

Press

• SHU: Banker? Lawyer? Musician! [+ Show ]
  

  "Currently being hailed as one of the hottest up-and-coming male talents on today's indie contempora..."Currently being hailed as one of the hottest up-and-coming male talents on today's indie contemporary soul scene, Kenya-born, Brooklyn-based singer/writer/keyboardist Shu combines organic funky instrumentation with memorable melodies and witty, poignant lyrics on his unanimously-acclaimed debut LP "SHUSIC"... whose 3,000-plus sales through the independent sector alone is currently attracting serious interest from several US majors. A handsome, classically-trained Shu (born Mwashuma Nyatta) enjoys a revealing introductory chat with B&S.

• TAXI Navigator Profile [+ Show ]
  

  Over the years, we here at TAXI have worked with some extremely talented acts—including ZOX and Th...Over the years, we here at TAXI have worked with some extremely
  talented acts—including ZOX and The Matches, both profiled in
  Navigator, and both now signed to topflight labels—but we’ve
  never been more impressed by any individual artist who’s come
  our way than we are by Shu. This Kenya-born, Brooklyn-based
  writer/singer/player (full name: Mwashuma Nyatta) possesses the
  entire package—he’s not only deftly bridging classic soul and
  contemporary R&B with his elegant yet cutting-edge music, he’s
  also connecting the dots at this early stage of his career with a
  savvy that is nothing short of brilliant.
  In this case, the word “brilliant” is not an exaggeration. Shu,
  who’s 25, has an economics degree from Harvard and got his
  master’s in material anthropology from Oxford after being
  chosen as a Rhodes Scholar. Just before leaving New York for
  England in the fall of 2004, he put the finishing touches on his
  first album, Shusic, having hooked up with producer/artist Myron
  and up-and-coming writer/producer Dave Tozer, who got
  involved with Shu immediately after producing several tracks
  on the debut album of then-unknown John Legend.
  When he wasn’t studying during his year at Oxford, Shu
  was playing out whenever he saw an opportunity, and the U.K.
  press began to take notice. The influential Echoes noted that
  Shusic was “without qualitative dips when it comes to
  songwriting, making it one of the strongest male indie releases
  so far this year. In fact, it’s so good and the guy is so obviously
  talented, you'll be amazed it isn’t on a major.” Echoes and Blues
  & Soul are preparing features on him.
  On his return to Brooklyn, Shu kicked his offensive into high
  gear, making such masterful use of the available self-promotional
  tools that his strategy could serve as a case study in viral marketing.
  He launched a website and the requisite MySpace page (which
  now boasts north of 13,000 friends), got his music on iTunes,
  worked out a deal to have the album released in Japan on P-Vine
  Records, built his fan base to the point where he now headlines
  New York venues like S.O.B.’s, Joe’s Pub and the Cutting Room
  and sold several thousand units of Shusic while working up two
  albums worth of new material. With his nascent career firing on
  all cylinders, Shu decided to give up his Wall Street job in order
  to devote himself exclusively to music.
  “I’m amazed at the power of word of mouth,” he marvels.
  “But it doesn’t just happen. You have to light the pilot. Although
  I’d rather be writing a song or playing onstage, I spend a lot of
  man hours on the Internet and on MySpace searching for people
  who like other artists that I think share an affinity with me and
  reaching out to them—every single one of them—and saying,
  ‘Listen to my music.’ After a certain point it starts to generate
  its own momentum, and you show up on enough people’s pages
  and blogs that other people find you on their own. Then it just
  goes from there. MySpace has been a really revelatory tool.
  Musicians can get such a huge amount out of using it in the
  right way, because you control the word of mouth, and you can
  see how things happen.
  “If I had to boil it down to a couple of core things,” Shu says
  of his rapid ascendance, “it’s been determination, ambition and
  a lot of hard work.”
  He forgot one element, without which all of his efforts
  would’ve been for naught—talent. Not only is this guy a stud
  and remarkably engaging, he’s a gifted songwriter, an
  accomplished keyboardist and a soul-stirring vocalist in the
  tradition of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, but with a modern
  twist. Shusic is teeming with captivating grooves and hooks,
  including the silky, lascivious “Can I Take U Home 2Night,”
  the D’Angelo-style slow burner “Come Down” and the vibrant
  Tozer collab “Holla!,” while the star in waiting provides a
  tantalizing glimpse of his more recent work on his MySpace
  page with the insanely clever “bedroom demo” of “Shut Up.”
  Talk about a hit waiting to happen.
  Shu doesn’t need a major label is generating plenty of revenue
  on his own, but his ambitions extend beyond merely making a
  good living from music. “My primary goal is to reach as many
  people with my message as possible,” he says, “and to accomplish
  that I’ll need a major label. But I’m not averse to that—I think
  it’s possible to marry artistic integrity with the commercialism
  that the labels are looking for. For me, that would be the definition
  of great art, and I think it always has been that way, from
  Beethoven and Mozart onward—it’s popular, but it’s also
  artistically interesting. I don’t want to be a niche player. I want
  to have mass appeal but still push the envelope artistically, and
  always be challenging myself. I will not have succeeded until
  I feel I’m walking that line.”
  No, Shu is not lacking in self-belief. “It’s obvious that there’s
  room for songwriting and musicality in R&B,” he says, “and
  more than anything, it’s been people’s responses to the music
  and the shows that have fueled me. I think that I can achieve
  what I’m setting out to do, but I only think that because I’ve
  been validated at every step.”
  You might want to give some thought to the prospect of
  becoming the one who validates Shu at the next step—y’know,
  the big one. There’s no question that he’s ready to take it.
  Michael Laskow (taxiboss@aol.com)
  Chris Baptiste (cb@taxi.com)
  (818) 222-2464

• #6 on Top 20 Most Soulful Albums of "06 [+ Show ]
  

  1. Jeff Robinson - Eyewitness 2. Jazzhole - Poet's Walk 3. Bilal - Love for Sale 4. Frank McComb ...1. Jeff Robinson - Eyewitness
  2. Jazzhole - Poet's Walk
  3. Bilal - Love for Sale
  4. Frank McComb - The Truth
  5. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
  6. Shu - Shusic
  7. Inobe's - Spiritual Soul
  8. Josephine Sincere - Wildflower
  9. Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae
  10. Anthony David - Red Clay Chronicles
  11. Brown Baby Girl - Brown Baby Girl
  12. Amp Fiddler - Afro Strut
  13. Sophia Darcell - Soul Eclectic
  14. Liv Warfield - Embrace Me
  15. Terisa Griffin - My Naked Soul
  16. Anthony Hamilton - Ain't Nobody Worrying
  17. Various - This is Soul 2006
  18. Karen Bernod - Life @ 360 Degrees
  19. Incognito - Bees + Things + Flowers
  20. Omar - Sing [If You Want It]
  
  

• Trace Album Review
  

  Musician and vintage vocalist Shu [represents] a very musical culmination of new wave funk

• Echoes UK Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  It...[has] that laid back and intimate...vibe that...D'angelo...[has] at [his] best, though Shu's vo...It...[has] that laid back and intimate...vibe that...D'angelo...[has] at [his] best, though Shu's voice is unlike [his]. Set mostly at either mid-tempo or at a gently funky pace, it's also without qualitative dips when it comes to songwritingg, making it one of the strongest male indie releases so far this year. In fact, it's so good annd the guy is so obviously talented, you'll be amazed it isn't on a major.

• Kody Emmanuel, WBAI Producer [+ Show ]
  

  Shu is a soulful, organic, original voice on the music scene. He has the ability to reach the intell...Shu is a soulful, organic, original voice on the music scene. He has the ability to reach the intellectual, sophisticated listener and the down home crowd. His new CD "Shusic" is one of the most soulful, honest and provocative works to have come out this year. The CD is one of the best of 2005!!

• Dona Taractecan, Founder [+ Show ]
  

  Shu's music reminds me of a well crafted work of art. It's full of life, color, creativity and origi...Shu's music reminds me of a well crafted work of art. It's full of life, color, creativity and originality!

• Feature Article [+ Show ]
  

  "Outstanding lyrics and originality . . . [his influences] blend and clash in Shu's music without ro..."Outstanding lyrics and originality . . . [his influences] blend and clash in Shu's music without robbing it of its individuality . . . [Shu is] in a class of his own . . ."

• Reuters Feature Story [+ Show ]
  

  "Soul singer Shu's sound has been dubbed "a little bit Stevie Wonder, a little bit Marvin Gaye," but..."Soul singer Shu's sound has been dubbed "a little bit Stevie Wonder, a little bit Marvin Gaye," but he's determined to blaze his own musical path."
  
  
  

Setlist

30 mins to 90 mins, 90% original songs, either self accompanied piano, full band, or a combination.

Higher
Superstitious (Stevie cover)
Home Tonight
FTS
Come Down
Walk The Line
San Fransisco
Shut Up
Wait Another Day
Beautiful and Broken
Natural Woman (Aretha cover)
Once Again
Love or Meaning

Basic Requirements

Calendar