Etcetera

Right on the borderline of Brownsville, Brooklyn and Queens, at a private table at the famous Linwood Diner, we met up with the new comer to converse about the Beginning, the Obstacles and the Future of ETCETERA. This being one of many interviews he has done, ETCETERA still thought it was too early to tell his story, but we thought that the transition process is what people would like to read about. So when you accomplish it, they feel like they had a part in it.

ETCETERA starts off by stating “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair,” a phrase taken from his favorite poet, the late great Langston Hughes. But this story is not about a kid hustling, growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn selling drugs and living in an abusive home. But about a boy that grew up in a single parent household, listening to nothing but country western and R&B music, surrounded by a loving family that gave him the opportunity to dream, go to college, be creative and become a something-to-be-proud-of.

Introduced to Hip Hop

I got into hip hop because I used to write poetry due to my shyness. It became another form of expression for me. When I was in school I was friends with Tone of Track Masters but at the time he was just our boy Sam who used to pick me up and take me to school and because of his affiliation with Sean “Puffy” Combs, I was able to meet him and learn a little introductory course of how this industry works. During a meeting with him he told me “The Industry is not for everyone… so don’t be like anyone.” Later that same year I met my mentor/friend Kwamé Holland through my man Al Dale aka A Sharp. His mother knew my aunt and my aunt said “my nephew does that hip hop stuff.” A Sharp’s mother in turn said “my son just joined this rap group, they should meet” and the rest is polka dot history. Kwamé took Shawn under his wing and let him rock with the group, a sort of get-in-where-you-fit-in because at this time the group was really set. Kwamé introduced me to a industry that would change my life forever. I learned how to write rhymes…well, but I wasn’t that good for a couple of years but because of my affiliation with him and a good friend of mine, MC Lyte, I was able to co-write for a lot of hip hop stars.

Coming into my own

My confidence level was still low even though I had some records I wrote in circulation but Kwamé still let me get on the stage and rock with him in hopes to get over it. A year later I met up with a producer named Self that started working with me in a basement studio in Crown Heights Brooklyn, on demos when Kwamé was busy. Self ended up being my partner in the former version of Etcetera and during that time I had developed into a true artist. After my cocoon broke, ETCETERA hit the market with a string of underground hits that sparked a lot of attention. I went from the background to babysitter of the underground and college charts. I liked this market at first because it gave me the opportunity to experiment and be a star at my own pace, as well as do tours and make my own money. But during this height of recognition I lost my grandmother (my father’s mother) and my mother (my best friend) to cancer, so the roller coaster that I fought so hard for had came to a halt until I got it together and when I did I came back with a new focus.

The Next Level

The hits were there but far in between due to the industry drivel. At this time ETCETERA the group was barely holding on by a string, and the underground glass ceiling was rapidly approaching. During a radio interview a major DJ personality told me off-air “If you want to hear records that give you that hip hop feeling nowadays, then you have to make them yourself.” So with that on the table ETCETERA banged out a hip hop rock mixture that rolled us into a whole new genre of hip hoppers and opened our circle. A good friend of mine, Ms. Erin McAlister, formerly of Universal Records, now Senior Project Manager for the Recording Academy, thought it would be a great idea if I would allow that particular song to be entered into the running for a Grammy Award due to its recognition. That entry was the start of another chapter in the ETCETERA handbook. ETCETERA bounced around with labels and label offers but this could not keep the group intact. They eventually grew apart and Shawn assumed the name ETCETERA and continued to work with other producers, write for other artists and do features. One special feature was on the album of a dance hall/children’s music artist named Father Goose from Dan Zanes and Friends (who was seen on Playhouse Disney every morning) which just broadened ETCETERA’s brand even more. Prior to this, while hosting a showcase in NYC for DJ Ace of Spades, ETCETERA was requested by an independent label ran by Jo Jeffries-EL, CEO of TSOB Records to write for their R&B artists but later this turned into ETCETERA being offered to sign on to the label itself. Six months into the deal TSOB released The Sampler Album with Shawn - Protégé Magazine, Vol. 4.5 (Written by C. Gilkes)