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Sasha’s debut won’t be ‘Incognito’ for long
Pittsburgh has produced many talents in sports, academics and music. There is no doubt that Pittsburgh has made its mark on the map for talent, and its newest solo artist, Sasha, continues the tradition.
Sasha’s new CD “Incognito” is definitely a hot album that will be played all over Pittsburgh and get love in the clubs. This fast-beat release will keep people movin’ on the dance floor. The project has sounds similar to that of Ciara and Ashanti. The debut track off her CD is “Oh Yeah,” and the track “Boy Next Door” was the winning entry in the 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Session II.
“The main theme for this album is overcoming obstacles and building self-confidence,” Sasha said.
She used some of her own experiences from a previous long-term relationship to channel the emotions she wanted to portray on this CD.
“I was in a long-term relationship that I let take over me and finally I decided to make my own path,” Sasha said. “I hope that someone in a similar situation can get strength from hearing what I did and do the same.”
Sasha, 25, whose real name is Ashley Coccia, was born in December 1982 in Texas and later adopted by a family who encouraged her to sculpt and showcase her talent. She began, like so many artists, by singing in the choir at Flossmoor Community Church. Along the way she entered several talent shows, pageants and musicals.
After growing up in Chicago, she moved to Pittsburgh and continued using her gift of song. She attended North Allegheny Senior High School and graduated in 2001. While in high school, she organized her first group, “Lo, High and Mightee,” which would be the first of many.
She has participated in many events such as CD release parties, live Internet castings and other venues. She even performed at a WAMO-FM-sponsored event.
Recently, Sasha has produced music for other local artists under Kolab Music Productions, a company she co-owns and operates. She has worked with “Style Guidance,” whose CD she helped produce who is now an artist under the Def Jam Label. She recently decided to focus more on her own career than that of others.
As of now, Sasha said her goals are to be signed to a major label to get her message out to the people. She wants to be seen as a positive influence, and change what some may say is a negative image of today’s music. She says that she wants people to do more than dance; she wants them to listen to the messages in her music and use them to grow.
Besides singing and producing, she enjoys modeling, designing, decorating, drawing, baking and dancing. She especially likes composing songs, musicals, one-act plays and short stories.
Not only does Sasha have the talent for the business that she has chosen, but she also possesses the drive to accomplish what she puts her mind to. Definitely keep an eye out for this girl.
(To find out more and keep up on the latest info on Sasha, visit www.Sashamuzic.com) - by Ashley N. Johnson for The New Pittsburgh Courier
Discography
Sasha's debut album "Incognito" coming July 2008.
Photos
Bio
Born December 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas, Ashley AKA Sasha was soon after adopted by a loving family in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and given the chance to blossom into the creative and gifted young woman she is today. Her exceptional talent in many areas of the arts, primarily music, has resulted in numerous opportunities for her to showcase her abilities. While she has composed and recorded more than sixty song ideas and produced over 500 original beats in recent years, her performing career actually started as a young child. She began as a member of the Flossmoor Community Church Cherub Choir, and later participated in church- and school-sponsored talent shows, school musicals, Christmas pageants, and self-organized community performances. Several of these performances were even written and directed by Sasha herself; the first hint that her talents in the musical field went beyond just performing.
As a teenager growing up in Chicago and later moving to Pittsburgh, Sashas performances continued with greater sophistication. These included several soloist opportunities in church-sponsored events, nursing home holiday concerts, and others. She was an integral member of the nationally acclaimed North Allegheny Senior High Jazz Choir, was lead female singer in the Kwanzaa Clubs production of the musical Days Gone By, and organized her own hip-hop/R&B group (Lo, High, and Mightee). She maintained her activity in a number of other choirs, as well as in Umoja Club, a group that organized various musical events as a vehicle to promote racial unity in schools. In spite of the wide number of performances, she kept focused on her studies, with an outstanding academic record at an extremely demanding school, North Allegheny Senior High, from which she graduated in 2001.
Since then, Sasha has maintained her high level of performance in even greater venues. In an effort to gain further exposure, she sang live on the internet multiple times, and developed a devoted online fan base as a result. Capitalizing on her friendship with two other talented young women, she formed an R&B/Gospel group (Silhouette) that gave several local performances, one of which was sponsored by 106.7 FM WAMO. However, due to the divergence of career goals, the group soon parted ways. Sasha has since performed at a CD Release Party for the Boys and Girls Club of Western PA, a Pittsburgh Music Works-sponsored show at Club Café, and other local events. In addition to live performances and her own self-produced recordings, her vocals have been featured on musical projects of numerous local rap artists.
Currently a Pittsburgh resident, Sasha has complemented her talent as an artist with top-notch music production and engineering skills. Co-Owning and operating her own home-based studio, Kolab Music Productions, she has helped many aspiring local musicians reach their artistic goals by producing high quality, industry-standard beats, overseeing completion of numerous demo projects, and engineering recording sessions. In 2003, Sasha helped one local artist, known as Freestyle, by providing vocal training, assisting in the development of his press kit, and serving as executive producer of his CD, Style Guidance, that has led to the artist signing with Def Jam. In December 2005, with the assistance of Producer/Engineer Ali Jackson, Sasha released a compilation CD featuring 20 of Pittsburghs most talented artists showcasing their musical skills over all original, Kolab-made beats.
More recently, Sasha has gradually shifted her focus from producing the music of other artists back to perfecting her own performing skills. She has continued to compose fresh new songs, and the recent years spent working on music as a writer/producer/sound engineer have allowed her to have a more holistic approach to original production. As a result, Sashas most recent selections have a mature feel with a variety of well-developed styles. She has just completed a full CD of her best current songs, and selected tracks were recently unveiled during a personal appearance at the upscale Club 720 in Chicago. The tracks met with rave reviews by the club management as well as the patrons present for the occasion. One of those tracks, Boy Next Door, qualified Sasha as a Finalist in the 2007 International John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Negotiations are currently underway for radio play of several songs from the CD on hip-hop and R&B stations in several major cities, as well as live performances.
Sashas hobbies include modeling, interior decorating, baking, belly dancing, and gaming. She has other artistic talents in addition to singing, including visual arts (paintings, sketches, drawings, logo designs, tattoos, web design, and clothing design); dance and choreography; performing as an instrumentalist (viola, guitar, and piano); and authoring poetry, song lyrics, short stories, musicals, and one-act plays.
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