Shania D
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Shania D

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"Check Your Headgear"


Check Your Headgear
When live hip-hop lets you down, just overanalyze everyone's hats instead.
By Rob Harvilla

Let us now discuss hats. Specifically, the hats at your average hip-hop show. More specifically, the hats at Lunar Heights' CD release party.
Let us discuss hats because we would rather not discuss Lunar Heights. Nice guys, lovely name, hot new album (Crescent Moon), lousy show on a Saturday night at Berkeley's Shattuck Down Low. First off, the trio was catastrophically blown off the stage by its opening act: Prozack Turner and Marc Stretch of Foreign Legion, joined by stylish Beyoncé-esque crooner Shania D for a spastic, overexcitable, and weirdly wonderful set of wise-ass goofy rap. Spitting into such a powerful hurricane is bad enough, but the Lunar Heights set that immediately followed quickly devolved into a vicious cycle of unfortunateness:

1. Two minutes of an okay song.

2. Okay song ends super-abruptly.

3. LH's two MCs both laugh that nervous a-ha-ha-ha laugh that clearly says "After this set, I'm going to throw our DJ out a window, and I don't care that this is a basement venue."

4. Protracted silence.

5. "Okay ... who's louder? The left side or the right side?"

Both sides are equally quiet, alas, because everyone is checking out everyone else's hats. Choice of headgear is the single most important decision a live hip-hop showgoer will make. In the case of the universally most popular selection -- the classic baseball cap -- even the angle of the bill is scrutinized by fellow Down Low patrons for clues as to your personality and demeanor.

You're not taking this seriously enough. Fortunately, Down in Front is taking this all too seriously. Let us now scrutinize the most common hip-hop headgear choices, including a geometric analysis of the whole cap-bill-angle thing. Though primarily a male phenomenon, this applies to the fairer sex as well; as Cervantes wrote, "Ladies is pimps too."

- Originally published by East Bay Express 2004-06-02-©2005 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved.


"Critic's Choice for the week of December 14-December 20, 2005"

Critic's Choice for the week of December 14-December 20, 2005


TIGER STYLE


Formerly a dive bar-ish hangout primarily home to queer punkettes, Oakland's Golden Bull has expanded its parameters considerably. Live bands and DJs play 'most every night, and while there's still plenty of punk around, dancehall and hip-hop have also carved out niches. For example, the bimonthly Friday night showcase the Tiger Lounge, hosted by the All-Purpose DJs, Tru Justice and Lex. Not only do the two serve up everything from old-school bumps to hyphy slaps, but guest DJs and live acts add hella flavor. This week, Wu-Tang songstress Tekitha throws down, and super DJs Shania and Tim D help Lex and Tru do the damn thing. That's what's up. $5, 9 p.m. or so. MySpace.com/bigbulls (Eric K. Arnold)



- Originally published by East Bay Express 2005-12-14


"Her Way"

Her Way
Female emcees wake up and smell success
By Rachel Swan

April 19th 2006

In the staunchly competitive world of Bay Area hip-hop, success is really a measure of whether you have a convincing persona, and how well you inhabit it. Thus, the single quality that unites such top-caliber rappers as E-40, Mistah F.A.B., Clyde Carson, and Keak da Sneak is their knack for caricaturing (read: merchandising) themselves. It’s no surprise, in fact, that each of these guys refers to his rap personality in the third person. Most would agree that women have a lot less latitude in terms of what degree of buffoonery is permissible before they cross into “she-man” or “hoochie mama” territory. In mainstream hip-hop, there seem to be three options: 1) the badassss gangsta bitch you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark-alley, which would include people like Remy Martin, Da Brat, and the lesser-known Marvaless; 2) the tarty, libidinous Jezebel, whose sense of self-worth derives from her ability to outfuck the dudes who’ve wronged her (this category would include all the aforementioned gangsta bitches, along with people like Eve and Missy Elliott); and 3) the wholesome earth-mother-goddess — a relatively chaste middle ground between the gangsta and the hoochie. Though more viable in neo-soul and backpacker rap, this category could include such mainstream divas as Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu.
Anyone who attended a female emcee showcase at the Oakland Box in the summer of 2004 could see that Remy Martin and Missy Elliott’s underground counterparts aren’t totally averse to caricature, either. After all, most of the folks who performed that night were glaringly easy to classify (Goldee the Murderess is a 1, Malika a 2, and so on). But since most underground rappers aren’t necessarily looking to cross over, they’re not beholden to a market with a pretty narrow conception of femininity. And fortunately, there’s room for androgyny in the backpacker world. Local B-girls like Swan Grae, Shania D, and bilingual emcee Raw-G manage to sidestep the gangsta/hoochie dichotomy altogether. And while you’ll occasionally see one of them tapping into her inner earth mother, overall their sartorial choices — Chucks, Kangol hats, jelly bracelets — are more to the tune of “that cool homegirl.”

Even in the progressive Bay Area, female emcees don’t yet have the critical mass to spawn their own hyphy movement, so many of them are venturing into other media to generate a cult of personality. Grey is also known as a fashion designer and writer for the San Francisco-based magazine Youth Outlook. Shania gabs about a forthcoming book on her Web site. Raw-G appeals to Latino fans by rapping in Spanish (check it out at MySpace.com/raw_g). For now, they’re all go-it-alone entrepreneurs, trying to carve out a space in hip-hop without pandering to stereotypes or speaking through the filter of what women rappers are supposed to be. But wait. It’s likely that Keak da Sneak’s female equivalent is hiding out somewhere in the Bay, coining new slang words, talking about herself in third person, keakin’ and sneakin’, as it were. She’s just not that easy to classify.

Raw-G, Swan Grae, and Shania D perform at this Friday’s Weekend Wake-Up, along with Valentina Rose, Heather Christian, Adakemi Omotade, the Unity High DJ Project, and Poetry for the People, plus DJs Agana, Zita, and Bella. The show is free and all-ages. It kicks off at 4 p.m. at East Oakland’s Youth Uprising Center. WeekendWakeup.com Third Friday of every month, 4-6 p.m.
Youth Uprising Center, 8711 MacArthur Blvd. , Oakland


- East Bay express©2006 Village Voice Media All rights reserved


Discography

Discography
-Baraka Orchestra featuring Umar Bin Husssan and Shania D. released 2000 Caroline
-The Jacka: The Jack Artist Featured on track 11 2005---itunes
-Seth Spins Mashups- "It's U" released 2005---independent
-The Beauty Project-soundtrack- released 2005
-All Bay All Day song titled "Brighter Hue" released 7/2006
-Hang on Remix 12inch- with Bukue One-2/2007
-East Village Pharmacy-feat. on track Carne Guisada
4/2007
-Lighters! reggae Mixtape-4/2007
-Adults Only LIMITED Edition Mixtape-5/2007
-August 2007:Ladies on Wax
-October 2007:OperaTion:Spread Love
-October 2007:A Female's Perspective:The SIS-TEM (Project Blowed Recordings)

Radio:
-KSJU- featured songs are Geneva& Space Age
P.I.M.P.
-KCLA- “It's U”
-globalvortex.com
-Fliptrack.com
-isound.com

Press:
-East Bay Express
-SF Bay Guardian
-Femixx.com
-Newamericamedia.org
-San Jose Mercury News
-Projectblowed.com
-Hiphopcongress.com

Television:
-Mtv Movie Awards Orbitz Commercial
-Nextel Commercial
-UPN:Youth Outlook TV

LYRICS to It's U (featured single on KCLA)
It's U--Written by Shania D.

Almost everyday
Ur the second thing on my mind
Almost everyday
I just wanna make u mine
But,
Life begins where my dreams end and I�ll keep it simple baby
I wanna b more than friends
U make me wanna be better
Not only just for u
U inspire me to greatness
That's what I think that love should do-

Chorus:
Its U
It's only U
The things that you do (ooh)
It's U

Verse:
U say the sweetest things without saying a word
Ur my coffee and my cream in da morning with some herb
I love u, I miss U
U musnt forget
I pretend sometimes but my heart just won�t let me
Ur touch is heaven sent to me
Ur scent it is so heavenly
Ur eyes are the greatest I�ve ever seen
The only ones I wanna see when I rise
Your thoughts and your dreams it�s everything
When you share them with me
I want you in my life

Chorus:
Cuz it's u
It's only u
The things that you do (ooh)
It's u
The way that you do you
It's true

Verse:
Sometimes I cry for fear of losing U
My memories keep you alive
Till maybe baby your used to the thought that we could be so alive
Meant to be- sentimentally
And you're so special to me
If only you saw potential in me
If only you saw what I do in you
And I wish that I could convince you it�s true
Cuz it's
U

Photos

Bio

" An innovator and a tastemaker."-Chela Simone

PRESS RELEASE
Shania D. is a force that promises to shine long into the musical night, having had music on her mind since the age of 5, when she penned her first rhymes and songs. Giving high energy innovation Shania D. is well known to her fans and collaborators as a human dynamo full of surprises that come delivered in technicolored wrapping with a sparkling smile. She continues to inspire through her artistic expression and her energy is an authentic celebration of life that pours forth in an almost blinding, and certainly unforgettable stream of light, offered without pretense, from a kind of aquarian halo that mixes positive energy with lush digital soundscapes designed to move the listener.

After sharing the stage with the exalted likes of Umar Bin Hussan of The Last Poets, MC Lyte, 9th Wonder,Goapele, Dead Prez, J Davey, Spinderella, Vikter Duplaix, and other glowing entertainers, Shania D has prepared a treat for the fans in an album titled "Hip Hop Honey", which will drop in 2008.

The memorizing single "It's U" is being serviced to radio and DJ's and has already been received with stellar reviews.

Shania states her artistic belief resoundingly, "Music is a platform that can transcend all political and social boundaries,it binds us and allows us to remember we are all one."

It's important that she sparks the inclination for individuals to become involved and participate in their collective experience, while also nurturing their identities. Knowing the value of following a dream, and investing the energy that internal notions and desires demand, she infuses hope and a reiteration that life is meant to be lived with an awakened heart.

Graduating from the Institute of Audio Research in Greenwich Village, Shania D has become an accomplished audio engineer/producer, emcee/singer, and DJ. Being compared or likened to to Mc Lyte, Kelis, Sade and Missy Elliot comes as no surprise to her as she has constantly stayed on the cutting edge and continues to be a dynamic force in many successful collaborations. This year Shania moves to take her place among her mainstream counter parts. The Arts know her as a tastemaker, musical phenom, inspirational scribe, and unusually masterful Jill of all trades.


Shania D is a member of BMI.
booking and info:
info@shaniad.net