ShaStimuli

It was a rainy day when a well known record company executive asked Sherod Khaalis to describe himself as an artist in one word. The task was simple enough - yet he was stuck.
The exec, having seen and heard them all, was someone "Sha" wanted to impress. "Are you a hustler? A gangster? A hipster? An emcee?" the exec. badgered.
Even with the aid of the aforementioned options young Sherod couldn’t condense his being into a simple word.
As a teenager, Sha Stimuli knew he was meant to be a star. After all, his older brother Lord Digga was a member of Masta Ace's INC crew and producer on The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die. Digga would often take Sha to sessions, performances and photo shoots of rappers who his peers at Brooklyn's Phillip A Schuyler JHS only got to see on Television. So while most kids his age would see rappers after school on the screen - Sherod saw them on the scene. Sha knew what it looked like to actually make a living off of your talent - but more importantly he knew what it took.
It was all a dream but to Sha it was real and rightfully so. Fresh out of elementary school he appeared on Masta Ace's Slaughterhouse Album before he was old enough to...well...do anything. He envisioned himself a kid rapper along the likes of Kriss Kross and ABC. Of course this seemed too gimmicky and nobody bit.
With uncertainty in his heart and a mission to escape Brooklyn's mean East Flatbush streets, Sherod turned to his second love - basketball; and headed to Iowa to play for a Division 1 College in the NCAA. He stayed in the Midwest for a year leaving Des Moines after his brother signed a recording contract to Atlantic Records - realizing that this recent success could open the door to his true passion: Music.
He moved closer to home and attended Delaware State University in 97 interning for Roc-A-Fella records. His intention was to learn the business of music and become an A&R while he waited for Digga to blow up. A job in the game was a reality, being an artist was a vision. At Roc-A-Fella's offices at 110 John Street Sha saw the re-birth of Jay-Z and learned how a solo artist with no major co-sign could indeed become a mega star. The internship was a mutually benefiting experience for everyone who knew Sha. He was encouraged to give input and even came up with the then-popular marketing slogan "Roctober".
Freestyle ciphers in college hipped people to the fact there was a guy on campus named Sha who could really rap but it was death that gave birth to Sha Stimuli.
From the passing of Biggie Smalls to the terminal illness of his father; complete with the fear of leaving the planet without securing immortality; Sha Stimuli was driven to erase anything that resembled a Plan B. He graduated college and vowed not to work until music became his career. He slept in studios, sacrificed monetarily and rapped for anyone he thought could help his situation. He made his way to Atlanta for a while where he befriended a young Jason Geter and (virtually unknown at the time) T.I.P, who Sha had many late night rhyming and building sessions with.
In 2002, Stimuli released a series of mixtapes starting with Let Me Show You the Way. Taking the streets by storm this led to the then-prophetic Unsigned Hype section feature in The Source Magazine in 2003. Other print/online mags like Black Beat, Complex, allhiphop.com and hiphopgame.com were the usual forums for his music, journals and articles. He performed at showcases with Maria Davis and opened up for artists across the country honing his craft.
Stimuli’s self released single Stop What You Doin featured the Punjabi MC broke into radio rotation in a few regions. After pulling a full time jack move on Janet Jackson's marginal single "Need You" he got even more spins and was finally signed to Virgin Records by the same man he interned for at Roc-A-Fella: Lenny S. On Virgin he was scheduled to release Thee Emotion Picture.
Recording at Baseline studios, Sha Stimuli enlisted Just Blaze, Nottz and Streetrunner to produce his LP and was courted by newly appointed Def Jam president Shawn Carter to leave Virgin Records as his A&R had already done. It was a hard decision. After all he was under a contract and he had just won the confidence and support of the Virgin Records staff; actually leaving some in tears after a viewing of his EPK/Documentary Switch Sides. As he struggled to pull himself out of limbo it all came to a crashing halt. Virgin Records had a new president in Jermaine Dupri who wanted to keep Sha Stimuli on the roster and Lenny S. left for Def Jam. Political and legal binds between the two labels as well as his management followed leaving Sha Stimuli in an uncomfortable situation, his back to the wind and in 2007 without a solid management team or a real place to call home. He became a free agent in Early 2008.
Winning “Best Lyricist” and "Best Male Rapper" at the Underground Music Awards (2007 & 2008 respectively) and releasing music